Tuross Head boatshed histories

Tuross Head Histories

The Boatsheds

The Tuross Head boatsheds have enjoyed a long and interes ng history.

Star ng back in the days of early Sydney, Tuross Lake was frequented by coastal luggers that would sail in through a far deeper river mouth and make their way up as far as Turlinjah where they would take on dairy and farm products grown on John Hawdon’s “Kyla” farm and the extensive Bodalla Farm owned by TS Mort that is now the township of Bodalla.

Luggers were being built on the Tuross Lake from local mber to assist in the supply of produce to Sydney . Tuross Head played its part of being a perfect loca on to grow potatoes and the li*le co*age above the boatsheds was the home of the “Potato Overseer” . That co*age was originally the Araluen Police Sta on and was moved to Tuross in the late 1800’s The boatsheds have had many lives and witnessed many floods. The boatsheds have evolved from storing fishing gear to now providing excellent waterfront meals

Laing’s famous fleet of hire boats—photo by Doug Ingram The Tuross Head boatshed histories

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The Red Box Co'age The photo below taken in 1938 shows four sheds

On the le is the boatshed, home and garage of Mr Aileff. The Aileffs had a service sta on in Goulburn and moved to the coast The big garage fronted the laneway at the top of the block with large double doors. The garage contained their drop pit toilet.

To the right of Aileff's house and boatshed is a shed and deck owned by Royd. These two blocks were to become the Red Box Co'age.

1938 from the North looking at the Red Box boat shed

Winton bought the house and then Royd's shed.

He was a fisherman and sold fish and prawns he caught from a small shop he constructed in the area that was the old garage. Adjacent to this shop (now the Red Box cafe kitchen) he had his large freezer which is now the concreted carport of the Red Box Cafe.

Winton sold to Ron Valen ne who owned the Tern Inn at the me. Ron used the coolroom for his milk run and had his son living in the house. A>er selling the Tern Inn and the milkrun, Ron and Phyliss Valen ne se*led into the home and began preparing fish and chips from the small top building. They were the first to offer any cooked food in the boatshed bay.

Though not officially allowed, Ron con nued to sell fish and chips and was one day given the "go ahead" to keep on with his business by a council building inspector. The permission had been given correctly or otherwise, and from this the gates opened for others to follow.

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The Red Box Co'age The property was then sold to Barrie Hansson who transformed the shop area into a wood fired pizza kitchen for take-away and for lake side enjoyment on tables by the water. Barrie painted the kitchen block red and named it the Red Box living in the renovated house below.

Barrie established the pizza café with his hallmark quality gourmet pizzas that had people come from far and wide seEng the standard for the pizza’s known of the Red Box to follow.

In 2008 Barrie sold to Steve and Deb who traded it as a very successful pizza café con nuing on with quality food before leasing the business. In 2012 the pizza shop closed and kitchen ceased. The house is now a holiday rental co*age by the water while the commercial kitchen is undergoing renova ons.

Red Box 2008

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The Red Box Co'age

Above and below—looking south towards the southern end of the Tuross Head boat shed bay Top shows Aileff’s house and boatshed in the background - Albert Laing with a flathead Below shows the old slipway boatshed before it was extended.

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Pickled Octopus Cafe

The two sheds on the right hand side above were owned by Eric Baulch. These two blocks were to become the Pickled Octopus Café .

Over the years Eric established a boat hire business however lost his boats during the war when all the hire and private boats were hidden for the war years in channels up the river where they eventually ro*ed.

Meanwhile the two sheds next door owned by Baulch sold to Tony and Laurel Mackenzie. The white one to the right fell over with the push of a hammer and the other remained on the double block un l it was sold to Lynch in 1995.

In the early 1990’s The Lynchs' constructed the new two story besser and cladding building on the double block and opened it as the Lakeview Cafe in 1995 serving coffee and takeaways. Lynch built the first evolu on of the building with it's small verandah overlooking the lake.

The Fergusons then bought the property in 1997 opening it as The Pickled Octopus Café and extended the upper and lower decks and closing in the verandah to make it weather proof.

