Rosedale, New South Wales

Rosedale is an affluent beachside settlement in New South Wales, Australia. It is on the south coast, about 18 kilometres by road south of Batemans Bay. The area is administered by the Eurobodalla Shire. At the, Rosedale had a population of 221.HistoryThe material in this section is derived from a brief history of Rosedale, written by Ian Harrison and published in the Rosedale Association newsletters of January 2004 and March 2004 There was clearing of bush at South and North Rosedale for grazing. There were very few buildings in Rosedale prior to the second world war. In the 1950s the council approved a subdivision plan by Miller, a builder, in which many blocks were below 600 m². However, notwithstanding this subdivision, Rosedale is one of very few seaside settlements in Australia where the bush is more prominent than the buildings.Farming in the nineteenth centuryThe Rosedale valley includes portions 11, 12, 32, 81, 98, 118, 213, 214, 215 and 221 in the Parish of Bateman, County of St Vincent. Land intended for settlement was usually marked in 40acre lots due to the then official view that this was an area suitable for sustaining a living. Portions 11 and 12 were taken up by Thomas Hollands in 1878, while John Hollands was granted portion 32, also straddling the creek but further west, in the same year. However, there is no evidence that either man settled in the area.Rosedale Farm was first settled by James Sebbens, while the western end of the valley was settled by Karl Thomsen. Both men cleared the bush to establish their farms.