Cedar Getters

Red cedar in Kiama was known as 'red gold' among the first European settlers to the Illawarra and Shoalhaven. In the early days of settlement, it was important to work out which local trees would be durable and useful for building ships, buildings and furniture. The trees around Port Jackson weren't very suitable so they moved to the rainforest areas down south and red cedar was discovered to be the best timber.

Red cedar from the South Coast was delivered to Sydney from around 1810. The first 'cedar getters' were usually convicts and ticket-of-leave men, and they were considered the first explorers of the area.

The men had to remove the timber by hand as there were no roads. A series of ladders was erected up the cliff faces on the escarpment to carry the timber up to the tablelands above for transportation to Sydney. The rainforests were thick with vines and creepers, which had to be cleared before the timber could be felled. The 'cedar getters' were the first to clear the brush, enabling tracks for bullock drays and the early settlers to then access the land.

Thomas Hyndes received permission from the government in 1820 to cut and ship cedar from Gerringong.

David Smith was the first European settler in Kiama. He began cedar cutting in 1821 and ultimately became a landowner and respected townsperson. Smith received a land grant in 1832 of 1/2 an acre on the south-west corner of Bong Bong and Manning streets. He built the first permanent house in Kiama, and in 1837 he opened the first hotel (in his house), called the Gum Tree Inn.

Kiama, Gerringong and Shellharbour were the ports for transporting cedar from this area. Kiama had an enormous amount of cedar, which came all the way down the coastline before settlement. In 1926, Kiama was considered to be supplying 9/10 of the cedar being shipped to Sydney. There were often six or more large boats loading cedar and unloading supplies in Kiama Harbour.

The 'cedar getters' continued to flourish through the 1830s, but had moved to northern NSW by the 1850s when supply started to dwindle.

The old road to Kiama through cedar-rich forest. (Photo courtesy Mitchell library)

'Cedar-getters' at their camp

'Cedar-getters' at work on their platforms

Tree-felling platforms, early 1900s

'Cedar-getters' on their platforms, early 1900s

Bullocks and drays transporting cedar in the Illawarra