District history:
The first recorded reference to the district was by George Bass who anchored his 28ft whaleboat in the sheltered bay (now known as Kiama Harbour) in December 1797. Cedar getters were the first to the area, among those was David Smith, who became the first permanent white settler when he built a residence in Kiama in 1832.
The site of Kiama Township was reserved by the Government in 1826 and proclaimed in 1836. Kiama was proclaimed a Municipality in 1859.
In the 1870s the dairying industry was supplemented by basalt (blue metal) quarrying, now one of the district's major income earners alongside tourism.
Kiama Railway station opened in 1893 as part of the first completed stage of the Kiama to Jervis Bay Railway which terminated at Bomaderry (Nowra).
Downtown (Collins Street) history:
Much of this land was bought by William Geoghagen. In 1867 when he bought his first parcel his occupation was given as wharfinger. He later built the terraces facing Collins Street and sold land to the Temperance Hall, now the Masonic Lodge. It is probable that he built No.5 Collins Lane in the 1880s as his home.
The oldest building of the group is the Masonic Temple (1870s).
Nos 42-44 Collins Street was built in the late 1870s to house quarry workers. The terrace No.s 24-40 Collins Street was built in stages during the 1880s. No. 24 was originally an inn, with 26 the inn-keeper's residence; No.s 28-38 housed quarry workers, and No. 40 was originally a post office.
The stone crushing industry began in Kiama in 1871 and by 1880 the Bombo quarry (north of Kiama) was operating.
The Depression and World War II caused the decline and closure of most of the quarries.
Source: New South Wales Heritage Register.
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