MORUYA

town, southeastern New South Wales, Australia, on the Moruya River. Founded in 1851, it grew as the gateway to the goldfields at Araluen and Braidwood and was given an Aboriginal name meaning where the black swans meet and place down south. As the gold deposits depleted, Moruya came to depend increasingly upon dairying, and late in the 19th century many well-known farms, such as Bodalla, were created. It was declared a shire in 1906. On the Prince's Highway, 152 mi (245 km) south of Sydney, Moruya serves a district of dairying, lumbering, granite quarrying, arsenic and gold mining, and oyster farming; it has sawmills, freezing works, and butter and cheese factories. Tourism, based on local lakes and beaches, is an added source of income. Pop. (1981) 2,003.