Tourism Time Capsule – a Visitors Book in Bermagui 

Stephen Mills, publicity officer
(Published in the Oct-Nov 2025 edition of Recollections)

A scuffed and battered journal in the Bermagui Historical Museum, its cardboard covers held together with tape, tells a remarkable tale about the origins of tourism on the far south coast.

The book dates back ninety years, to the summer of 1935, when Bermagui was waking up to a startling prospect: waves of tourists were about to descend on the small and remote coastal village, to indulge in the new global sport of big game fishing.

Just two years earlier, in February 1933, two fishermen had caught a huge black marlin off Barunguba (Montague Island) – the first time the iconic game fish had been caught in these waters. Word spread quickly, with well-heeled fisherman making their way to Bermagui from Sydney and Melbourne in pursuit of what were then called “swordfish”. In March 1935, two of them caught 14 marlin and a mako shark in just two days off Bermagui. 

The photograph of these prized fish, weighing perhaps more than 1.5 tonnes, hanging side by side from a gantry on the Bermagui jetty, took the town’s name around the world.

In California, popular novelist-turned-game fisherman Zane Grey heard the news and set out to visit this coastal village on the other side of the world. 

But with Bermagui’s renown came a challenge: how can we best capitalise on this bonanza? And, do we have what these fisherfolk want? 

To answer such questions, a group of self-styled “Interested Citizens of Bermagui South” decided to ask the tourists themselves what they wanted. With the best of civic intentions, they typed up a letter of appeal, and pasted it in the front cover of a plain journal:

“In asking for your impressions of the village and surroundings, we are actuated by … the genuine desire to see ourselves (as a Tourist Resort) from a Visitor’s point of view hoping that it may help us to correct our faults and develop our attractions and services.”

Over that summer and the next, no less than seventy visitors took up the invitation to write their ‘impressions’ of Bermagui in the lined pages of what became the ‘Visitors’ Book’. After the Second World War, the practice continued on and off until 1963, with hundreds of contributions totalling 77 pages. 

They left a remarkable record of all the good things and some of the challenges of a holiday in Bermagui, and provided all sorts of suggestions for how to make it better. It’s instructive (and slightly worrying given the time that has elapsed) to note that many of the impressions are entirely familiar to modern eyes.

And as the entries are signed, the journal serves as the day’s ultimate celebrity autograph book. Along with Zane Grey, there’s TV personality Dolly Dyer … a German baron and his wife … a strongman known by his nom de cirque of Don Athaldo … the revered artist Margaret Preston … a renowned marine biologist … the Premier of NSW … and future Prime Minister, Billy McMahon: they’re all here! 

…

Zane Grey’s visit, in January-February 1936, did bring fame to Bermagui, in unprecedented fashion. The man was his own publicity machine. As historian Judi Hearn relates in Big Game Fishing at Bermagui, Grey brought his own movie crew, gave regular radio and press interviews, and flew his personal “Z G” flag over his extensive campsite on the headland. 

At the end of their stay, on 26 February, Grey and his entourage signed the Visitors’ Book – in purple ink. 

“Zane Grey, Altadena Calif. fine town, fine people, fine [fish?], great fishing!”

His young secretary, Maia Turnbull, also signed and commented: “Beginning of a great tourist resort”. Three other Americans, including cameramen Ed Bowen and Emil Morhardt Jr, also praised the town – “Bermagui is well started towards fame” – while calling, in the spirit of constructive criticism, for improved launching and docking facilities.

Big game fishing was a rich man’s pastime, requiring expensive kit, difficult driving, lengthy hotel stays, and the hiring of local boats and crews. In these early days, the overwhelming number of visitors were from Sydney or rural Riverina. 

In the Visitors’ Book, most of them wrote enthusiastically about the delights of Bermagui. One well-travelled enthusiast noted: “I have done the coast from Yamba to Eden and find Bermagui the best for a shooting, fishing and surfing holiday”. Another topped that, by saying he had travelled “from Cairns to Geelong” and still rated Bermagui highest.

The big attraction, of course, was fishing: “deep sea, river, rock and beach fishing – no place in Australia can boast of such”, one happy fellow wrote in that first summer of 1936. Another, less-happy, commented mordantly in 1943 that Bermagui “was at one time a famous place for fish, but Zane Grey took them all with him.”

A few of the visitors offered their critique with – let’s admit it – brutal honesty. One man from Melbourne – his signature is not legible – did not hold back in early January 1936:

“Bitterly disappointed with the lack of progress in Bermagui. I first visited Bermagui eight years ago, but was surprised to find no improvements. There is no more beautiful spot in Australia, and it is up to the Shire Councillors to act and get something done. The pavement gutters are primitive. No decent reserve for picnickers with proper conveniences. No Electric Light; in fact, Bermagui is more a bush town than an up-to-date Country Centre. 

A little bitumen on the road would also assist the approach to the town. Lake Wallaga, one of the beauty spots of Australia, not advertised, not even a noticeboard to advise you of its whereabouts. An up-to-date café to supply visitors with oysters and fish would be an acquisition. 

