The community have been mourning the loss of the Bawley Point gantry after it was claimed by the ocean during the east coast low earlier this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
While it was an icon and celebrated jump spot, there is a rich history behind the gantry and one which residents have expressed a keeness to preserve.
The gantry was part of the timber mill operating at Bawley Point in the 1800s.This timber mill was one of the reasons the area’s population grew so significantly.
It was the end of the journey for the trees that had been cut by hand with an axe or crosscut saw, hauled by a bullock team to the nearest tramline.
From here it would be mounted on bogies and pulled along the tramline by a horse team onto the line to Bawley Point, which crossed the Willinga Lake on a purpose built bridge 800 metres east of the current road bridge.
At Bawley Point the horse teams usually made two trips a day from Termeil.
The line from Bawley Point to Termeil appears to have been built about the time the mill opened or very soon after as it was already operating in 1893.
The gantry was one of the last remnents of the sawmill which burnt down in 1922.
The Council had been looking at ways to preserve the gantry earlier this year. There were engineered plans to turn it into a fishing platform designed around the structure at a cost of $81 000.
A funding application was applied for in March and if successful, the Shoalhaven Council will consult with the community about what the next step will be.
Many hope the gantry will be resurrected and a Facebook page dedicated to this cause has been created.
The gantry will be a topic of discussion at a meeting of the Bawley Point and Kioloa Community Association on Monday, June 20.
Check out more reader photos of good times on the gantry here:
