Blowhole history
The main Kiama Blow Hole was discovered by George Bass on his voyage of coastal exploration on December 6, 1797, after anchoring his whaleboat in the sheltered bay which became Kiama Harbour.
The shore Bass wrote, showed evidence of considerable volcanic fire and on the point he found: "The earth for a considerable distance round in the form approaching a circle seemed to have given way; it was now a green slope.....Towards the centre was a deep ragged hole of about 25 to 30 feet in diameter and on one side of it the sea washed in through a subterraneous passage...with a most tremendous noise..."
Bass was not, in fact, the first to discover the Kiama Blow Hole, as local Aboriginals had for generations referred to it as Khanterintee.
In 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.
A smaller "little Blow Hole" is located a few minutes south of the main Blow Hole & performs best under moderate seas.