This register is geographically based for the lovers of Jaguar cars who live in the general
Illawarra, Southern Highlands and South Coast of NSW.
As register members can't always attend events based in the
Sydney Metropolitan area, the register regularly organises “their own events”
although like all of the clubs events any member from any register is welcome
to attend.
The Illawarra, Southern Highlands and South Coast regions are all beautiful areas of our state, it consists
of a coastal plain, narrow in the north and wider in the south, bounded by the
Tasman Sea on the east and the Illawarra escarpment on the west and the highlands above that escarpment.
The Illawarra district extends from the southern hills of the Royal National
Park in the north to the Shoalhaven River in the south and contains the city of
Wollongong, the third largest urban area in New South Wales.
North of Wollongong the plain narrows to a small strip of land
between the coast and the escarpment.
To the south it widens and becomes increasingly hillier before
reaching Stockyard Mountain, a long divide between the main plain and the
Jamberoo Valley, which stretches until it reaches Kiama.
South of Kiama is Saddleback Mountain and south of that the
Shoalhaven plains and the outcrop of Coolangatta Mountain.
The word “Illawarra” is derived from the Aboriginal Tharawal word
“Allowrie”
The word is variously translated as “pleasant place near the sea”
or “high place near the sea”
The pre-fix of “illa is also known to mean “white clay” with the
suffix “warra” sometimes spelled as “wurra” meaning “mountain” in the local
indigenous language.
George Bass and Matthew Flinders were the first Europeans to visit
the area, with Flinders recording that it was called “Allowrie” by the
natives.
For the period around 1806, the region was called “Five Islands”
referring to the group of five islands off Red point Port Kembla.
The Illawarra region is characterised by three districts, the
north-central district being a contiguous urban sprawl centred on Wollongong
and Lake Illawarra. The western district defined by the Illawarra escarpment,
which leads up to the south-west fringe of Greater Metropolitan Sydney
including the MacArthur and southern highlands regions and south to the
Shoalhaven River.
The Illawarra region has an abundance of interesting places to
visit and great driving roads on which to exercise your Jaguar.
So keep an eye on the events calendar and join in on a run in the
beautiful Illawarra. If you have a favourite place, suggest it
or organise an event, any member can organise an event, just give me a
call..
Ron Critcher
Illawarra & Southern Highlands Register Secretary