Bega, New South Wales
Bega, New South Wales
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2032058

Bega, New South Wales

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2032058

Bega, New South Wales

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Bega, New South Wales

Bega (/bɡə/) is a town in the south-east of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bega Valley Shire. It is considered the economic and commercial centre of the Bega Valley.

One claim is that the place name Bega is derived from a local Thawa word meaning "big camping ground". Another claim is that it is a corruption of the word "bika" from one of the local Yuin–Kuric languages, meaning "beautiful". The local Aboriginal name for Bega before colonisation was Worerker.[what language is this?]

The Bega region was inhabited by the Yuin people for thousands of years before Europeans arrived in the area. The clan whose country occupied the Bega vicinity were called the Worerkerbrim mitte.

Bega lies at the foot of Mumbulla Mountain, named after a Yuin elder King Jack Mumbulla, whose traditional Aboriginal name is Biamanga. The surrounding National Park is named after him as Biamanga National Park.

The first European to come near the area was George Bass, who explored the region's coastline in December 1797 as part of his broader explorations of the Australian coast. William Tarlinton was the first European to explore the area on foot, arriving in 1829. He returned in the early 1830s and settled there, starting a cattle farm. Others who arrived in the area around the same time were the Imlay brothers, who also began farming there. Their name has since been preserved in the form of Mount Imlay National Park. Live cattle were transported to Sydney for a time, to be supplemented by tallow and hides in the early 1840s. Beef and dairy farming were carried on in the area through the 1840s, and many towns were surveyed in the 1850s.

The town of Bega itself was laid out and gazetted in December 1851. Located to the north of its present location, repeated flooding later resulted in its relocation to the higher ground south of the river. Dairy farming expanded in the region quickly throughout the 1860s, overtaking cattle farming as the predominant industry. In 1858, Tathra was used as a port for the transport of products to Sydney, and the Illawarra Steam Company was established. In 1861–62, Tathra Wharf was constructed, which allowed for the further growth and expansion of the dairy industry.

The region received a further boost in the late 1870s when gold was discovered in the Bermagui area. The Bermagui gold rush followed quickly in 1880. Two years later, in 1882, the Municipality of Bega was created. The Bega Dairy Cooperative Limited was set up in the late 1890s.

Bega is now well known for its cheese which is manufactured by the food and drinks company Bega Group. Their products are exported around the world and distributed across Australia and are available in most supermarkets and general stores.

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