Bega, New South Wales facts for kids
Quick facts for kids BegaNew South Wales |
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Panorama of Bega and the Bega Valley
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 Bega
Location in New South Wales
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| Population | 4,368 (2021 census) | ||||||||
| Established | 1851 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2550 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 51 m (167 ft) | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Bega Valley Shire | ||||||||
| County | Auckland | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Bega | ||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Eden-Monaro | ||||||||
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Bega (pronounced bee-gah) is a lovely town in the south-east of New South Wales, Australia. It's located in the Bega Valley Shire. Bega is an important centre for business and farming in the whole Bega Valley area.
Contents
What Does the Name Bega Mean?
The name Bega might come from an old Aboriginal word. Some people say it means "big camping ground." Others believe it comes from "bika," which means "beautiful" in the local Aboriginal language. This language is one of the Yuin languages. Before European settlers arrived, the local Aboriginal name for Bega was Worerker.
Bega's History and Growth
For thousands of years, the Bega region was home to the Yuin-Monaro Aboriginal people. The specific group living near Bega was called the Worerkerbrim mitte.
Bega sits at the base of Mumbulla Mountain. This mountain is named after a respected Yuin elder, King Jack Mumbulla. His traditional Aboriginal name was Biamanga. The nearby Biamanga National Park is also named in his honour.
Early European Explorers and Settlers
The first European to explore the coast near Bega was George Bass in 1797. Later, in 1829, William Tarlinton was the first European to explore the land on foot. He returned in the early 1830s to start a cattle farm. Other settlers, like the Imlay brothers, also began farming there. You can still see their name in Mount Imlay National Park.
At first, live cattle were sent to Sydney. Later, products like tallow (animal fat) and hides were also sent. Beef and dairy farming grew throughout the 1840s. Many towns in the area were planned out in the 1850s.
The Town of Bega Develops
The town of Bega was officially planned in December 1851. It was first built north of its current spot. But because of repeated floods, the town was moved to higher ground south of the river.
Dairy farming quickly became the main industry in the 1860s. It took over from cattle farming. In 1858, Tathra became a port to ship products to Sydney. The Illawarra Steam Company was started to help with this. The Tathra Wharf was built in 1861–62. This helped the dairy industry grow even more.
Gold Rush and Modern Bega
The region got another boost in the late 1870s when gold was found near Bermagui. This led to a gold rush in 1880. Two years later, in 1882, the Municipality of Bega was formed. The Bega Dairy Cooperative Limited was set up in the late 1890s.
Today, Bega is famous for its delicious cheese. Bega Cheese is made by The Bega Co-operative Society Limited. It's one of Australia's biggest cheese companies. Their cheese is sold all over Australia and exported worldwide.
Important Buildings in Bega
Two important local landmarks are the Bega Court House and Rosevear Jeweller's shopfront. Both are listed on the Register of the National Estate. The courthouse was built in 1881. It has brick walls and iron roofs. The Rosevear shop, on Carp Street, opened around 1899. It's a great example of Victorian commercial design.
A modern addition to Bega is the Sapphire Marketplace. This shopping mall opened on December 2, 2011, after many years of planning.
Heritage-Listed Places
Bega has several sites that are important for their history. These are called heritage-listed sites. One example is:
- 21 Auckland Street: CBC Bank Building
Who Lives in Bega?
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1921 | 1,933 | — |
| 1933 | 2,277 | +17.8% |
| 1947 | 2,856 | +25.4% |
| 1954 | 3,518 | +23.2% |
| 1961 | 3,858 | +9.7% |
| 1966 | 3,925 | +1.7% |
| 1971 | 4,159 | +6.0% |
| 1976 | 4,253 | +2.3% |
| 1981 | 4,388 | +3.2% |
| 1986 | 4,294 | −2.1% |
| 1991 | 4,202 | −2.1% |
| 1996 | 4,190 | −0.3% |
| 2001 | 4,385 | +4.7% |
| 2006 | 4,537 | +3.5% |
| 2011 | 4,155 | −8.4% |
| 2016 | 4,141 | −0.3% |
| 2021 | 4,368 | +5.5% |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics data. | ||
The 2021 Australian census counted 5,013 people living in Bega.
- About 6.7% of the people were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
- Most people (82.3%) were born in Australia. The next largest group (2.2%) was born in England.
- About 87.3% of people spoke only English at home.
- For religion, 43.8% said they had no religion. Anglican was 17%, and Catholic was 16.8%.
Bega's Climate
Bega has a mild oceanic climate. This means it has mild to warm summers and cool winters. Foehn winds are common. Nights are cool all year because Bega is in a valley and in a southern part of Australia. Frost often happens in winter.
