The Municipality of Kiama recently celebrated its 150th Anniversary with a number of celebratory events for residents and visitors.
Located 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra region, Kiama has a population of 20,300 people and covers
258 square kilometres.
Council’s anniversary celebrations took place over a week from 4 to 11 August, with the major celebrations kicking off with the 150th Anniversary Ball on Saturday
8 August.
The Kiama Carnival followed on the Sunday. As the anniversary’s key community event,
it featured a street parade with the New South Wales Police Band and Fire Brigade Band,
as well as a range of local organisations.
The major attraction of the day, a 1926 steam train, then puffed its way into Kiama bringing passengers from Sydney and Wollongong, and picking up passengers in Kiama for a return trip to the nearby town of Gerringong.
The carnival also featured a concert in Hindmarsh Park, free horse and carriage rides, a vintage car display and evening fireworks.
Kiama Mayor Sandra McCarthy said the celebrations were a great success, with Council receiving great feedback from residents.
“The Kiama Municipality thrives on its sense of community,” she said. “This became ever so obvious during our celebrations, as residents came out in force to attend and support all the various anniversary events.
“On the morning of our Kiama Carnival, it was wonderfully satisfying to watch crowd numbers increase as more and more people lined the main streets in anticipation of the parade. Even more satisfying was that the majority of people who came to watch the street parade stayed on throughout the day until the fireworks in the evening.
“People made the most of what the day offered – the Black Beach markets, amusement rides, the Navy Seahawk aircraft, the entertainment at the Hindmarsh Park concert, and the various historical displays on the headland and Storm Bay.”
Mayor McCarthy said that in planning its major celebrations, Council delved into the records
kept from its 125th anniversary in 1984.
“It was exciting to find what a previous Council had done to celebrate their milestone and it provided a fantastic guide to what we could do to replicate history – while also coming up with fresh ideas,” she said.
Other events held during the celebratory week included a photo exhibition comparing images of Kiama looked over 100 years ago to how it looks now; a screening of the film, Casablanca, which features costumes designed by local born former resident, John Orry-Kelly; and the Kiama Cup Sports Event, featuring tennis, bowls and golf.
