It is named after an early settlement on the banks of the Shoalhaven known as Coolangatta and is only indirectly related to the better-known Coolangatta, Queensland.
Acting on the advice of Michael Rush, Matterson came to Sydney, and in April beat Nichols, of Shoalhaven, for £20 a side, in light skiffs, over the Parramatta championship course.
He has previously coached the Shoalhaven Academy, Saddleback Valley Aquatics, Laguna Hills High School and Irvine Novaquatics.
Tallowa Dam has been a barrier to migratory native fish with estuarine/marine juvenile stages, blocking species including Australian bass from more than 80% of their former range in the Shoalhaven system.
A sheep and cattle farming area, there is still much wildlife including wombats, greater gliders, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Echidna, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, wallabies, Red-bellied Black Snakes, Tiger Snake, Cunningham's Skink and native fish in the Wyanbene Creek and nearby Shoalhaven and Duea rivers.