INTRODUCTION

The Shoalhaven River catchment covers an area of some 7000 square kilometres with approximately 120 square kilometres of floodplain downstream of Nowra (Figure 1). The river rises approximately 50km inland of Moruya and follows a northerly direction for 170km before turning east for a further 90km to reach the Pacific Ocean at Crookhaven Heads. The Shoalhaven River has a length of around 332 kilometres from its headwaters to the mouth. Terara was the original settlement on the south bank, however, the devastating floods of 1860 and 1870 caused most of the population to move to the higher ground at Nowra with the subsequent decline of Terara. Nowra is now the main centre of population but there are a number of smaller developed centres which exist on the floodplain downstream of Nowra. The majority of the Lower Shoalhaven River floodplain is used for agricultural purposes and contains numerous rural homesteads. This study is primarily concerned with the floodplain areas downstream of the township of Nowra, generally termed the floodplain of the Lower Shoalhaven River.