Batemans Bay is a town and a bay in the South Coast region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Batemans Bay is administered by the Eurobodalla Shire council. The town is on the Princes Highway (Highway 1) about 280 kilometres (170 mi) from Sydney, 760 km (470 mi) from Melbourne and 151 km (94 mi) from Canberra via the Kings Highway. At the 2006 census it had a population of 10,845. The Clyde River empties here into the Tasman Sea.
It is the closest seaside town to the city of Canberra, making Batemans Bay a popular holiday destination for residents of Australia's National Capital. Geologically, it is situated in the far southern reaches of the Sydney basin. It is also a popular retiree haven, but has begun to attract young families seeking affordable housing and a relaxed seaside lifestyle. Other local industries include a sawmill, oyster farming, forestry, eco-tourism and retail services.
Famous quotes containing the word bay:
“Three miles long and two streets wide, the town curls around the bay ... a gaudy run with Mediterranean splashes of color, crowded steep-pitched roofs, fishing piers and fishing boats whose stench of mackerel and gasoline is as aphrodisiac to the sensuous nose as the clean bar-whisky smell of a nightclub where call girls congregate.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)