Welcome to Berry

Welcome to Berry — And Welcome to Our Brand New Website

Berry Shoes

We've just launched the new Berry Shoes website, and it felt wrong to make the whole thing about us. So before we talk shoes, let's talk about the town we took our name from.

Berry is one of those places people accidentally fall in love with. You stop for a donut on the way to somewhere else, and three hours later you're still wandering Queen Street with a paper bag in one hand and a bunch of flowers in the other. That's the effect it has.

Here's a little of what makes it tick.

Fun Facts About Berry, NSW

It wasn't always called Berry. The town started life as Broughton Creek, a private town established in the 1820s. The name changed to Berry in 1889, honouring the pioneering Berry family.
It was a private town for a very long time. Berry stayed in private hands until 1912, when most of the town was finally subdivided and sold off. Not many Australian towns can say that.
The Wodi Wodi people of the Dharawal nation are the traditional custodians of this country, and were here long before any of the above.
Australia's first canal is just down the road. To get boat access to his estate, Alexander Berry had explorer Hamilton Hume and a party of convict labourers cut a canal between the Shoalhaven and Crookhaven Rivers. It was finished in twelve days and is recognised as the first canal built in Australia.
Coolangatta — yes, that name — started here. The Berry estate was named Coolangatta, from an Aboriginal word meaning “splendid view.” Stand at the base of Mount Coolangatta on a clear morning and you'll agree the name was well chosen.
The famous dairy breed was developed nearby. The Berry Experimental Farm, created in 1899, is where the Illawarra Shorthorn breed of cattle was developed. There's a reason the milk around here tastes the way it does.
Queen Street is a heritage postcard. Many of Berry's shopfronts sit in buildings dating back to the 1880s, and a good number of the town's buildings are on the NSW Heritage Register. The Courthouse dates to 1887.
It's closer than you think. Roughly two hours south of Sydney, about three from Canberra, and a very easy run down from Wollongong.

Five Things Worth Seeing While You’re Here

1. The Famous Berry Donut Van
   Non-negotiable. This little roadside institution has been turning out hot cinnamon donuts for well over fifty years. Yes, there's often a line. Yes, it moves fast. Yes, it's worth it.
   
2. Queen Street and the Historical Walking Trail
   Berry's main street is the whole point — boutiques, bookshops, bakeries and cafés tucked into 19th-century buildings. If you want the story behind the facades, the town's Historical Walking Trail takes anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours and loops past the heritage-listed railway station, weatherboard cottages, the old Courthouse, Broughton Mill Creek and Apex Park.
3. Seven Mile Beach
   Ten minutes from the village and it feels like a different world — a long, wide sweep of golden sand backed by national park, usually with barely a soul on it. Bring a towel, or just walk.
4. The Markets
   Berry does markets properly. The big Berry Markets run on the first Sunday of most months at the Showground with around 200 stalls. There's also a Farmers' Market on Thursdays and a Produce Market on selected weekends. Get there early, bring cash, bring a bag.
5. Drawing Room Rocks
   For anyone who likes to earn their lunch. It's a steep hike of roughly 3km return, and the payoff is one of the best panoramic views on the South Coast. Proper footwear strongly recommended — and yes, we can help with that.
   

Honourable mentions: The cellar doors just out of town (Coolangatta Estate, Silos Estate, Two Figs, Crooked River, Mountain Ridge), the Berry Museum run by local volunteers, and Apex Park's gazebo, which is basically a picnic waiting to happen.

And Now, The Shoes

Here's the thing about a day in Berry: it's a walking day. The markets, the main street, the beach, the trail, the queue at the donut van. By 3pm your feet either thank you or they don't — and that comes down entirely to what you put on them that morning.

That's where we come in.

Berry Shoes is built on comfort that doesn't look like comfort. We're not interested in selling you something orthopaedic-looking that you're embarrassed to wear to lunch. We stock footwear that supports your feet properly and still looks good on Queen Street.
We fit properly. Not “what size are you?” and a shrug. We look at your feet, we listen to what hurts, and we put you in something that actually suits your foot shape, your arch and how you spend your days. Most people are wearing the wrong size and don't know it.
We know feet. Bunions, plantar fasciitis, wide feet, narrow heels, orthotics that never seem to fit into anything — none of it fazes us. If you've been told “you just can't wear nice shoes anymore,” come and have a chat. We disagree.
So: park the car, do the loop, grab a donut, hit the beach — and drop in and see us while you're at it. Come in for a fitting, or just come in and say hello.
Explore the new site, and we'll see you in store.

Berry Shoes — comfort that goes the distance.