Montague Island Lighthouse Heritage Management Plan 2020
Early European historyEarly European history
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Early European history
In 1770, British navigator and cartographer James
Cook sailed along the New South Wales coast. Although recording the ‘camel-shaped mountain’ which he named Mount Dromedary, Cook did not recognise the island as separate to the mainland and mistakenly recorded it as part of the headland.
It was not until 1790 that the convict ship Surprise
determined Montague was in fact an island.
It is alleged the island was named after George Montague Dunk, the Earl of Halifax.
Research on the early European history of the island yielded little information. During the mid- 19th century, a gold rush occured in Nerrigundah, north of Narooma, and it is alleged sea bird eggs were collected from Montague to sell to the miners. Records indicate a number of fishing shacks existed at some point on the western shore of the island, however no substantial structures were built and no remains have been located.9
3.5 Planning a lighthouse