Hyams Beach, New South Wales

Hyams Beach
New South Wales
Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay NSW
Hyams Beach
Coordinates 35°06′01″S 150°41′31″E / 35.10025°S 150.69191°E / -35.10025; 150.69191Coordinates: 35°06′01″S 150°41′31″E / 35.10025°S 150.69191°E / -35.10025; 150.69191
Population 112 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 2540
LGA(s) City of Shoalhaven
Region South Coast
County St Vincent
Parish Bherwerre
State electorate(s) South Coast
Federal Division(s) Gilmore
Localities around Hyams Beach:
Erowal Bay Vincentia Jervis Bay
Wrights Beach Hyams Beach Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay Territory Jervis Bay Territory Jervis Bay Territory

Hyams Beach is a seaside village in the City of Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia, on the shores of Jervis Bay.[2] At the 2016 census, it had a population of 112.[1] The village, 180 km south of Sydney, is bordered by two beaches, Chinaman's Beach to the north and Seaman's Beach (sometimes referred to as "Sailors Beach") to the south, with Hyams Beach being in the centre. A seaside resort, its beach is known for having turquoise/aqua-coloured waters and fine, squeaky, brilliantly white sand that's composed of pure quartz.[3] The village is a 3-hour drive from Sydney and can be accessed via Princes Motorway from the Sydney CBD or Hume Motorway from Greater Western Sydney.[4]

Geography

Map of the neighbouring Jervis Bay Territory showing Hyams Beach

The beaches face east, out across Jervis Bay and Point Perpendicular to the Pacific Ocean. The village is bordered by Jervis Bay National Park to the north and Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens to the south which gives Hyams Beach a 'natural bush' feel with an abundance of native plants, animals and birdlife. Other nearby attractions include Jervis Bay Marine Park and surrounding trails and forests.[5]

Although the beach is known to have one of the most whitest sands in Australia,[6] and debatably, one of the whitest in the world,[7] it doesn't however have the "whitest sand in the world" as popularly believed.[8] This misconception was first started at the town's main store which had a billboard stating the seaside village had "the whitest sand". Eventually, the idea got widespread and was promoted by tourism organizations.

Furthermore, spurious assertions dispersed on the internet that Guinness World Records had proclaimed it "the whitest beach" with results to a Google Search for queries such as "world's whitest beach" having several nods to Hyams Beach.[9]

Wildlife

Bird species present in Hyams Beach include:

Tourism

A view of its renowned white sands.

Most accommodation in the village ranges from basic cottages to architecturally designed luxury beachfront houses, with some featuring bed and breakfast. There is one café store in the village. The seaside village also features bush and coastal walks which provide panoramic views of the bay, the surrounding National Park and the ocean, which is ideal for fishing, swimming, snorkelling, diving and also whale watching, making it an ideal tourist spot. The encompassing bushland is home to many native animals and dozens of bird species.

Tourism and infrastructure financed has assisted in transforming Hyams Beach to one of the popular areas within the NSW tourism industry. Due to tourists visiting the area frequently and in masses, a freeway reaching the whole 190km to Sydney was finished in 2017, costing at $580 million. A NSW tourist movement has featured the beach's radiantly white sand on the rearside of Sydney buses. The seaside village has also appeared in TV ads, thanks to its publicity by Lonely Planet and also has a large social media presence.[9]

Environmental issues

The village's success is known to backfire with its population of 112 quickly spiring to 4000 people in a few summer evenings, with the streets becoming engulfed with traffic and tourists littering on the beach. Because of this, local activists have made a group that would push for immediate action from the council, which would include the prospect of using law officers to halt travelers from entering the area on busy days with their cars. Others have pushed for more facilities, such as bins and public toilets, and road traffic management, as they seem insufficient in the vicinity.[9][10]

Demographics

Hyams Beach lies southwest of the bay.

In the 2016 Australian census, Hyams Beach appeared to be wealthy for a beach resort with 20% of its inhabitants earning more than $3000 a week, 90% owning their home and with 93% of the houses having three or four bedrooms.[1]

  • 80.4% of 112 people living in Hyams Beach were born in Australia. The other responses for country of birth were England 8.8%, South Africa 3.9% and New Zealand 2.9%.
  • The most common ancestries were English 31.7%, Scottish 19.0%, Irish 18.3%, Australian 16.2% and German 5.6%.
  • The most common responses for religion were No Religion, so described 30.1%, Anglican 25.2%, Catholic 20.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 5.8% and Secular Beliefs 5.8%.
  • 96.1% of people only spoke English at home. The only other response for language spoken at home was Afrikaans 3.9%.
  • 70.5% were married and 7.4% were either divorced or separated.
  • Of occupied private dwellings, 100.0% were separate houses.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Hyams Beach (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 9 July 2017. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ↑ "Hyams Beach". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "Tim the Yowie Man: White out over which beach has the whitest sand in Australia". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. 7 January 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "Hyams Beach". OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  5. ↑ "Hyams Beach". Destination New South Wales. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "The Australian beaches with the whitest sand". Australian Geogrpahic. Australian Geographic. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  7. ↑ "These Beaches Have The Whitest Sand In The World". Sporteluxe. The Wylde Group Inc. 4 December 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  8. ↑ Gazing onto the world's whitest sand, SMH, 31 December 2005.
  9. 1 2 3 "Hyams Beach, with 'whitest sand on earth', becomes victim of its own popularity". The Australian Financial Review. Fairfax Media. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay, struggling under the weight of numbers". Illawara Mercury. Fairfax Media. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
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