Posted February 13, 2017 06:18:03 When you think of Canberra, it’s unlikely the ocean springs to mind. After all, the capital’s lack of coastline is one reason so many Canberrans flee the city each summer, seeking refuge on the coast. But did you know that in one sense, Canberra has its very own slice of coastline at Jervis Bay? Curious Canberran Jeremy Calero wanted to know more about this small enclave, 200 kilometres from the ACT. He asked: Why does Canberra have a beach at Jervis Bay? And if you’ve ever wondered whether it’s best pronounced JER-vis or JAR-vis Bay, we’ll get to that too. A shimmering enclave Despite being two-and-a-half hours’ drive from Canberra and surrounded by the New South Wales south coast, Jervis Bay isn’t part of its neighbouring state. It isn’t actually part of the ACT either, but most our of laws apply there, its residents vote with us in federal elections and the ACT Government organises its rubbish collection. So how did 28 square miles of NSW coastline come to be federal territory? Lieutenant Commander David Jones, who works at HMAS Creswell in the Jervis Bay Territory, said it began with politicians in the early days of federation. “They were very keen to have a national port, and Jervis Bay is the closest ocean, closest water to Canberra,” he said. And so in 1915, six years after the creation of the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales handed the small peninsula to the Commonwealth. A new…more detail
