Wollongong is a seaside city located in the
IllawarraIllawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the Shoalhaven region, encompassing the cities of Wollongong and Shellharbour and the municipality of Kiama...
region of
New South WalesNew South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the
Illawarra EscarpmentThe Illawarra Escarpment is the fold created cliffs and plateau/ eroded outcrop mountain range west of the Illawarra coastal plain south of Sydney, Australia, enclosing the region known as the Illawarra which stretches from Stanwell Park in the north to Kiama, Gerringong and the Shoalhaven river in...
and the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
, 82 kilometres (51 mi) south of
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
.
With a population of 284,169 Wollongong is the
3rd largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and
NewcastleThe Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, and the
9th largest city in Australia. The metropolitan area extends from
HelensburghHelensburgh is a small town in New South Wales, Australia. Helensburgh is located 45 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and 34 kilometres north of Wollongong. Helensburgh is in the local government area of Wollongong City Council and marks the northern end of the Illawarra...
in the north to Gerroa in the south, and is administered by the
WollongongThe City of Wollongong is a Local Government Area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Freeway and the South Coast railway line....
,
ShellharbourCity of Shellharbour is a Local Government Area located in the Illawarra region, on the east coast of Australia, about 100 km south of Sydney...
and Kiama councils.
Known affectionately as "the Gong", Wollongong is a city with a long history of mining and industry, having coal mines, a steelworks and an industrial port. The city also attracts numerous tourists each year, and is a regional centre for the South Coast fishing industry. The local
University of WollongongThe University of Wollongong is a public university with approximately 22,000 students, located in the coastal city of Wollongong, which is 80 kilometres south of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
has around 22,000 students and is internationally recognised.
Wollongong is noted for its numerous surfing beaches, scenic lookouts and botanic gardens. It has two regional cathedrals, churches of many denominations and the
Nan Tien TempleNan Tien Temple is a Buddhist temple complex located in the industrial suburb of Berkeley, on the southern outskirts of the Australian city of Wollongong, approximately 80 km south of Sydney...
, one of the largest Buddhist temples in the southern hemisphere.
The name Wollongong is believed to mean "sound of the sea" in the local Aboriginal language, although other explanations have been offered, such as "great feast of fish", "hard ground near water", "song of the sea", "sound of the waves", "many snakes" and "five islands".
Geography
The city of Wollongong has a distinct geography. It lies on a narrow coastal plain flanked by the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
(or
Tasman SeaThe Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately 2000 kilometres across. It extends 2800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first...
) to the east and a steep sandstone precipice known as the
Illawarra EscarpmentThe Illawarra Escarpment is the fold created cliffs and plateau/ eroded outcrop mountain range west of the Illawarra coastal plain south of Sydney, Australia, enclosing the region known as the Illawarra which stretches from Stanwell Park in the north to Kiama, Gerringong and the Shoalhaven river in...
to the west. The coastal plain is widest in the south and narrowest in the north, with the city
centreA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city...
located about midway.
The escarpment ranges between 150 and 750 metres (490 - 2,460 ft) above sea level, with locally famous mountains such as
Mount KeiraMount Keira is a 464 metre high mountain lying 4 kilometres northwest of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Its distinctive shape and proximity to Wollongong make it a major local landmark. It is noted for the views of the city from the popular summit lookout and its history of...
(464m),
Mount KemblaMount Kembla is a mountain in New South Wales, Australia, as well a suburb of Wollongong, which gets its name from the mountain. Kembla is an Aboriginal word meaning "plenty of game". It is a former coal mining town and the home of the miners killed in the Mount Kembla Mining Disaster...
(534m),
Broker's NoseBroker's Nose or Mount Corrimal is the name of an outcrop of the Illawarra Escarpment west of Corrimal, New South Wales. Its summit is 440 metres above sea level and there is a television transmission tower atop it. There is a track leading to the top but both track and summit are not open to the...
(440m) and Mount Murray (768m) to the south. It contains strata of coal measures, and the
aditAn adit is a type of entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal. Adits are usually built into the side of a hill or mountain, and often occur when a measure of coal or an ore body is located inside the mountain but above the adjacent valley floor or coastal plain...
entrances to many coal mines have been established along the slopes of the escarpment throughout Wollongong. Suburbia encroaches on the escarpment’s lower slopes in some areas, but the majority remains in a relatively natural state forested with dry
sclerophyllSclerophyll is a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon . Sclerophyllous plants occur in all parts of the world but are most typical of Australia...
and pockets of temperate rainforest. The escarpment is largely protected by a State Conservation Area and local council zoning, and provides a scenic backdrop to the city.
