History of Jervis Bay: From Aboriginal Homeland to Naval Base

A Place With Deep Roots

Jervis Bay’s history stretches back far beyond European settlement — tens of thousands of years before Captain Cook sailed past these headlands, Aboriginal people were living on this land, fishing in these waters, and managing the bush that still defines the landscape today.

Understanding the history of Jervis Bay adds depth to a visit. The walking trails, the place names, the naval facilities, the national park boundaries — they all carry stories. This is a brief history of a place that has been valued by every group of people who have known it.

Aboriginal Heritage: The First Tens of Thousands of Years

The Jervis Bay area is the traditional country of the Yuin Nation, and more specifically the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community and the Dhurga-speaking peoples. Archaeological evidence shows continuous Aboriginal habitation of the area for at least 20,000 years, and possibly much longer.

The bay and its surrounds provided an extraordinarily rich environment for the Aboriginal people who lived here. The sheltered waters offered reliable fishing. The rock platforms yielded shellfish — the large shell middens (accumulations of discarded shells) found around the bay’s headlands attest to thousands of years of seafood harvesting. The forests provided game, plant foods, and materials for tools and shelter.

Middens and Rock Art

Shell middens around Jervis Bay are among the most significant archaeological sites on the NSW coast. Some are several metres deep, representing continuous use over thousands of years. They contain not just shells but stone tools, animal bones, and charcoal from cooking fires — a layered record of daily life spanning millennia.

Rock shelters around the bay contain art sites, though their locations are generally not publicised to protect them from damage. The art depicts marine life, human figures, and geometric patterns, connecting to the broader artistic traditions of the South Coast Aboriginal communities.

Land Management

Aboriginal people actively managed the landscape around Jervis Bay through controlled burning. Regular, low-intensity fires cleared undergrowth, promoted new plant growth that attracted game, and maintained the open woodland character of the bush. This practice, maintained over thousands of years, shaped the very landscape that European settlers found when they arrived.

For more on Aboriginal heritage and how to engage with it respectfully during your visit, see our Aboriginal heritage guide.

European Exploration and Early Contact

Cook and the Naming of the Bay

Lieutenant James Cook sailed past Jervis Bay on 25 April 1770 during his first voyage along the east coast of Australia aboard the Endeavour. He noted the bay in his journal but didn’t enter it, instead continuing north.

The bay was subsequently named after Admiral Sir John Jervis, a British naval commander, though exactly when and by whom the name was applied is debated. Some sources credit it to early colonial surveyors in the 1790s.

Early European Exploration

The first detailed European exploration of the bay came in 1791 when Lieutenant Richard Bowen entered Jervis Bay and surveyed its features. Bowen was struck by the bay’s natural harbour potential — its wide entrance, deep water, and sheltered anchorage. Bowen Island, which sits at the bay’s entrance, is named after him.

In 1811, surveyor James Meehan conducted the first land survey of the area around Jervis Bay. He mapped the shoreline and noted the quality of the timber — particularly the tall eucalyptus forests that would soon attract the timber industry.

Early Settlement and the Timber Industry

European settlement around Jervis Bay began in earnest in the 1820s and 1830s, driven primarily by the timber industry. The forests around the bay contained valuable hardwoods — particularly spotted gum and blackbutt — and the sheltered bay provided a convenient loading point for shipping timber to Sydney.

Huskisson, named after the British politician William Huskisson, developed as a small port town during this period. Timber was the economic backbone of the area for decades. Sawmills operated around the bay, and timber ships regularly loaded at the Huskisson wharf.

The Lady Denman, a timber ferry built in Huskisson in 1911, is now the centrepiece of the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum. It was one of many vessels constructed using local timber and craftsmanship.

Impact on Aboriginal Communities

European settlement devastated the Aboriginal communities of the Jervis Bay area. Dispossession from traditional lands, introduced diseases, and violent conflict dramatically reduced the Aboriginal population during the 19th century.

Despite this, Aboriginal people maintained a continuous presence in the area. The Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community, established in the early 20th century on the southern shore of the bay, has maintained connection to country through the colonial period and into the present. This community’s persistence is central to the modern story of Jervis Bay.

The Jervis Bay Territory: A Federal Enclave

One of the more unusual chapters in Jervis Bay’s history involves its constitutional status. In 1915, the Commonwealth Government acquired 73 square kilometres of land on the southern side of Jervis Bay from New South Wales. The reason was practical: the Australian Capital Territory, established for the new national capital of Canberra, was landlocked. The Constitution required that the territory containing the capital have access to the sea.

The Jervis Bay Territory was created to give the ACT its port. In theory, Canberra’s sea access runs through this small patch of coastline 150 kilometres to its east.

In practice, the territory was never significantly developed as a port. Instead, it served primarily naval and military purposes. Today, the Jervis Bay Territory remains a separate federal territory — not part of NSW — administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. Its residents vote in ACT elections and are covered by ACT law.

This unusual arrangement means Jervis Bay has two different jurisdictions sitting side by side: the Jervis Bay Territory (federal land, including Booderee National Park and the naval base) and the surrounding Shoalhaven local government area (NSW). Most visitors never notice the boundary, but it has significant implications for land management and governance.