“Bermagui” will be advertised more extensively than any other town in Australia during the next few months [- a reference to Zane Grey’s pending visit] – and it will make itself, but a little careful thought and direct action on the part of the Councillors to improve conditions will help to make the present Bush Village one of the most noted spots in Australia for tourists [and] lovers of angling. It is a matter of grave importance that Wallaga Lake should be opened up permanently; surely this can be accomplished.”

Mr Brookes of Sydney suggested more publicity of the town’s tourist and fishing facilities was essential to “correct the impression Sydney and other people have regarding accommodation boats etc. Get your Progress Association working overtime.”

E E Bullen of Vaucluse said the footpath from Sinclair’s store to the Hotel was “a disgrace for even a small town.” 

Others suggested better accommodation, more facilities for beach goers and picnickers, better anchorage and launching facilities, more rowboats for hire, an aerodrome, a golf course, more nighttime entertainment such as movies, and better street lighting. 

But against these proponents of “more”, a few voices urged “less”. The familiar contest between pro- and anti-development was alive and well.

“Despite the suggestions of former visitors, I prefer Bermagui South as it is. To hell with picture shows etc: we came here to relax.”

“Be sure to preserve this seaside sylvan beauty and forbid the destruction of all green timber.”

“I ask for Bermagui to be as natural and unaffected as it is now.”

“Bermagui, one of the few places still unspoiled.”

As Bermagui’s fame spread, the Visitors’ Book took on an increasingly national and international flavour. More Melburnians came, many more Sydneysiders, and even a few from outposts of the Empire like “Ceylon” (Sri Lanka) and Nigeria. From Scotland came the music hall singer Sir Harry Lauder, now in retirement. Lauder was so delighted with catching a striped marlin that (as Judi Hearn records) he gave a concert for the entire town that evening.

A more shadowy visitor was Baron Klaus von Oertzen and his wife the Baroness, who visited in June 1938. Von Oertzen had served in the German armed forces during the first world war, and later quit Germany for South Africa, where he hunted big game (and represented a German car manufacturer; he is credited with designing the four interlocking “O”s in the Audi badge.) Despite the growing threat of Hitler, von Oertzen was welcomed to Bermagui. He reported in the Visitors’ Book catching 96 fish in a single day, and described Bermagui as “a little perl [sic] in the world’s crown.” When war was declared soon after, he and his wife were removed as honorary members of the Bermagui Big Game Anglers Club. 

Not all the visitors came to hunt and kill the marine life. The Sydney University zoologist Professor W J Dakin visited in 1948 while completing his monumental book Australian Seashores. His comment in the Visitors’ Book is ambiguous, slightly tart: “The people of N S Wales do not realise what beautiful seascapes they have. Bermagui is at least unspoiled, may it long remain as delightful.” 

A few years later, in Easter 1955, the painter and printmaker Margaret Preston came to town with her husband and found “nice friendly people. Beautiful countryside with lots of walks and plenty of facilities. Good fishing. Most enjoyable holiday.”

Visiting dignitaries were also encouraged to sign the book: the Premier of NSW J. J. Cahill, the Primary Industries Minister and future PM Billy McMahon, and various local members, mayors and councillors left their autographs as part of official visits.

Almost certainly, the ‘keeper’ of the Visitors Book was Sam Sinclair, Bermagui’s most famous resident.

Sinclair, a larger-than-life Boer War veteran who famously became the model ‘strongman’ in advertising for Toohey’s beer, was the go-to man for any activity in town. He organised boat charters, weighed the catch, ran a blacksmith forge, operated a hardware shop, pumped petrol, kept an eye on the camping grounds, and extracted teeth.  

So he met pretty well everyone who visited town.  According to one reminiscence documented by the Bermagui Historical Society, the Visitors Book sat on the counter of Sinclair’s shop. 

It was Sinclair who offered a one-pound prize for the best essay written by schoolchildren on the subject of “the Birth and Progress of Sword Fishing at Bermagui.” The winning entry was pasted into the Visitors Book. 

Sinclair the blacksmith also apprenticed a young man, Wally Lyons, who later – under the stage name “Don Athaldo” – became famous for his feats of strength, including pulling a loaded car up William Street, Sydney to Kings Cross.  In 1955, “Don Athaldo, Sydney” returned to town and signed the Visitors’ Book with a poignant reminiscence:

“It’s great to be back in the town in which I spent quite a number of my boyhood years, and to meet so many of my sincere friends to whom I am still “Wally”. I’ll be back, and to see especially Sam Sinclair and his lovely wife. “ 

When Sinclair died in August 1964 – he was 82 and fell off a roof – the Visitors Book seems to have died with him. The last entry, dated in December 1963, was by Kathleen Kelly and her husband, visiting from Cooma:

“Have always enjoyed our visits to Bermagui which is one of the unspoiled beauty spots of the coast, and our visits are always complete when we have a chat with Mr. Sam Sinclair.”

The Visitors Book then appears to have been stored before being passed on to the Bermagui Historical Society. Today it is proudly displayed in the museum as a remarkable record of the voices and personalities of the past.

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