Pickled Octopus Café 2008 The Tuross Head boatshed histories

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"The Boatshed"

The Tuross “Boatshed” is one of the best known of the famous NSW South Coast boatsheds and has been an icon for genera ons of visitors to Tuross Head for boat hire, fishing tackle and food by the lake "The Boatshed" was originally built by Howell a>er 1938 however he and his partner Fred Davis had boats on the lake for hire from 17th Dec 1925 onwards. Comprising of local hardwood the Boatshed was built to withstand the harsh saltwater condi ons and lake floods. Originally the business was to service the local fishermen and their boats, with an internal rail dry-dock and marine workshop.

Howell sold to Hedley Marks and Eric Ryall who both lived in Jutland Avenue Ryall and Marks sold to Nossiter in the late 1950’s Mr Nossiter understood the need for more facili es and saw the first poten al for tourism services on the lake. He had the first sign wri ng put on the front of the building, calling it Nossiter's Boatshed & Fishermans store.

At the store they carried a range of fisherman's tackle, bait and provided freezing facili es for fish caught in the lake. Fuel was also introduced as the new boats had outboard motors and it made sense to provide fuel on the lake to service them. S ll providing a marine workshop Nossiter's Boatshed became the hub of the Tuross Lake. Further development in the business as the years rolled passed was the provision of hire boats and at the me Nossiter's Boatshed had the largest Fleet of hire boats on the South Coast.

Nossiter's Boatshed was eventually sold and over the next half a century remained virtually unchanged, other than for newer boats, passing through many memorable names, un l the 1990's when the café came into existence to cater for the increasing demand for more facili es for the growing Tourist trade.

Nossiter sold to Bruce Rainbow Bruce Rainbow sold to Arthur Blacker Arthur Blacker sold to Tony Mackenzie in 1976 Tony Mackenzie sold to Lynch 1995 Lynch sold to Hooks in 1999 Hooks sold to the O'Brien's 2001 O'Brien's sold to Anderson 2011 to present •

John and Janine Suthern leased the buildings in 2009 trading as the Tuross Boatshed and Café

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Shannon and Casey leased the Boatshed, lower building and other sheds in September 2014 trading as the Tuross Boatshed and Café The Tuross Head boatshed histories

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Le>: the first image we have of the Howell’s “Boatshed” in the distance circa 1938

Early 1950's - the “Boatshed” owned

by Ryall and Marks To the right of the “Boatshed” is the li*le shed first built

by Milner.

Early 1950's looking south to the Boatshed

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"Nossiter’s Boatshed"

Nossiter's Boatshed : This photo was taken in 1957. The people in the boat are: Mr Harold Nossiter, Robert Corfield, Ben Nossiter, Mr Bill Corfield and Howard Corfield. - photo courtesy of Robert Dalziel

1963 - Nossiter's Boats sign

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"Nossiter’s Boatshed" The name of Maurice Bramley is of special interest to discerning collectors of Australian comic books.

This New Zealand-born illustrator came to comics quite late in his career, but proved a proliďŹ c and talented comic ar st during the twilight years of Australian comics during the late 1950s and early-tomid 1960s Maurice was always using his wife Dell and the other Tuross locals as drawing models.

In some of his war themed comics Maurice Bramley depicted Mr Nossiter of Nossiters Boatshed as a sea captain

Nossiter's 1963

Mr Nossiter

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"Blacker’s Boatshed"

Arthur Blacker

Mr and Mrs Blacker (right)

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"Mackenzies’s Boatshed"

Tim Kilbourne and Tony Mackenzie

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“Terry and Deb O'Brien’s Boatshed”

Muffy the cat: Muffy was the longest boatshed resident of all living for 21 years by the lake watching thousands on thousands of visitors arrive and leave, experiencing floods and storms and all the me just happy for a fish or two if they were spare and the occasional pat

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“The Tuross Boatshed & Café “ 2009 - Sept 1st 2014 Whilst the buildings were owned by O’Briens and then Anderson, John and Janine Suthern took over the lease of the boatshed in 2009 and renamed it the Tuross Boatshed and Café in line with what all the locals called it for years.

