Moruya, New South Wales
Moruya pronounced ( ), is a town located on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , Moruya had a population of 4,295. Its built up area had a population of 2,762. The town relies predominantly on agriculture, aquaculture, and tourism. Moruya is administered by the Eurobodalla Shire Council and the shire chambers are located in the town. Rural areas around Moruya were affected by the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season. History The South Coast region of New South Wales is the traditional home of the Yuin people, with the area in and around Moruya home to the Bugelli-Manji clan. The name "Moruya" is derived from an Aboriginal Tharawal word () believed to mean "home of the black swan", although this is not probable and not verifiable. Black swans can be seen in the lakes and rivers around Moruya, and the black swan is used locally as an emblem. European settlement commenced in the 1820s following the extension of the limits of location in 1829, although the coast from Batemans Bay to Moruya was surveyed the previous year by surveyor Thomas Florance. The first European settler was Francis Flanagan, a tailor from Ireland, who was granted title to on the north bank of the river at Shannon View in 1829. In 1830, the next settler, John Hawdon, set up a squat at Bergalia, but being beyond the limits, could not gain title to the land. In 1831, though, he was granted land on the north bank of the river, upstream from Flanagan. He called the property Kiora and it also occupied 4 sq mi. A village named after the property soon grew. In 1835, across the river from Flanagan, William Morris squatted a block he called Gundary. William Campbell took up as a manager there and eventually bought the place himself in 1845. The town centre was surveyed in 1850 by surveyor Parkinson and the town was gazetted in 1851. It centred about the track opposite where the road from Broulee terminated at the river bank, the two being linked by a punt. As a blacksmith was on that track, it was named Vulcan Street. Campbell Street owed its name to the squatter, Queen Street to patriotism, and Church Street to the Catholic Church's presence there. Land sales commenced in 1852. Moruya was proclaimed a municipality in 1891. Local industries were timber logging, gold mining, dairying, and quarrying for granite. The first bridge across the Moruya River was erected in 1876, though frequent flooding caused new bridges to be erected in 1900, 1945, and most recently in 1966. During World War II, Moruya aerodrome was used as an advanced operational base. The trawler Dureenbee was attacked offshore between Moruya and Batemans Bay by a Japanese submarine on 3 August 1942. On 25 December 1944, the US liberty ship USS Robert J. Walker was torpedoed off Moruya