Site 14: Wategos Beach

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The area now known as Wategos Beach, but originally called Little Beach, was incorporated in a Reserve in the initial classification of land at Cape Byron and so was unclaimable by settlers. However, after a change in classification in 1933 three six-acre blocks on the beach were gazetted and sold to private individuals. Murray (Mick) Watego, son of a native of the Loyalty Islands and an English mother, and who was a WW1 veteran acquired the westernmost of these blocks. Murray, his wife and their ten children cleared the land and grew bananas and vegetables for sale locally and for export. With time the beach and area became known as Wategos. These leases expired in 1960.

In 1961 the Byron Shire Council surveyed and gazetted a 25-acre residential development at Wategos Beach. Approximately 86 blocks were available for auction on 25 November 1961 at a cost of about $700 (or about four months average wage at that time). However, for many blocks no bids were received, the perception being that they were too far from the town centre and had poor access. A further six auctions were required (July 1964, June 1968, January 1970, January 1971, September 1972 and May 1973) before all the blocks were sold.

It took more than 30 years after the initial 1961 auction before most of the Wategos blocks were built on. The three air photo images below, taken in 1958 1966 and 1987, show the initial slow development of what is now one of the premier and iconic beach-side living precincts in Australia.

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