Gerringong is a growing community that owes it origin to the small Gerringong Harbour. The open harbour was one of the many hazardous little harbours, which used to service the coastal trade all down the south coast. The aboriginal meaning of the name was 'a fearful place', perhaps referring to the seas. The first of several wrecks occurred in 1842 when all hands were lost. As the town developed in the 1850s the cemetery was placed on the 40 m high northern ridge overlooking this scenic harbour. Today only small fishing boats are launched from the boat ramp, while either side of the ramp is a 120 m long sand and cobble beach (NSW 398), that faces east out of the narrow rocky bay. The beach and harbour are protected from most waves by the southern point and numerous reefs, however waves still surge up the launching ramp. The beach is steep and rocky, while on the northern rocks is a small rock pool, built in the 1900s. The harbour has a car park behind the ramp and a small but shady picnic area behind the seawall next to the beach.
Beach Length: 0.03km
Patrols
There are currently no services provided by Surf Life Saving Australia for this beach. Please take the time to browse the Surf Safety section of this website to learn more about staying safe when swimming at Australian beaches.
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SLSA provides this information as a guide only. Surf conditions are variable and therefore this information should not be relied upon as a substitute for observation of local conditions and an understanding of your abilities in the surf. SLSA reminds you to always swim between the red and yellow flags and never swim at unpatrolled beaches. SLSA takes all care and responsibility for any translation but it cannot guarantee that all translations will be accurate.