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Published: December 30th 2022
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Staying on the Coffs Coast was an opportunity to revisit some of the places where we had enjoyed family holidays down through the years. It was also an opportunity to explore some family history.
The family history exploration unfolded into a personal episode from the SBS series of Who Do You Think You Are. We randomly chose to stay at Sawtell Caravan Park, where we discovered on arrival, the Sawtell Historical Society office attached to the Park Office. After noting that the Historical Society was open the next day, we took a drive around Sawtell and Coffs Harbour to check out the beaches, creeks and ocean baths, as we were eager to get in the water. We were a bit nervous about swimming in the ocean in the Ballina area.
First stop the next day was to visit the Historical Society office. The volunteer ladies were very helpful in my search for information about Walter Harvie, my great great grandfather. I was informed that he was the first white settler in the Coffs Harbour region, and is one of their most famous historical figures. There were numerous acknowledgments to his contribution to the region that we could visit:-
- A plaque within the Sawtell Caravan Park where we were staying commemorating Walter Harvie’s first Cedar Logging Camp.
- The Walter Harvie Bridge that links Sawtell and Boambee.
- A plaque in Rotary Park Coffs Harbour that was another of his Cedar Logging camps.
- A enlarged framed photograph of Walter Harvie in the Coffs Harbour Museum
- My great grandfather Walter Harvie Jnr worked on building the breakwalls in Coffs Harbour
The Coffs Harbour Library had even commissioned a booklet on the life of Walter Harvie, and I was able to purchase a copy, which provided a good detail of background on Walter. My grandfather, Edgar Harvie, was born in Bellingen, and not needing much of an excuse to visit this historical village, we set off, hoping to visit the Bellingen Museum. Unfortunately, their opening hours had changed, and the museum was closed. I did however, speak to the volunteer who runs the museum, and she offered to do some research for me on the Harvie family. After walking through the streets and visiting the local markets that happened to be on that day, we settled for lunch at the old Butter Factory.
We next day we visited Coffs Harbour cemetery, and were able to locate the headstones of Walter Harvie and his wife, Anna Harvie formerly Sheils.
Aside from the family history research, with the weather being warm, we swam at South Sawtell Beach, floated down Coffs Creek, floated down Boambee Creek, swam laps in the council pool located within Sawtell Caravan Park, drove to Urunga and walked along the boardwalk to the river entrance, walked along the breakwall out to Mutton Bird Island and climbed to the top of the island, and went to see Mrs Harris Goes to Paris at the historical Sawtell Cinema as part of Kim’s birthday.
It was great to be able to revisit the Coffs Coast, and particularly interesting to be able to complete the family tree on my Mum’s side, and to uncover previously unknown family history.
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