In the north the coastal plain becomes so narrow that the coastal road
Lawrence Hargrave DriveLawrence Hargrave Drive is a scenic coastal road and popular tourist drive connecting the northernmost suburbs of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia to both Wollongong and Sydney....
once precariously hugged the cliffline until rock falls forced its closure. It was replaced in 2005 by the
Sea Cliff BridgeThe Sea Cliff Bridge is a balanced cantilever bridge located in the northern Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The $52 million bridge links the coastal villages of Coalcliff and Clifton...
. The bridge carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic just off the coast, crossing the submerged rock shelf. The
South Coast railway lineThe South Coast Line is in the intercity region of Sydney's CityRail services. It serves the coastal region to the south of the Sydney metropolitan area including the Illawarra region, most notably the regional city of Wollongong, and extended services reach as far as Nowra in Shoalhaven.- Line...
must go through several tunnels to reach the Sydney metropolitan area. The
Southern FreewaySouthern Freeway is a freeway linking Sydney to Wollongong. It currently is designated as part of National Route 1, however was formerly signposted as F6 under a former route numbering system, and is commonly known by this latter name...
and Old Princes Highway provide alternative inland routes, descending the escarpment further south at
Bulli PassBulli Pass is a mountain pass northwest of Bulli, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the Illawarra Escarpment west of the Illawarra Coastal Plain. It was built during the 1800s for use by loggers and locals transporting goods to and from Sydney...
or at
Mount OusleyMount Ousley is a residential suburb situated on the foothills of Mount Keira about four kilometres northwest from the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is also the name of the road which crosses the nearby Illawarra Escarpment and is adjacent to the University of Wollongong. Mount...
, entering just north of Wollongong's city centre.
To the south the plain reaches its maximum extent around
Albion ParkAlbion Park is a southern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Currently Albion Park has a population of approximately 11,261 and continues to expand by a rate of 12.5% per year. Albion Park is bordered by the Illawarra escarpment in the west, Dapto in the North, Kiama in the South and...
where it incorporates a large coastal saltwater lagoon called
Lake IllawarraLake Illawarra is a large coastal lagoon, near the city of Wollongong about 100 km south of Sydney, New South Wales.The towns of Dapto and Shellharbour are near the lake, which receives the runoff from the Illawarra escarpment through the Macquarie Rivulet.Matthew Flinders and George Bass called...
, separated from the Pacific Ocean by a long sandy spit.
The coastal strip consists of highly fertile
alluviumAlluvium is soil or sediments deposited by a river or other running water...
, which made Wollongong so attractive to agriculturists in the nineteenth century. It contains many hills including the foothills of the escarpment’s lower slopes, and while these generally do not exceed one hundred metres in height they give much of the city an undulating character. The coastal strip is traversed by several short but flood-prone and fast-flowing streams and creeks such as Para Creek, Allans Creek, Mullet Creek and
Macquarie RivuletMacquarie Rivulet is a river in New South Wales which is 23 kilometers long. It rises near Robertson, New South Wales and drains the eastern edge of the Southern Highlands plateau and part of the Illawarra escarpment. It flows into Lake Illawarra and indirectly into the Pacific Ocean. The towns...
.
The coastline consists of many beaches characterised by fine pale gold-coloured sands; however, these beaches are sometimes interrupted by prominent and rocky headlands jutting into the sea. In places these headlands have been excavated or extended to create artificial harbours at Wollongong,
Port KemblaPort Kembla, a suburb 8km south of Wollongong, isin the Illawarra region of New South Wales, comprises a seaport, industrial complex , a small harbour foreshore nature reserve and a town area with shops...
,
ShellharbourShellharbour is a southern beachside suburb of Wollongong, located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the Local Government Area, City of Shellharbour....
and
KiamaKiama is a township 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. At the 2006 census, Kiama had a population of 12,286 people. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. The seaside town features several popular surfing...
. Just off the coast south of Wollongong centre, near Port Kembla, lies a group of five islands known collectively as
The Five IslandsFive Islands Nature Reserve is a 26 ha reserve comprising five small islands close to Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia. The islands - Flinders Islet, Bass Islet, Martin Islet, Big Island and Rocky Islet - lie between 0.5 and 3.5 km off the coast...
. The islands are a wildlife refuge.
Inner City
The inner city area includes the suburbs of Wollongong and
North WollongongNorth Wollongong is the immediate northern coastal suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. North Wollongong is used to refer to the northern area of Wollongong as well as North Wollongong by locals, despite the official suburb not including the northern apartment areas of Wollongong and...
