Coolangatta Estate

The Coolangatta Estate at Shoalhaven Heads was established in 1822 by Alexander Berry on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Coolangatta Estate is located on the northern bank of the Shoalhaven River, in the foothills of a mountain called Coolangatta. The word 'Coolangatta' is from an aboriginal word which means either splendid view or good lookout. The estate today is in a picturesque setting overlooking the ocean and surrounded by vineyards.

Born on St Andrew's Day 1783, the eldest child of a tenant farming family in Fife, he studied at the University of St Andrews and Edinburgh and qualified as a surgeon. This led him to join the East India Company and started his travels to the Far East in 1802.

Berry arrived by sea on 23 June 1822, and while Edward Wollstonecraft looked after affairs in Sydney, proceeded to establish the first European settlement on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia.

The initial grant on the north side of the river soon expanded to the north with the agreement of the partners to take charge and expense of one convict for every 100 acres (40 ha) of land, and by purchases of the grants of Richardson, Hyndes and Burke. The property expanded to more than 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) by 1863.

Berry, who married Wollstonecraft's sister in 1827, set up his headquarters at the foot of Mount Coolangatta, north of the river with tools, provisions and the people who were to make up the first community.

Wollstonecraft died in 1832, but in the years to come, Berry was to be joined by his three brothers and two of his sisters, none of whom had any children.

A self-supporting village began to develop around the settlement. The partners used a combination of convict (referred to by Berry as 'Government Men') and free labour to drain the swamps, grow tobacco, potatoes, maize, barley and wheat and rear pigs and cattle, the latter kept for their hides and the production of milk and cheese. The estate also bred thoroughbred horses which were exported to India. These items were transported by means of a ship that they purchased and a sloop which they had built.

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