- Kiama Blowhole
The Kiama Blowhole is a blowhole in the town of Kiama,
New South Wales ,Australia . It is the town's major tourist attraction. Under certain sea conditions, the blowhole can spray water up to 25 metres (82 ft) in the air, in quantities that thoroughly drench any bystanders. There is actually a second, less famous blowhole in Kiama, commonly referred to as the "Little Blowhole" by locals. It is much smaller than the other (called the "Big Blowhole"), but due to its narrow shape, it is actually more reliable than the Big Blowhole, and in the right conditions can be equally spectacular.History
The name Kiama itself is derived from a local aboriginal word which means "where the sea makes noise". The aboriginal people call the blowhole Khanterinteree. [ [http://www.kiama.com.au/attractions/blowhole.htm Attractions in Kiama] , Tourism Kiama. Retrieved
28 July 2006 .]The first European to see the blowhole was
George Bass on6 December 1797 when he stopped there on his whaleboat voyage toBass Strait . [Miriam Estensen, "The Life of George Bass", Allen and Unwin, 2005, ISBN 1-74114-130-3, page 80] volume III, page 314, and quoted by Estensen above] -George BassIn January 1889 a performer by the name of Charles Jackson attracted large crowds to see his crossings of the mouth of the Blow Hole on a tightrope. [ [http://www.kiama.net/blowholes The History of the Blowhole] ] The blowhole attracts 600,000 tourists a year
References
External links
*
Global Positioning System coord|34|39|S|150|52|E
* [http://www.kiama.com.au/attractions/blowhole.htm Pictures of the Kiama Blowhole]
* [http://www.kiama.net/blowholes Animated images and sounds of the Kiama Blowhole]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