, extending from Para Creek in the north, west to include the Wollongong Hospital, and south to the
Greenhouse ParkThe Greenhouse Park is a park immediately south of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. It is south of J.J Kelly Park and in the inner suburb of Coniston, New South Wales. It was created in 1999 as a green corridor between the city and the industrial areas at Port Kembla...
.
The
CBDA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city...
is a major commercial hub containing many department stores and specialty shops, offices and entertainment venues. It is centred around the Crown Street Mall, and approximates the area bounded by Market Street, Corrimal Street, Burelli Street and the
railway lineThe South Coast Line is in the intercity region of Sydney's CityRail services. It serves the coastal region to the south of the Sydney metropolitan area including the Illawarra region, most notably the regional city of Wollongong, and extended services reach as far as Nowra in Shoalhaven.- Line...
. Surrounding the CBD lies a mixture of parks, reserves, light commercial property, houses and multi-story residential units. Multi-story housing is evident particularly on Smith’s Hill north-east of the CBD, reflecting the popularity of combining inner-city living, coastal views and a beachside lifestyle.
To the east of the city lies Flagstaff Point, a rocky headland with eroded low cliffs topped by a grassy hill. The northern side of the point was excavated by convict labour to form Belmore Basin, and later extended with the northern breakwater to create Wollongong Harbour. The area is the site of a historic
fortFlagstaff Hill Fort, was a fort at Flagstaff Point, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.-History:Constructed between 1890-1891, the fort was built with a disappearing gun emplacement. The fort was dug-out of the hill using face brick walls and then earth was placed over the tunnels...
, several restored canons and two lighthouses, a feature peculiar to the east coast of Australia. The older Wollongong Breakwater Lighthouse located at the harbour entrance was made of wrought iron plates in 1871 and has become an icon of the city. The newer Wollongong Head Lighthouse was constructed in 1936 atop the Flagstaff Hill and is still in use today. Belmore Basin houses the commercial fishing fleet and Fisherman’s Co-op, while the main harbour shelters private vessels.
The main beaches of central Wollongong are North Wollongong (or simply North) Beach extending from the harbour up to the Para Creek lagoon and
Puckeys Estate ReservePuckey's Estate Reserve is a coastal nature reserve in Wollongong, Australia. It is mainly she-oak forest, but also has sand dune and wetland areas, including areas along Para Creek...
, and Wollongong City Beach extending south from Flagstaff Point and into Coniston Beach.
Climate
Wollongong has a mild coastal climate with average maximum temperatures varying from 17
°CCelsius is a temperature scale that is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
in winter to 26 °C in summer tempered by
sea breezeA sea-breeze is a wind from the sea that develops over land near coasts. It is formed by increasing temperature differences between the land and water which create a pressure minimum over the land due to its relative warmth and forces higher pressure, cooler air from the sea to move inland...
s. The highest recorded temperature is 44.1 °C in January, and the lowest 0.8 °C in July.
Hot summer evenings are sometimes relieved by a front of rapidly moving cool air known as a
southerly busterSoutherly is the name of a storm or front of air coming from the south. In the Southern Hemisphere these can be cold and have bad weather. In Wellington, New Zealand these storms are normally short and frequently have winds gusting between 120 km/h and 160 km/h though higher speeds are...
.
Rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the seasons, with a bias to the first half of the year. It is often associated with
orographic liftOrographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it expands and cools adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and create clouds and, under the right conditions,...
caused by the escarpment. Short high intensity rainfall events may happen at any time of the year and can lead to local flooding. A significant flood event occurred on 17 August 1998 when Wollongong recorded 316
mmThe millimetre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousandth of a metre, which is the current SI base unit of length.Equal to 1000 micrometres.Equal to 1000000 nanometres....
of rainfall (the nearby suburb of Mt Ousley recorded in excess of 445 mm), mostly falling in a 3 hour period. Wollongong also experiences
thunderstormA thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, a hailstorm, or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically-assigned cloud type associated with the...
s during the warmer months bringing
lightningLightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
, heavy rain and occasionally
hailHail is a form of solid precipitation which consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, that are individually called hail stones. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between 5 and 150 millimeters in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe and dangerous...
.
Yearly rainfall is influenced by the
El Niño-Southern OscillationEl Niño-Southern Oscillation is a periodic change in the atmosphere and ocean of the tropical Pacific region. It is defined in the atmosphere by the sign of the pressure difference between Tahiti and Darwin, Australia, and in the ocean by warming or cooling of surface waters of the tropical central...
