Old Nowra Sailing Club
Multi Cache
There is an area alongside the Nowra Public Wharf that used to house an historic building which was utilised by the Nowra Sailing Club from 1964 until it was destroyed by fire on 21 June 2017.
But this building has an interesting history spanning more than 100 years.
Originally built for use by the Illawarra Steamship Navigation Company in the 1880’s. It was used as a storehouse for goods that were being transported between Nowra and Sydney, including farm produce and food. Between the 1880’s and 1903 these goods were transported by land between Nowra and Greenwell Point and then by steamer to and from Sydney. In 1903 the river was blasted to secure a safe navigation passage for these Steamers all the way upriver to Nowra.
As the roads and rail links between Sydney and Nowra improved the need for transportation by water declined. This saw the wharf and associated storage facilities beside the Shoalhaven River sitting empty and by the mid 1940’s the Nowra Fishing Coop took over the premises and started trading.
In 1964 an application to lease the building and the Wharf was submitted and approved which saw the Nowra Sailing Club established at this facility.
In the early days it played a major role in Nowra’s economic future and has always been the town’s unofficial flood record.
Over the years the building has been a flood indicator for almost everyone in the town where as most people would judge the floods in town, not by the water height at the river as indicated in news reports, but where it is on the roofline of the sailing club.
It was to become one of the first thing everyone would ask when there is a flood in Nowra, ‘where is it up to on the sailing club?
After serving a long history and surviving many floods on Wednesday June the 21st 2017 a fire broke out sadly completely destroying one of Nowra's most recognisable and iconic buildings one which played a large role in Nowra's economical infrastructure.
The pylons that supported the original building for more than 100 years remain as they are heritage listed.
All that remained was the wooden wharf an the original flooring which was removed in early 2020 and constuction began on ''stage one'' of the newly established riverside entertainment area,the old site has now been tranformed into a shaded deck with picnic tables overlooking the Shoalhaven river with nearby floating pontoon's
Visiting here the cache can be found at S34 51.ABC E150 36.XYZ
March 197A - 5.3M
OCT 199B - 3.5M
FEB 187C - 6.2M
JUNE 1864 - 5.XM
OCT 1959 - 4.YM
JUNE 1975 - 4.ZM
Checksum South = 33 East = 33
Good Luck