 berry is a small australian town in the shoalhaven region of the nsw south coast in the state of new south wales, located  south of the state capital, sydney. history: the indigenous people of the area were the wodi wodi people. in the 1810s, george william evans, government surveyor, reported on the berry district as a possible settlement and on the good stands of red cedar. subsequently, itinerant timber cutters visited to cut and send cedar to sydney. alexander berry, with his business partner edward wollstonecraft, pioneered european settlement in the shoalhaven region in 1822. the locality was known as broughton creek from its beginning in 1825 as a private town and part of a large rural grant holding called "coolangatta". the name was changed to berry in 1889, following the death of david berry, alexander's brother, to honour the berry family. ==geography and landmarks== the township of berry lies on the south coast railway, and on the princes highway (highway 1) between nowra and kiama. for much of its early history the town depended on timber cutting and dairy farming, with a tannery and boat building also present, but today, berry thrives on tourism, with many souvenir shops, art galleries, antiques and collectibles shops, cafes, restaurants, and hotels. a local public hospital bequeathed by the berry family, the david berry hospital, now serves as a rehabilitation hospital and palliative care hospice. ==population and culture== the population of berry, less than 2,000, forms a mainly urban rather than farming community, with an influx of city dwellers attracted to a rural lifestyle with ease of access back to the sydney metropolitan area and its attractions ('sea changers' and 'tree changers'). most dairy farms have been subdivided into 'hobby farms' of small acreages, and the town businesses have changed to meet needs of tourists and the expanding hospitality industry. berry is the first truly rural town south of sydney, and is situated on a coastal plain bounded by the escarpment of the great dividing range to the west, and the tasman
City_of_Shoalhaven Towns_in_New_South_Wales Towns_in_the_South_Coast_(New_South_Wales)