Nelligen Heritage Area

Nelligen was once a busy port servicing Braidwood's farming district and the Araluen goldfields. It pre-dates Batemans Bay. The track over the Clyde Mountain was built mid 1850's. Ships landed passengers and supplies and returned with cargoes of wool, gold, timber and produce for Sydney. By 1860 Nelligen boasted a large warehouse, four hotels, two stores, two blacksmiths, baker and a police watchhouse. As gold mining waned, timber dominated Nelligen's shipping. Its days as a port ended in the early 1950's. Stroll along the waterfront and imagine the activity with steamers arriving twice a week and horse and bullock teams conveying goods to and from Braidwood. The punt across the river opposite operated from 1875 until the bridge opened in 1964. The dead tree near the bridge is where bushrangers Thomas and John Clarke were supposedly chained while waiting to board ship for Sydney in 1869 to stand trial for murder. Walk up historic Braidwood Street, past the surviving historic buildings and cenotaph to the former Catholic Church (1896).