Bega gets about 85 clear days each year. Most of these are in winter and spring. The temperature can change a lot between day and night, especially from mid-winter to early spring. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -8.1°C on July 16, 1970.
| Climate data for Bega (Newtown Road, 1907–1994, rainfall 1879–2022); 50 m AMSL; 36.69° S, 149.84° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 44.5 (112.1) |
42.3 (108.1) |
41.0 (105.8) |
33.9 (93.0) |
29.1 (84.4) |
23.3 (73.9) |
27.5 (81.5) |
28.3 (82.9) |
36.6 (97.9) |
35.7 (96.3) |
43.1 (109.6) |
43.8 (110.8) |
44.5 (112.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27.0 (80.6) |
27.0 (80.6) |
25.7 (78.3) |
23.0 (73.4) |
19.7 (67.5) |
16.9 (62.4) |
16.7 (62.1) |
18.2 (64.8) |
20.5 (68.9) |
22.5 (72.5) |
24.0 (75.2) |
25.9 (78.6) |
22.3 (72.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.2 (57.6) |
14.5 (58.1) |
12.6 (54.7) |
8.9 (48.0) |
5.5 (41.9) |
2.9 (37.2) |
1.4 (34.5) |
2.6 (36.7) |
5.1 (41.2) |
8.2 (46.8) |
10.7 (51.3) |
12.9 (55.2) |
8.3 (46.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 4.0 (39.2) |
5.0 (41.0) |
2.5 (36.5) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−5.9 (21.4) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
−3.6 (25.5) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
0.6 (33.1) |
2.2 (36.0) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 80.8 (3.18) |
92.1 (3.63) |
96.2 (3.79) |
69.5 (2.74) |
71.9 (2.83) |
81.4 (3.20) |
51.5 (2.03) |
50.5 (1.99) |
50.7 (2.00) |
67.8 (2.67) |
68.4 (2.69) |
77.6 (3.06) |
860.5 (33.88) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 1.0mm) | 6.5 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 69.9 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 59 | 61 | 59 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 55 | 52 | 52 | 54 | 57 | 58 | 57 |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Bega (Newtown Road) | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Bega AWS (1992–2022); 41 m AMSL; 36.67° S, 149.82° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 44.6 (112.3) |
44.4 (111.9) |
40.4 (104.7) |
36.5 (97.7) |
29.7 (85.5) |
24.5 (76.1) |
26.3 (79.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
35.4 (95.7) |
36.8 (98.2) |
42.6 (108.7) |
42.4 (108.3) |
44.6 (112.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27.2 (81.0) |
26.5 (79.7) |
24.8 (76.6) |
22.4 (72.3) |
19.5 (67.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
16.6 (61.9) |
17.9 (64.2) |
20.2 (68.4) |
22.0 (71.6) |
23.6 (74.5) |
25.1 (77.2) |
21.9 (71.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 15.1 (59.2) |
15.0 (59.0) |
12.9 (55.2) |
9.5 (49.1) |
5.7 (42.3) |
3.6 (38.5) |
2.3 (36.1) |
3.2 (37.8) |
6.0 (42.8) |
8.5 (47.3) |
11.4 (52.5) |
13.4 (56.1) |
8.9 (48.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 4.5 (40.1) |
6.0 (42.8) |
2.9 (37.2) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
0.0 (32.0) |
0.7 (33.3) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 54.9 (2.16) |
83.5 (3.29) |
78.7 (3.10) |
34.8 (1.37) |
50.4 (1.98) |
64.5 (2.54) |
43.0 (1.69) |
33.9 (1.33) |
34.4 (1.35) |
51.3 (2.02) |
64.8 (2.55) |
65.8 (2.59) |
687.4 (27.06) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.6 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 5.9 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 62.3 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 60 | 60 | 59 | 59 | 59 | 58 | 54 | 51 | 53 | 57 | 60 | 60 | 58 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 15.5 (59.9) |
15.5 (59.9) |
13.6 (56.5) |
11.2 (52.2) |
8.4 (47.1) |
5.8 (42.4) |
4.2 (39.6) |
4.8 (40.6) |
7.4 (45.3) |
9.6 (49.3) |
12.1 (53.8) |
13.6 (56.5) |
10.1 (50.3) |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology (1992–2022) | |||||||||||||
Sister Cities
Bega has a special friendship with a city in the United States:
Littleton, Colorado, United States of America
Gallery
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Bega Court House
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Uniting Church
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Old Bega Information Centre
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Anglican Church
Bega_Court_House.jpg)
Bega_Anglican_Church.jpg)
Famous People From Bega
Many talented people have come from Bega, including:
- Kezie Apps – A female Rugby League player
- Chris Atkinson – A WRC car driver
- David Boyle – A Rugby League player
- Morgan Boyle – A Rugby League player
- Adam Elliott – A Rugby League player
- Dale Finucane – A Rugby League player
- Deborah Glass OBE – The Victorian Ombudsman (a public official who investigates complaints)
- Thomas Jack – A DJ
- Lenka – A singer and songwriter
- Ky Rodwell – A Rugby League player
See also
In Spanish: Bega (Nueva Gales del Sur) para niños
