Moruya is a small town situated on the Moruya River. It is the headquarters of the Eurobodalla Shire Council, the local administration for the South Coast of the Australian state of New South Wales. The word Moruya is an Aboriginal word meaning Resting place of the black swan, and the Black Swan is the town emblem. Moruya is located on the Princes Highway, 1/2 an hour south of Batemans Bay and some 300km (190 miles) south of Sydney (5 hrs driving time) and about 10 hours north of Melbourne. Batemans Bay can also be reached from Canberra (2 hours) by the Kings Highway. Both the Kings Highway and the Princes Highway have difficult stretches and a fairly high accident rate. The Saturday morning Markets are a local institution and feature local produce and food, handcrafts including textiles and wood, secondhand books and bric-a-brac. The markets run on Saturday mornings all year round, they are located in the carpark on the eastern side of the main street.