History of Jones, Boyd Beach & Kiama Downs
European settlement of the area started with James McBrien surveying and mapping the Minnamurra River in April 1825, and the subsequent marking out of land grants.
The 800-acres extending from Bombo Point to Minnamurra River was promised to John Cowell in 1825, then sold to Daniel Cooper in 1834 (James Holt was issued the deeds in trust for Daniel, who was then in England). The property was first called 'Hoolong', and later 'Eureka' when it was bought by Captain Charles, who ran Eureka as a dairy farm.
Captain Samuel Charles brought great wealth to NSW. He was born in Ireland in 1818. He became a ship's master and travelled the world. When he visited NSW he saw potential and started exporting black coal to the US. He married a Kiama girl called Sarah Ann Gray. Samuel settled down on his dairy farm, Eureka, at Kiama Downs to raise his family. His family home is said to have been located on the now Gainsborough Estate. It is at this time that it is thought that he obtained the James Holt grant at Minnamurra. Much of the newly acquired land at Minnamurra was too rough to farm so he made a deal with the Sydney City Council to supply blue metal used for Sydney roads. He received a royalty of £1000/year.
In 1872, Captain Charles, then an alderman, offered to allow a road 40 feet wide through his property from the punt to Kiama. In 1870 the design and specification for a bridge over the Minnamurra River was secured at a cost of £1000, creating an alternative route for traffic that would have formerly travelled via Jamberoo. The second Minnamurra bridge (single lane) was built in 1891 and cost £3000. It remained in use until 1964 when a wider bridge was necessary for modern traffic.
The area between Bombo and Minnamurra was owned by the F(E?).C. Jones and C.S. Boyd families for 70 years, from around the 1890s until it was subdivided. Cyril Boyd was the Mayor of Kiama for seven successive years during the 1930/40s. He was also the Chairman of the Kiama Hospital Board during the 1940s. Boyd’s cow paddock, once known as the Monkey Flat race course, was transformed into a 9-hole golf course in 1933/34 (with cows). In 1957, the course was converted to an 18-hole course (today's Kiama Golf Links).
After the Second World War, Minnamurra village developed from a weekend and holiday resort to a permanent village. Electric street lights were switched on in 1948 and a water supply scheme, at a cost of £13,000, was outlined in 1953.
Around 1960, a new Kiama suburb was created on the land owned by Boyd and Jones, with the subdivision of Kiama Downs between Bombo and Minnamurra by Willmore and Randell, a land development business. Water and electricity were provided for the subdivision, which was developed with Kiama Downs beach as the focal point.
The expansion of housing at Kiama Downs brought demand for more building lots, so from 1970, the old quarry land from the Minnamurra River entrance to Kiama Downs was restored for residential development.
Cathedral Rocks and Boyds Beach (Jones Beach).Date unknown.
'Eureka' Homestead. The house was located on the Gainsborough Estate and was burnt down in the late 1950s/60s.
Boyds farm & beach (Jones Beach). Eureka homestead can be seen in the middle of the photo.
Jones Beach c.1960s. Around the time of the big storms and rough seas