.
July and August are known as the windy months, with westerly gales that can gust at over 100 km/h.
History
The area was originally inhabited by the Dharwal (or
TuruwalThe Turuwal people were an Aboriginal sub-group of the Dharuk language nation based in New South Wales, Australia. They are famous for the name of the boomerang coming from their language.-References:*...
)
Indigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands, and these peoples' descendants. Indigenous Australians are distinguished as either Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders, who currently together make up about 2.6% of Australia's...
. The first Europeans to visit the area were the navigators
George BassGeorge Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.-Early Years:He was born on 30th of January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George Bass, and a local beauty named Sarah Nee Newman. His father had past away in 1777 when bass was 6...
and
Matthew FlindersCaptain Matthew Flinders, RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent...
who landed in Lake Illawarra in 1796. The first settlers in the region were cedar cutters in the early nineteenth century, followed by graziers in 1812. Charles Throsby established a stockman's hut in the area in 1815. The first land grants were made in 1816. In 1830 a military barracks was constructed near the harbour. Further settlers arrived and in 1834 a town was planned. On the 26th of November, 1834, the town was first gazetted and George Brown erected the first courthouse. The now main road down the Escarpment through Bulli Pass was built by convict labour in 1835-6, though other passes were built during the 1800s as well such as O'Brien's Road and Rixon's Pass. By 1856 Wollongong had a population of 864.
In 1858 the court house was built. In 1861 a horse drawn tramway from
Mount KeiraMount Keira is a 464 metre high mountain lying 4 kilometres northwest of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Its distinctive shape and proximity to Wollongong make it a major local landmark. It is noted for the views of the city from the popular summit lookout and its history of...
to the harbour was completed. In 1862 a telegraph line was opened between Wollongong and
BellambiBellambi is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It has a station on the CityRail South Coast line.Bellambi is situated directly north of Corrimal and east of Russell Vale...
. In 1865 the first gas supply in Wollongong was provided from a gas plant in Corrimal Street. In 1868 the extensions to the harbour were opened by Lady Belmore and named Belmore Basin. Patrick Lahiff established a coke works at Wollongong Harbour in the 1870s. He erected two beehive coke ovens between the north eastern end of the basin and Pulpit Rock. The ovens were demolished in 1892. The remains of the coke ovens were uncovered and recovered and are now preserved beneath the hill, a plaque explaining their history.
In 1871 the old lighthouse was completed. In 1880 steam locomotives were introduced to haul coal loads from Mount Keira mine to the harbour. In 1883 gas street lighting was introduced. In 1885 a new court house was erected in Market Street. In 1886 the first town hall was erected. The Illawarra Railway to Wollongong was completed in 1887, and now continues as far south as the town of
BomaderryBomaderry is a town in the Shoalhaven council district area of New South Wales, Australia. In 2006, it had a population of 6,601 people. It is on the north shore of the Shoalhaven River, across the river from Nowra ....
on the Shoalhaven River. The navigator George Bass first documented the Illawarra coal deposits in 1797. There have been many coalmines in the district. Australia's worst coal mining disaster occurred in 1902, at the
Mount KemblaMount Kembla is a mountain in New South Wales, Australia, as well a suburb of Wollongong, which gets its name from the mountain. Kembla is an Aboriginal word meaning "plenty of game". It is a former coal mining town and the home of the miners killed in the Mount Kembla Mining Disaster...
mine when an explosion killed 94 men and boys, the youngest aged 14, the oldest 69. Two other men died attempting to rescue survivors. In 1908 the Wollongong District Hospital was established on Garden Hill. In 1916 the Wollongong High School was opened.
Heavy industry was attracted to the region by the ready availability of coal. In 1928 Hoskins, later Australian Iron & Steel, started a steelworks at Port Kembla, a few kilometres south of Wollongong. The former Broken Hill Proprietary Company (now
BHP BillitonBHP Billiton is the world's largest mining company. It was created in 2001 by the merger of Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary Company and the UK's Billiton, which had a Dutch and South African background. The result is a dual-listed company with head offices in Melbourne and London...
after merging with Billiton plc) acquired AI&S in 1935, but has since spun-out their steel division as a separate company, now known as
BlueScope SteelBlueScope Steel is a flat product steel producer with operations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Pacific and North America. It was spun off from BHP Billiton in 2002 as BHP Steel and renamed BlueScope Steel on 17 November 2003...