The business was quickly analysed and segregated into different sec ons, hire boats, fishing tackle, marine workshop and café. A further sec on was then added to cater for surfing and diving equipment missing from the area, each offering a different specialised tourism experience.

John and Janine Suthern The Tuross Boatshed has become a NSW state a*rac on and is marketed to both intrastate and interstate visitors. As one of the major a*rac ons within the Tuross, Coila and the Eurobodalla combined with the natural beauty and tranquillity of the lake The Boatshed significantly contributes to the visitor's tourism experience within the South Coast Area.

The Tuross Boatshed Sept 1st 2014 - to present Shannon and Casey have taken over the lease of the Tuross Boatshed and Cafe

Shannon and Casey The Tuross Head boatshed histories

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Laing's Boatshed Mr Albert Laing came to Tuross Head on long service leave from the City of Sydney Fire brigade. It was during the war years and he camped for three months at Lavender Point fishing and prawning. His son Jim came down for a weeks holiday during this me. Over the following years the Laings enjoyed holidays in Tuross and one year they saw that Tiedemann’s boatshed was being auc oned.

In those days only one shed was built on the site (the original shed is s ll there - being the southern "half" of the boastshed. The property failed to reach its reserve price however the Laings (Snr and Jnr) were the highest bidders on the day. As they drove through Moruya back to Sydney they called into Kings Real Estate and le> a further £50. They were contacted a week later to be informed their offer had been accepted.

At the me Alan Baulch (Eric's father) was leasing the boatshed from Tiedemann for £10 per year and the Laings allowed him to con nue using it for several years more. Baulch was mainly prawning Coila Lake and taking out tons of prawns. One night Laing Snr went prawning with Baulch. There was the sound of an approaching storm with rumbling that soon revealed itself as millions of prawns running.

The volume of prawns being caught in Coila in the 1950's was staggering.

Jim Laing at this me was s ll working with an engineering company in Mascot and didn't manage to permanently come to Tuross un l 1960.

One year the Coila Lake entrance opened and the prawns escaped to move en-mass down the coast and come back into Tuross Lake. That was a bumper summer for boat hire.

Albert Laing

Jimmy Laing The Tuross Head boatshed histories

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Le>: The Swan Tiedemann's launch 1928

Below: Tiedemann's Launches August 1928

Below: Tuross Boatsheds 1938

Le>: Joan Murray, Roger and Pauline Berriman in a Baulch hire boat 1948

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Laing's Boatshed

The original boatshed as it was when ďŹ rst bought by the Laings.

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Laing's Boatshed

Above: 1966 - note new Holden HD sta on wagon - the boatshed is in two sec ons - the righthand sec on is the original Tiedemann shed - the le> hand side is the addi on built by Laings. The house above was built in the late 1950's with the house extension and double garage added a few years later

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Laing's Boatshed

1959 - the new eet of Laing's rental boats arrives in Tuross Head - the eet was built up over two years, 1958 and 1959 The boats remained in service un l the 1990's remaining unused at dock un l 2008.

The boats were a famous drawcard for Tuross Head and have been photographed and painted for decades ed up at Laing's je*y.

Sheryl Miller

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Laing's Boatshed

2008

2010

The last remaining Laing boat leaving the boatshed Nov 9th, 2010. Its new owners, Andersons Boatshed at Booker Bay, are intending restoring it back to working order and puEng it back on hire.

Jim Laing , long me Tuross resident, boatshed owner, absolute character and true gentleman passed away July 23rd, 2010 The Tuross Head boatshed histories

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Farmers Boatshed Originally built by Hart who was a local plumber this building, it's boatshed and slip and je*y was then owned by Harold Black, a Tuross builder. The house was sold to Farmers in 1977.

The original access to this house was via Laings property via the je*y however a long drive was later put in place that accessed Trafalgar Road.

Above: In this photo is Harold Black, Jim Laing and one of Harold's grandaughters.

Harold was the next door neighbour at what is now the Farmer co*age and boatshed.

2008 The Tuross Head boatshed histories

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Tuross Marine Rescue Shed

VRA Sheds 1989

Opening Day Nov 6th, 1994

VRA Shed 1993

THMR 2014

VRA Shed July 2009 The Tuross Head boatshed histories

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