Naval History

HMAS Creswell

The Royal Australian Navy has been part of Jervis Bay since 1915, when the Commonwealth acquired the territory. The Royal Australian Naval College was established at Captain’s Point on the bay’s southern shore, initially as a temporary wartime measure.

The college, later named HMAS Creswell, became the permanent home of the RAN’s officer training program. Generations of naval officers have been trained here, running sailing dinghies across the bay, conducting drills on the parade ground, and learning navigation in the waters that would later become a marine park.

HMAS Creswell remains operational today. Its heritage buildings, set against the bay with manicured grounds, are occasionally open to visitors during heritage events and open days.

World War II

During World War II, Jervis Bay took on heightened military significance. The bay’s sheltered waters were used for naval exercises and as an assembly point for convoys. Anti-submarine nets were strung across the bay entrance, and gun emplacements were constructed on the headlands — some of their concrete remains are still visible at Point Perpendicular.

A notable WWII connection is the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay, named after the Australian bay. In November 1940, HMS Jervis Bay was escorting a convoy of 37 merchant ships in the North Atlantic when the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer attacked. Captain Edward Fegen ordered the Jervis Bay to engage the vastly superior warship while the convoy scattered. The Jervis Bay was sunk with the loss of 190 crew, including Fegen, but the sacrifice allowed 32 of 37 merchant ships to escape. Fegen was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Post-War Period

After the war, the naval presence continued at HMAS Creswell, though other military facilities were scaled back. A weapons testing range operated at Beecroft Peninsula on the bay’s northern shore for many years, restricting public access to that area. Parts of Beecroft remain defence land today, with limited public access.

Booderee National Park: Land Returned

Creation and Joint Management

The story of Booderee National Park is one of the more significant reconciliation narratives in Australian conservation. The area was originally managed by the Commonwealth as Jervis Bay National Park. In 1992, the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community successfully claimed native title over the park land under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act — one of the earliest successful land rights claims in southeastern Australia.

The park was renamed Booderee (a Dhurga word meaning “bay of plenty” or “plenty of fish”) and placed under a joint management arrangement between the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community and the Director of National Parks. The Wreck Bay community holds the title to the land and leases it back to the Commonwealth for park management.

This arrangement is more than symbolic. The Board of Management has an Aboriginal majority, and traditional ecological knowledge informs park management practices, including the reintroduction of cultural burning.

The Park Today

Booderee covers about 6,300 hectares of land and sea, including some of the most pristine coastal landscapes in southeastern Australia. Its beaches — Murrays Beach, Cave Beach, Greenpatch — are among the finest in the country. The park protects significant remnant vegetation, populations of threatened species, and ongoing Aboriginal cultural heritage.

The Booderee Botanic Gardens within the park showcase native plants and serve as an important conservation and research facility. Walking trails through the park traverse diverse habitats from coastal heath to subtropical rainforest.

For a comprehensive visitor guide, see our Booderee National Park guide.

The Marine Park

Jervis Bay Marine Park was established in 1998, protecting the bay’s waters and marine life. The park covers approximately 214 square kilometres, including the bay itself and adjacent ocean waters.

The marine park is divided into zones with different levels of protection. Sanctuary zones prohibit all fishing and extractive activities. Habitat protection zones allow some recreational fishing but prohibit commercial operations. The zoning was contentious when introduced — local fishers were concerned about losing access — but the marine park has been credited with significant improvements in fish populations and overall ecosystem health.

The clear water, healthy reefs, and abundant marine life that visitors enjoy today are, in part, a direct result of this protection.

Huskisson and the Towns

Huskisson

Huskisson has evolved from a timber port to the main service town for Jervis Bay visitors. The waterfront area has been progressively developed with restaurants, cafes, and tourism facilities, while retaining some of its working harbour character. The Jervis Bay Maritime Museum (housed in the Lady Denman Heritage Complex) tells the area’s maritime history.

Vincentia

Vincentia grew primarily as a residential and holiday home community from the mid-20th century onward. It’s now the largest town in the immediate Jervis Bay area, with supermarkets, shops, and services that support both residents and visitors.

Hyams Beach

Hyams Beach village remains tiny — a few streets of holiday homes and a small general store. Its transformation from quiet backwater to international tourism destination happened largely in the 2000s and 2010s, driven by social media and the “whitest sand” claim.

The Threads That Connect

Jervis Bay’s history isn’t a single story — it’s layers of stories. Aboriginal people have maintained their connection to this country through colonisation, dispossession, and eventually a landmark land rights settlement. European settlers cut the timber, built the towns, and established a naval tradition that continues today. Conservation efforts created the national park and marine park that protect the natural values everyone comes to see.

Walking the trails through Booderee, you’re walking through a managed landscape — first by Aboriginal fire practices over millennia, then by colonial forestry, and now by joint management that attempts to weave these traditions together. The clear water you swim in is protected by the marine park. The kangaroos at your campsite thrive because the bush they live in has been conserved.

Every place has history. Jervis Bay’s is more complex and more interesting than the postcards suggest.