. The steelworks has grown to become a world-class flat rolled steel producer, operating as a fully integrated steel plant with a production of around 5 million tonnes per year. Other industries to have set up in the massive Port Kembla industrial complex—the largest single concentration of heavy industry in Australia—include a fertiliser plant, an electrolytic copper smelter (featuring the tallest chimney in Australia), a locomotive workshop, a coal export shipping terminal, a grain export shipping terminal and an industrial gases manufacturing plant.
In 1937 the new Wollongong Lighthouse was finished on Flagstaff Point. In 1942 Wollongong was proclaimed a City. In 1947 City of Greater Wollongong was formed. In 1954 the population of Wollongong was 90,852. In 1956 new Wollongong City Council Chambers were opened. In 1961 the Wollongong University College was established. In 1963 the Wollongong Teachers College was established. In 1965 the Westfield shopping centre at
FigtreeFigtree is an inner western suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is southwest of West Wollongong and connected to Wollongong by the Princes Highway and The Avenue....
opened.
In 1985 the railway line was electrified to Wollongong, and in 1993 to Dapto. In 1986 the Wollongong Mall was completed. For a short while trams (trackless trains) were used in the mall, though this ceased due to dangers involved. The mall was re-opened to traffic after the initial test but re-zoned a pedestrian area after and has remained one since.
In 1987 the council chambers and library building were completed, replacing the old council building at the present art gallery site. The Crown Gateway Shopping Centre was completed. Wollongong Mall was opened. In 1988 the current council administration building was completed, as well as the performing arts centre across Burelli Street. A sculpture recognising
Lawrence HargraveLawrence Hargrave was an engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer.- Early life :Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England, the second son of John Fletcher Hargrave and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland...
was placed via a helicopter on the eastern foothills of
Mount KeiraMount Keira is a 464 metre high mountain lying 4 kilometres northwest of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Its distinctive shape and proximity to Wollongong make it a major local landmark. It is noted for the views of the city from the popular summit lookout and its history of...
. In 1998 the 6000 seat
Wollongong Entertainment CentreWIN Entertainment Centre, formerly the Wollongong Entertainment Centre and often referred to simply as the WEC, is a multipurpose indoor arena located in downtown Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia...
was opened.
In 1999 the Gateway and Crown Central mall buildings were unified as Wollongong Central and a pedestrian walkway/cafe was built connecting the buildings in an above ground bridge. In 2000, as part of the Sydney Olympics, the Olympic torch was carried through Wollongong as part of its journey. In 2001 the population of Wollongong reached 181,612 people. In 2004 the Wollongong City Gallery celebrated its 25th anniversary. In 2005
QantasQantas Airways Limited is the national airline of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport. It is Australia's largest...
established a daily air service from Wollongong to
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
that lasted till 2008.
In 2006/2007 the library was renovated, including new facilities, as part of the tenth anniversary of the library's current site. Also at this time the beachfront was renovated with a new lookout and walkway upgrade. In June 2007 erosion was caused via storms to the beaches, the worst in 30 years.
Despite the decline of traditional manufacturing and blue-collar industries due to the abandonment of
protectionistProtectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states, through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other restrictive government regulations designed to discourage imports, and prevent foreign take-over of local markets and companies...
economic policies in the 1980s, many of these industrial installations still exist. The city's economy is, however, on the rebound, thanks to diversification of economic activity including
higher educationHigher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...
, the fine arts,
tourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
, residential
constructionIn the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking...
and eco-friendly
electricity generationElectricity generation is the process of creating electricity from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
; however, the city's economy still relies primarily on heavy industry, and will continue to in the near future.
Demographics
The Wollongong metropolitan area includes the suburbs, outlying towns and rural localities stretching from
HelensburghHelensburgh is a small town in New South Wales, Australia. Helensburgh is located 45 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and 34 kilometres north of Wollongong. Helensburgh is in the local government area of Wollongong City Council and marks the northern end of the Illawarra...
in the north to Gerroa in the south. With an estimated population of 280,159 as at 30 June 2007 it is the
3rd largest city in New South Wales and the
9th largest in Australia. Around 89% of the population reside in the built-up urban area extending from
CliftonClifton is a village on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, between Sydney and Wollongong. Along with nearby Coalcliff, the village began life as a coal-mining centre. It is situated on a narrow area between the sea and the Illawarra escarpment...
to Shell Cove.
