Take a walk through 150 years of extraordinary economic and social change. This heritage tour covers ~1.5 km of easy walking.
In the 1850s Moruya was buzzing – after a slow start, the town took off with the Gold Rush. People and money flowed into the region – and bushrangers too! Moruya became a regional centre.
But Moruya is perhaps better known for a different rock – its granite, most famously used in the Harbour Bridge, but also in polished columns for some of Sydney’s most majestic buildings. And many of Moruya’s stately buildings too.
Granite mining set Moruya apart, raising its status in Sydney and bringing more people and investment. Middle-class neighbourhoods developed, a “civic” precinct was established and the Moruya Examiner newspaper was born. In 1906, Moruya was proclaimed as the seat of the new Eurobodalla Shire.
By the 1920s tourism started to take off, fueled by the new Federal Capital in Canberra, the post-war boom and the arrival of the automobile. This breathed new life into Moruya’s many hotels, the Amusu movie theatre started up and commerce thrived.
Start your journey at the Moruya Museum on 85 Cambell St. The year is 1875, the Gold Rush is in full swing and granite mining is starting to kick off.
Fnd out more in this fascinating book:
Who’s been living in my Moruya Street?
by Shirley Jurmann






Moruya Museum 75 Campbell St

① Emmott House
Built 1875 by Moruya store owner Abraham Emmott. This unique duplex is the first sign of residential expansion away from the hubub of Vulcan St. No 77 now operates as a cafe and shop, No 75 houses the Moruya Museum . . more
② Stonemason’s Lathe
Made 1881 in Aberdeen, this rare Victorian-era machine was used to turn Moruya granite into beautiful polished columns for some of Sydneys most majestic buildings. Displayed in Museum grounds . . . more
⑤ The Moruya Examiner
56-8 Campbell St Built 1913, by Robert Henry Harvison (owner of the Moruya Examiner). Federation Italianate style, granite construction rarely used in domestic building. The Examiner was previously in Harvison’s auctioneer rooms on Page St. These new buildings herald the paper’s rising influence.
⑥ Lawyer’s Cottage

54 Campbell St Built late 1920s, attractive interwar cottage. Early use as a dental surgery, then became a private home, now a lawyer’s office. Replaced a 2-story general store and residence run by the Kee Chong family.
Campbell Street was a mixed residential-business precinct, occupied by a rising middle class.
POST & Telegraph – A New Civic Precinct
⑦ Post & Telegraph Office
52 Cambpell St Built 1887, this was the second Post Office in Moruya. Telegraph office added 1926. Late-Victorian Filigree architecture of refinement reflects the importance of postal services in an era of growing prosperity.
The PO established a new “civic” precinct on higher ground, envisaged as the long-term commercial centre.
⑩ Page Street Residences
⑪ St Johns Church & Rectory
15 Page St Built 1891, designed by renowned colonial architect Arthur Blacket. Brick & stone with slate roof , Victorian Gothic style. Replaced an original wooden church built in1861. Stonework by Henry Ziegler, stonemason and quarryman.
Rectory built 1870-74, granite stone rendered on the outside. Hall built 1903, used for Sunday school and meetings.
⑱ Sacred Heart Catholic Church
36 Queen St Built 1887-88, Victorian Gothic, granite and sandstone construcytiondesigned by Sydney architects Sheerin & Hennessy. Stonework by Henry Ziegler, stonemason and quarryman.
Extensive grounds house the St Mary’s Catholic School and until 1996 the Convent of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. The convent building is now used for parish and school administration.
Queen Street was the original commercial centre of Moruya. This gradually shifted to Vulcan Street as the town grew.
㉒ Mylott’s Bakery
57-9 Queen St Built 1932, by Paddy Mylott, local baker. The building has been modified but some fine 1930s detailing remains – leadlight windows, period tiling and unpainted brickwork. Used by the Mylott family as a bakery outlet for over seventy years.
Now the Commonwealth Bank.
Vulcan Street – the NEW Commercial Heart

Vulcan St had been the domain of many pubs in the Gold Rush, but it was Emmott’s Beehive Store that ushered a new era, making Vulcan St the commercial heart. The rest is history . . .
Vulcan Street was named after the premises of the blacksmith’s
James Gee – located near the river behind the boatshed.
㉓ Court House and Police Precinct
65 Vulcan St Built 1879-80. Victorian Italianate, designed by James Barnet of the Colonial Architects Office. Painted and rendered brickwork with timber balustrades and columns.
A prominent building, it reflects the Colonial Architect’s grand concepts for major regional centre public buildings.
The Police Station is adjacent, and the locke-up keepers residence is at the rear read more . . .
㉕ Moruya Bridge & Boatshed

The current bridge was built in 1966, and is the fourth on this site. The first was built in 1876. The second opened in 1900 and but was destroyed in the 1945 floods. A “temporary” replacement was built, finally replaced by the current bridge over 20 years later!
The River was the lifeblood of Moruya’s economy, providing the main transport route for produce, timber, gold and granite. The journey through the Moruya Heads was treacherous and many lost their lives.
㉛ Beehive store – now Harris Scarfe
64 Vulcan St In 1862, Abraham Emmott founded the Beehive Store on this site. The Beehive was the centre of the town’s commercial activity. Emmott sold the Beehive in 1927, but the buyer continued to trade under the Emmott name until the 1970’s when it became Fosseys, then Grace Brothers, then J.B. Youngs and then Allens and currently it is Harris Scarfe.
. Current building dates from 1959.
㊱ pINK gATES
The Pink Gates were originally at one of the two original entrances to the showground. These replica gates now mark a walk through the golf course to the showground.
The present showground dates from 1914 having moved from its riverside location near the current bowling club site. The first show in 1879 was held on land at the corner of Murray and Evans Street.
Acknowledgments