Beachside Shellharbour boasts dazzling beaches, parks and reserves and serene Lake Illawarra. Located between the ocean and the dramatic Illawarra escarpment, Shellharbour is just over an hour’s drive south of Sydney and within three hours’ drive from Canberra.
The suburb is centred on the small recreational harbour named Shell Harbour. It has two main beaches, Shellharbour Beach, which runs to Barrack Point and Shellharbour South Beach, which runs toward Bass Point.[1]

Shellharbour is undergoing extensive development with the construction of many new retail outlets and home-units. The main street is Addison Street, with many footpath cafés and shops, running through the town and ending with the Ocean Beach Hotel opposite the harbour. Adjacent to the harbour is the Beverley Whitfield saltwater swimming pool[2] and across from the Shellharbour Beach facilities is the Beverley Whitfield park, containing the Tom "Scout" Whilloughby cricket oval.[3]

The area was inhabited by indigenous Australians for thousands of years. European habitation began from about 1817 onwards.