The following table includes selected 2006 census figures for these areas, together with those for the central suburb of Wollongong.
| Selected 2006 Census Statistics |
| |
Metropolitan Area |
Urban Area |
Inner City |
| Area |
Helensburgh to Kiama Kiama is a township 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. At the 2006 census, Kiama had a population of 12,286 people. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. The seaside town features several popular surfing...
|
Clifton Clifton is a village on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, between Sydney and Wollongong. Along with nearby Coalcliff, the village began life as a coal-mining centre. It is situated on a narrow area between the sea and the Illawarra escarpment...
to Shell Cove |
Wollongong Suburb |
| Population |
263,535 |
|
234,482 |
|
14,363 |
|
| Indigenous persons |
4,744 |
1.8% |
4,415 |
1.9% |
183 |
1.3% |
| Age Groups |
0–4 years |
16,478 |
6.3% |
14,780 |
6.3% |
540 |
3.8% |
| 5-14 |
36,435 |
13.8% |
32,020 |
13.7% |
887 |
6.2% |
| 15-24 |
36,329 |
13.8% |
32,590 |
13.9% |
3,055 |
21.3% |
| 25-54 |
106,038 |
40.2% |
94,564 |
40.3% |
6,100 |
42.5% |
| 55-64 |
28,447 |
10.8% |
25,167 |
10.7% |
1,427 |
9.9% |
| 65+ |
39,806 |
15.1% |
35,361 |
15.1% |
2,355 |
16.4% |
| People born overseas |
53,102 |
20.1% |
49,501 |
21.1% |
4,151 |
28.9% |
| Country of birth |
1 |
Australia |
194,197 |
73.7% |
Australia |
170,058 |
72.5% |
Australia |
8,579 |
59.7% |
| 2 |
England |
12,964 |
4.9% |
England |
11,503 |
4.9% |
England |
437 |
3.0% |
| 3 |
Macedonia |
4,276 |
1.6% |
Macedonia |
4,261 |
1.8% |
China |
409 |
2.8% |
| 4 |
Italy |
3,746 |
1.4% |
Italy |
3,613 |
1.5% |
Macedonia |
329 |
2.3% |
| 5 |
Scotland |
2,681 |
1.0% |
Scotland |
2,452 |
1.0% |
Croatia |
220 |
1.5% |
| 6 |
New Zealand |
2,358 |
0.9% |
New Zealand |
2,051 |
0.9% |
Italy |
195 |
1.4% |
| Language Spoken At Home |
1 |
United Kingdom English only |
215,079 |
81.6% |
United Kingdom English only |
187,944 |
80.2% |
United Kingdom English only |
9,308 |
64.8% |
| 2 |
Macedonia Macedonian |
6,857 |
2.6% |
Macedonia Macedonian |
6,814 |
2.9% |
Macedonia Macedonian |
522 |
3.6% |
| 3 |
Italy Italian |
5,275 |
2.0% |
Italy Italian |
5,097 |
2.2% |
China Mandarin |
389 |
2.7% |
| 4 |
Spain Spanish |
2,456 |
0.9% |
Spain Spanish |
2,390 |
1.0% |
Serbia Serbian |
371 |
2.6% |
| 5 |
Greece Greek |
2,353 |
0.9% |
Greece Greek |
2,272 |
1.0% |
Italy Italian |
320 |
2.2% |
| 6 |
Serbia Serbian |
1,782 |
0.7% |
Serbia Serbian |
1,738 |
0.7% |
Greece Greek |
311 |
2.2% |
| Religious Affiliation |
1 |
Catholic |
76,875 |
29.2% |
Catholic |
68,751 |
29.3% |
Catholic |
3,453 |
24.0% |
| 2 |
Anglican |
62,640 |
23.8% |
Anglican |
54,694 |
23.3% |
No Religion |
2,462 |
17.1% |
| 3 |
No Religion |
38,901 |
14.8% |
No Religion |
34,070 |
14.5% |
Anglican |
2,236 |
15.6% |
| 4 |
Eastern Orthodox |
14,199 |
5.4% |
Eastern Orthodox |
13,910 |
5.9% |
Eastern Orthodox |
1,459 |
10.2% |
| 5 |
Uniting Church |
14,060 |
5.3% |
Uniting Church |
12,073 |
5.1% |
Uniting Church |
516 |
3.6% |
| Total labour force |
119,542 |
|
105,316 |
|
7,110 |
|
Wollongong is continuing to grow with a population growth of 2.9% for the period 2001 to 2006, although the supply of new residential land is limited by the geography particularly in the northern suburbs. The west
DaptoDapto is a south western suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering an area 7.15 square kilometres in size...
area is a major centre of future growth with plans for 19,000 new dwellings and 50,000 people within 40 years. New residential areas are also being developed further south around the
Albion ParkAlbion Park is a southern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Currently Albion Park has a population of approximately 11,261 and continues to expand by a rate of 12.5% per year. Albion Park is bordered by the Illawarra escarpment in the west, Dapto in the North, Kiama in the South and...
