History - Kiama Municipal Council

Family History Centre

If you are working on a genealogical or local history project and require help or would just like to discover new avenues of research the Kiama Family History Centre is the place to visit.

Explore Kiama's Past

Welcome to our exciting new digital home for our rich collection of historic images, documents and oral histories from the Kiama area. Delve in and see what you discover ...

A collection of more than 50 articles with images about the local history of the Kiama area. From significant natural landmarks, historical buildings, industry, fires and shipwrecks to schools and sports clubs, if there's something you want to know about ...

Kiama Stories: Oral histories

Kiama Stories is an oral history project where you can listen to local stories and help edit computer-generated transcripts. Why not contribute to this great community project and enjoy hearing about life in the Kiama area of decades past?

Walking tours

Take a walk around town and back through time with our Walking Tours app.

Aboriginal Kiama

Aboriginal people of this area are known to be of the Wadi Wadi tribe, and Yuiu tribe. Traditional stories say the Dharawal people brought the Dharawal (cabbage tree palm) with them on arrival at Lake Illawarra, back when their ancestors were animals.

WW1 Commemoration

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War One, we've collected and shared the stories of the men and women of our area who answered the call.

Heritage plaques

Kiama Plaques

Film and video

A variety of videos are available online that are of historical significance to the Kiama area, including a steam train ride to Kiama in the 1900s, and footage of the 2013 storm damage to the area.

Blue Haven - the book

'Blue Haven: History of Kiama Municipality', a book written by William A. Bailey in 1976, describes the history of Kiama and its environs. See it here as an eBook.

Our history in print

In 2000, the Kiama Independent published a 'Millenium supplement' twelve-volume feature about the history of the Kiama municipality.