Como
Main
HistoryComo is located on the southern banks of the Georges River. Natural bushland ridge tops and sandstone outcrops provide excellent vistas to the rivers and bays and makes the area attractive for water-based leisure activities. Como is reached by train via the Illawarra railway line established in 1885. The original grantee was Thomas Holt who established his Sutherland Estate in the 1860s. It included most of what is currently known as the Sutherland Shire. The Georges River offered a haven for fishermen and lovers of oysters. Railway workers populated the immediate area during construction of the railway but visitors and day-trippers also frequented the area after the line was completed. A pleasure ground and the river were used for picnics and boating and in 1890 the Como hotel was opened. The paddle steamer Telephone commenced operation in 1899 from the western side of the railway bridge ferrying passengers to pleasure grounds further done the Georges River. Land subdivisions commenced from 1889. However with no direct road to the area until 1920 and few services development was slow. During the Depression years the Sutherland Shire Council provided work when Scylla bay was reclaimed for a sporting oval. In the second world war pleasure boats were taken away for security reasons but by the time the was ended Como was no longer as important for recreation. It is often referred to as an area frequented by popular poet Henry Lawson in his later life. In 1972 the railway bridge was replaced and the old bridge later converted into a walkway. Sadly the Como Hotel was burnt to the ground in 1996 but due to popular community support was rebuilt in its original form. Today the Como area has reverted to its original recreation purpose and is popular with locals and the wider community alike.
Map
Oral History
Como. Local History - Sutherland Shire Libraries, accessed 16/02/2025, https://localhistory.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/6074