, Shell Cove and
KiamaKiama is a township 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. At the 2006 census, Kiama had a population of 12,286 people. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. The seaside town features several popular surfing...
areas.
| Wollongong Population Growth 1947 - 2006 |
| Year |
Population |
Increase |
Growth |
| 1947 |
70,135 |
|
|
| 1954 |
100,725 |
30,590 |
43.6% |
| 1961 |
150,387 |
49,662 |
49.3% |
| 1966 |
177,432 |
27,045 |
18.0% |
| 1971 |
202,800 |
25,368 |
14.3% |
| 1976 |
222,250 |
19,450 |
9.6% |
| 1981 |
231,400 |
9,150 |
4.1% |
| 1986 |
232,240 |
840 |
0.4% |
| 1991 |
244,930 |
12,690 |
5.5% |
| 1996 |
255,740 |
10,810 |
4.4% |
| 2001 |
256,095 |
355 |
0.1% |
| 2006 |
263,535 |
7,440 |
2.9% |
| Source: 1947-1996 2001 2006 |
Wollongong has a distinctly multicultural population. Many migrants were attracted to the area by the job opportunities at the
Port KemblaPort Kembla, a suburb 8km south of Wollongong, isin the Illawarra region of New South Wales, comprises a seaport, industrial complex , a small harbour foreshore nature reserve and a town area with shops...
steelworks in the post-war period, and settled in surrounding suburbs such as
CringilaCringila is a densely populated southern suburb in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, about 4 km along Springhill Road. The suburb is bounded by Berkeley, Unanderra, Lake Heights and Warrawong....
,
WarrawongWarrawong is a southern suburb of Wollongong, in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. Two meanings are given for the aboriginal word Warrawong, "a whiting" and the "side of a hill". Warrawong is home to Port Kembla regional hospital and Westfield Warrawong, one of three major local...
and
ConistonConiston is a suburb of Wollongong in New South Wales.Coniston has one public primary school, east of the railway, and its main street is Gladstone Avenue which is the business center of the suburb. The suburb has a beach, Coniston Beach, to the east of Wollongong Golf Course, and Coniston railway...
. By 1966 about 60% of the wage earners at the Australian Iron and Steel steelworks were born overseas coming from over 70 countries. These included British, Yugoslavians (especially
MacedoniansMacedonian Australians are Australians of ethnic Macedonian descent. Many have their origins in the 1920s and 1930s although larger numbers came to Australia after World War II and the Greek Civil War...
),
BosniansBosnian Australians are people of Australia who are of Bosnian ancestry or come from Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2006 Australian census 24,630 Australians were born in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A majority of Bosnians in Australia are of the Islamic faith...
,
CroatiansCroatia has been a source of migrants to Australia, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2006 118,051 persons resident in Australia identified themselves as having Croatian ancestry.- History :...
,
SerbiansSerbian Australians are citizens of Australia who are of Serbian ancestry. According to the 2006 census, there are 95,364 people in Australia who are of Serbian ancestry. Serbs have migrated to Australia in various waves during the 20th century...
, Italians,
GermansGerman Australians constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in Australia, numbering 811,540 or 4.09 percent of respondents in the 2006 Census. It is the sixth most identified ancestry in Australia behind 'Australian', 'English, 'Irish, 'Scottish' and 'Italian'.The 2006 Census counted 106,524...
,
GreeksGreeks are the seventh-largest ethnic group in Australia, after those declaring their ancestry simply as "Australian". The 2006 census recorded 97,218 people of Greek Ancestry born in Greece and 18,381 in Cyprus, though it is uncertain how many of the latter are Greek Cypriots. A total of 365,147...
, Turks, and
ChileansChilean Australians are residents of Australia whose ancestry originates in the South American nation of Chile. In Australia, Chileans are the biggest Latin American group residing in the nation. The biggest Chilean Australian communities are primarily found in Sydney and Melbourne. With one out of...
. With the end of the
White Australia policyThe White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia from 1901 to 1973...
these were followed by Indo-Chinese refugees in the 1970s,
IndiansIndian Australians are Australian citizens or residents of Indian origin or descent. They include both those who are Australian by birth, and increasingly, those born in India or elsewhere in the Indian diaspora...
