Oyster leases can be seen around the Cove and adjacent areas of Port Stephens. Although not all of these leases are as active as they once were, the industry is celebrated annually at the Karuah Oyster and Timber Festival. How did this local industry start?

Oysters had been a valuable food source for coastal Aborigines for millennia. NSW oysters quickly became popular with European settlers and their shells were also used as a source of lime for cement. By the 1860s, increasing population had depleted the natural supplies so the possibility of cultivating oysters was explored. (See NSW DPI:...