Bathurst, New South Wales
Bathurst is a regional city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is about north-west of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Regional Council. Bathurst is the oldest inland settlement in Australia and had a population of approximately 35,000 as at the 2016 Census.
Bathurst Bay
The area was home to the Mutumui and Walmbaria tribes. The British first settled Bathurst Bay sometime in the early-19th Century. The settlement had few tradable goods because of its climate and terrain. The site became important in the mid- to late-19th Century as an anchorage for the pearling fleet, which was discovering valuable oyster pearls. By the 1890s, the pearling fleet was the only reason for continued settlement. The settlement was destroyed on March 4, 1899 when Cyclone Mahina passed through northern Queensland. Cyclone Mahina was notable for producing the highest recorded storm surge of any tropical cyclone in history. The once-abundant forests have not regrown, mainly because of continuing salt damage to the land by the storm surge. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, Bathurst Bay has become a popular fishing area. Few people have settled the bay area.