Some of the storytellers featured in Narooma Historical Society’s ‘Keeping Stories’ exhibition in the Lighthouse Museum until 11 October: Ben Baddeley, George Loader, Harry Rose, Jimmy Lynch, Gus Cumes, Bertie Martin, Lyndy Drury and Charlie Bettini. Photos: Supplied.
Sharks 20-feet long, an octopus with eight-foot tentacles, and the horse that swam from Barunguba Montague Island to the mainland are some of the stories that Narooma Historical Society is sharing in the current exhibition in the Lighthouse Museum.
Narooma Historical Society president Laurelle Pacey said it had assembled more than a dozen stories to mark the History Council’s theme this year of Keeping Stories.
“The theme encourages us to consider how stories keep history alive, what they tell us about ourselves, and how we keep the stories that matter to our communities,” Ms Pacey said. “Narooma Historical Society members chose the sub-theme Tall Tales and True and selected these stories to share from the many in our community.”
Narooma’s Charlie Bettini, Harry Rose, Bertie Martin, Ben Baddeley, George Loader, Jimmy Lynch, Gus Cumes and Lyndy Drury are among those who have shared stories.
The lightkeepers of Barunguba Montague Island were a treasure trove of stories including sightings of a shark that was more than six metres long.
Captain O’Connor of the SS Cobargo reported that a huge shark of those dimensions followed his ship from Bermagui to Montague Island several times.
There is a gruesome tale of a man lost overboard from a ship and his remains found inside a shark two months later. When the fishermen opened the shark, they found the bone from a man’s leg and a pair of black boots. The boots matched those of the missing man. The story was reported in the Northern Star on 28 April 1925.
Then there is the story of a giant octopus grabbing a billy goat off the rocks that was reckoned to weigh more than 900 kilograms, a huge octopus living east of Montague with tentacles eight foot long, and the “sea serpent” that was spotted north of the island in 1893.
Wood engraving about the Bodalla family by Samuel Calvert published in Illustrated Australian News for home readers, 13 August 1870.
From Bodalla, there is the story of the family swept down the surging Tuross River in the 1870 flood on the roof of their barn. Their cat, dog, a kangaroo, rat, and three snakes had joined them on the voyage. All were subsequently rescued.
With Montague’s lightkeepers instructed to report anything suspicious during WWII, there are also stories of Japanese submarines at the island. In December 1940 they reported two collapsible boats washed ashore on separate days from either German or Japanese submarines. In November 1941 they reported a floating mine.
Japanese submarines regularly surfaced in the shelter of the island to recharge batteries.
According to the exhibition, Japanese and German submarines sank 19 merchant ships off the NSW coast during WWII by torpedo, gunfire or mines, and damaged another 10, with the loss of an estimated 214 lives. “Many were off the south coast, but wartime secrecy meant few civilians knew about it.”
Other stories in the exhibition include Jimmy Lynch’s tall tales, how old Jack Toms outwitted a bookie from Sydney, and Narooma’s fight for a skate park.
The exhibition is in the museum in The Hub, at the former Visitors Information Centre. It runs until 11 October from 7:30 am to 2 pm.
At 10:30 am on Thursday 24 September, Narooma Historical Society member Lynda Ord will talk about Your Story Matters. Please book a seat for this free event at [email protected]
