Bulli

Bulli is a town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. It sits near the middle of the Illawarra region, north of Wollongong and south of Thirroul. Bulli is derived from an Aboriginal word signifying "double or two mountains".

Originally inhabited by Wodi Wodi Aborigines, European wood cutters worked in the area from about 1815.The area was once abundant is Red Cedars, these now are still seen but thinly. The first permanent European settler was Cornelius O'Brien, who established a farm in 1823.

Bulli Beach Tourist Park has taken full advantage of its location with a variety of on-site cabins with varandahs overlooking beautiful Bulli Beach. Bulli Beach Tourist Park provides quality accommodation facilities without breaking the bank account. The attractive setting provides holidaymakers with a wonderful opportunity to swim, surf or relax on one of the city's renowned beaches.

On-site accommodation available at Bulli Beach Tourist Park ranges from the roomy beachfront Pacific View and Seaview cabins through to the Standard ensuite cabins and Bungalows. Alternatively you could bring your own accommodation, either caravan or tent.

Bulli is approximately 60 minutes drive south of Sydney airport, and only 15 minutes north of the Wollongong CBD.

The old coalmining village of Bulli, now considered a northern suburb of Wollongong, is located 70 km south of Sydney via the Princes Highway.

When Captain James Cook sailed up the eastern coast of Australia in 1770 a number of people aboard the Endeavour recorded their impressions of the shoreline. It is from the journals of the ship's botanist, Joseph Banks, that we have a description of what Bulli looked like before Europeans had even set foot on it:

'The country today again made in slopes to the sea...The trees were not very large and stood separate from each other without the least underwood; among them we could discern many cabbage trees but nothing else which we could call by any name. In the course of the night many fires were seen.

Originally inhabited by the Wodi Wodi Aborigines the first Europeans in the area were escaped convicts. On a more official note, the small sailing boat of explorers George Bass and Matthew Flinders overturned at Towradgi just to the south of Bulli in 1796 and they encountered large numbers of Aborigines in awkward circumstances.

The name 'Bulli' derives from an Aboriginal word thought to signify 'two mountains'. It was used from 1815 to describe the area from Bulli south to Mt Keira. That year Charles Throsby opened up the Illawarra to settlement when he hacked a path down the slopes of the Bulli mountain in search of pasture for his cattle.

Cedar-getters had been inf the Illawarra since 1812 and were to be found in the Bulli area by 1815. They cut the timber where it fell and carted it to the beach for shipment to Sydney, or hauled it up the Bulli pass for transportation by bullock train to Parramatta.

Bulli Beach is a popular surfing spot. The northern tip (Sandon Point) is a venue for regular surfing competitions.

Bulli's main historical feature is the railway station, situated between the escarpment and the surf beaches. The station was the first on the south coast and contains a museum which is open every Sunday.

Another historic feature is the Bulli Heritage Hotel, which was opened in 1889.

The Illawarra Grevillea Park is an arboretum and botanic garden which opened in 1993. It houses the repository or Living collection of the Grevillea Study Group of the Australian Plants Society (previously SGAP). It is a botanic garden containing plants native to Australia - its collections include grevilleas, prostantheras and Rainforest Plants. Staffed and run by volunteers, it is open 6 weekends a year.

Behind the Illawarra Grevillea Park is Slacky Flat Park which is home to some reasonably undisturbed remnant rainforest and numerous species of native birds and marsupials.