The Killalea State Park has been embroiled in controversy from 2007 since a private resort (Killalea Eco-Resort backed by Babcock and Brown and Mariner Financial) was proposed to take over much of the public land.
It has united environmentalists, local Wodi-wodi Kooris, surfers, local Shellharbour and Shell Cove residents, the Greens, community activists, members of the Killalea family, and even people from overseas (check out the facebook place ’save killalea’)
;
Did you know that gold was found on Shellharbour beaches?
Killalea Beach is named after Edward Killalea who had a property right next to the beach. He was from Kiltormer, Galway in Ireland and was transported as a convict on the ‘Surprise’ in 1836. He was one of the ‘Kiltormer Four’ see here
http://seankenny.ie/heritage/
Like many ex-convicts Edward Killalea survived and prospered.
At Killalea Beach there was a successful gold panning business conducted for two years by Edward Killalea and Thomas Reddall(after who Reddall Parade along Lake Illawarra is named)from 1868. Mr Killalea was paid ten shillings a month by other leasees involved in the gold panning of the sand.
Edward Killalea was elected as an alderman on Shellharbour council and was a director of the Shellharbour Steam Navigation Company and died an untimely death in 1872.
The story was that he died of strychnine while drinking heavily at the Commercial Hotel in Wollongong. The Killalea family do not record this event in their history, see
http://members.speedweb.com.au/thore/killaleaedward.htm
merely referring to it as ‘untimely’.
However a more colourful version can be found here.
http://www.slackycreek.fcpages.com/Edward_Killalea_.htm
which has this detail
“An autopsy was conducted on his body in the hotel with his stomach, kidneys and bladder removed and placed in jars for examination.
The coroner came to the decision that Killalea “came to his death by strychnine, taken by him whilst labouring under the effects of excessive drinking.”
The Fraser family bought the farm from the Killaleas in 1923 and it became known as ‘The Farm’; to local surfers after Imperial Chemical Company planned to turn it into a industrial park were shelved and it became a State Recreation Area in 1969. Most Shellharbour people would not know that Killalea Lagoon used to be known as Moles Lagoon. The area is also important to local Koori families and there is plenty of evidence of occupation at this site for many thousands of years, including the stone age midden, or garbage pit, used at Bass Point continuously over 17,000 years.
<
Edward Killalea third from right
http://members.datafast.net.au/thore/killalea.htm
http://www.savekillalea.com.au/index.htm
Some other shots of Killalea beach through the years
Lookng from the Seaview farm to Shellharbour 1917
Killalea in the 1930s
Killalea beach in 1971
Killalea Beach and State Park in 2008.
Thanks so much for this historical blog. Its very informative, lots of work involved in research and Kiama is fortunate to have such high quality historians. This blog publication is very much appreciated.
Hi Sandra, I am a Descendant of Edward Killalea. I noted your comments regarding the demise of Edward. He did die from taking Rat Poison. My Cousin Leanne Kellalea (Melbourne) has been doing the Killalea Family Tree for nearly 30 yrs. Leanne sent me the Court Transcripts from Wollongong Court regarding Edwards death & the interview with the Hotel Owner (Edward was staying at the Hotel in Wollongong on route from Sydney to Shell Harbour). The witnesses went into great detail of the slow painful death of Edward. He was drunk & the Court’s decision was that he had a bottle of Rat Poison near his bed & accidently drank it because of his enebriated state. Leanne also told me Edward never owned ‘The Farm’ he was only Leasing it. If you could please update your comments.
Regards
Pamela
Hi Pamela,
Sandra doesn’t not conduct this blog, but I do. I speak to Leanne from time to time re the Save Killalea Alliance, and I am a regular reader of the Killalea site (especially the Media Index!). Checking it today it does confirm the Killaleas were leasing the Darcy Estate(while owning four parcels of land elsewhere)
To quote http://members.speedweb.com.au/thore/killaleaedward.htm
“Although it is still not known exactly where Edward and Maria lived in the Illawarra district from 1847 to 1867, all their children were born at Shellharbour with the exception of Thomas who was born at Wollongong. The Electoral Rolls are published from 1867 and Edward is found having a leasehold on the “Darley Estate”, Shellharbour – this being the place where they lived and probably had lived for some considerable years until his death in 1872″
“Edward Killalea was also the owner of 4 parcels of land, although I do not believe that the family lived on them. They were located at Jamberoo, Kiama and Foxground. Edward stated that he lived at Shellharbour when he bought and sold these allotments of land. There is much information to support my belief that he lived at Shellharbour from about 1848 or even as early as his arrival in 1836.”
I work at the Pilot’s Cottage Museum in Kiama and we have a copy of the ‘Killalea’ history which is the history of the park as another source. I thought the photo was interesting because Leanne said she had never seen a photo of gold-panning at Killalea. We keep it as part of our archives at the Pilot’s Cottage.
The point in this story re the land is the transfer of the land from the Killaleas to the Frasers not the precise legal terminology used at the time.
Hi, Many thanks for responding to my email & thank you & everyone concerned from all Killalea Descendants Past/Present/Future for trying to stop any Development within ‘The Farm Estate’. It is part of Shell Harbour & the Illawarra District History. Governments/Councils/Developers would love to carve it up the same as Shell Cove. Building houses on ‘The Farm’ puts money in peoples pockets & not for the right reasons. Once Developed that part of Shell Harbours History has gone forever……The fact we do not know where Edward Killalea is buried is most unfortunate. Leanne Kellalea said that the Headstones from all the Graves in the original Cemetery were removed to another Cemetery. Her thoughts are the Remains/bodies – are still under the Shell Harbour Caravan Park !!
Regards
Pamela Richards