, Filipinos,
ChineseA Chinese Australian is an Australian of Chinese heritage. In the 2006 Australian Census, 669,890 Australian residents identified themselves as having Chinese ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry....
, Malays and Pacific Islanders in the 1980s and 1990s. The
universityThe University of Wollongong is a public university with approximately 22,000 students, located in the coastal city of Wollongong, which is 80 kilometres south of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
continues to attract students and staff from all over the world, with around 5,000 overseas student enrolments.
In religion Wollongong is predominantly Christian. The major denominations are Catholic (29.2%) and Anglican (23.8%), while 14.8% of the population profess no religion.
Major sources of employment include education, steel and food service. Around 20,000 people commute daily to jobs in Sydney by road and
railThe South Coast Line is in the intercity region of Sydney's CityRail services. It serves the coastal region to the south of the Sydney metropolitan area including the Illawarra region, most notably the regional city of Wollongong, and extended services reach as far as Nowra in Shoalhaven.- Line...
, making it one of the busiest commuter corridors in Australia.
Education
Wollongong has one university, the
University of WollongongThe University of Wollongong is a public university with approximately 22,000 students, located in the coastal city of Wollongong, which is 80 kilometres south of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
, which was formerly part of the
University of New South WalesThe University of New South Wales, also known as UNSW or colloquially as New South, is a university situated in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.The University was founded in 1949...
, and the Illawarra Institute of Technology, part of the State's system of TAFE colleges. The university was awarded the "Australian University of the Year" in two consecutive years (1999-2000, 2000-2001) by the Good Universities Guide.
Wollongong has a number of primary and high schools, including public, denominational and independent. Specialist high schools include the
selectiveSelective schools in New South Wales, Australia are most commonly government high schools operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training, that have accepted their students based upon their academic merit...
Smith's Hill High SchoolSmith's Hill High School is the only selective school in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the heart of Wollongong city.-History:...
, the Illawarra Sports High School, and
Wollongong High School of the Performing ArtsWollongong High School of the Performing Arts is a specialist co-educational, government secondary school located in Fairy Meadow, a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, run by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training. It was founded in 1916.The school enrolls both...
.
Notable Schools
- University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong is a public university with approximately 22,000 students, located in the coastal city of Wollongong, which is 80 kilometres south of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
(UoW), a University with more than 22,000 students, sporting numerous University of the Year awards. The current Chancellor is Mr Michael Codd AC and the Vice-Chancellor is Gerard Sutton.
- Bulli High School (BHS), a government school in Bulli
Bulli is a northern suburb of Wollongong situated on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. Bulli is derived from an Aboriginal word signifying "double or two mountains"....
with a student catchment area extending north to Stanwell ParkStanwell Park is a picturesque coastal village and northern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is the northernmost point of the Illawarra coastal strip and lies south of Sydney's Royal National Park. It is situated in a small valley between Bald Hill to the north, Stanwell Tops...
. Locally known for a surf culture due to its proximity to the beach.
- Cedars Christian College (CCC), a Christian school located in Unanderra
Unanderra is a suburb of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 10 km south-west of the Wollongong CBD. It is bordered to the west by Farmborough, Cordeaux Heights and Farmborough Heights in the Mount Kembla foothills, the north by Figtree, the east by Berkeley...
, a suburb within Wollongong. Offers both Primary and Secondary education.
- Corpus Christi Catholic High School
Corpus Christi Catholic High School is a year 7-10 secondary school located in Oak Flats, Australia. Founded in 2006, the school is operated by the Wollongong Catholic Education Office in its service of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wollongong...
, a Catholic co-educational high school located in Oak FlatsOak Flats is a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia situated on the south western shores of Lake Illawarra. It is a residential area of 6,400 people and has a railway station which was moved recently...
. Founded in 2006 and currently offering education for years 7 to 10.
- Corrimal High School
Corrimal High School is a comprehensive high school located in East Corrimal in Wollongong, New South Wales. The school has been operating since 1951...
, a school of which some notable high profile personalities have attended, including Russell MulcahyRussell Mulcahy is an Australian film director.- Music videos :Russell Mulcahy's career began with making early music videos while he was working for the Seven Network in Sydney, Australia...
film director of movies such as HighlanderHighlander is a 1986 fantasy action film directed by Russell Mulcahy and based on a story by Gregory Widen. It stars Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, and Roxanne Hart...
and On the Beach*WARNING! CONTAINS SPOILERS*On The Beach is a post-apocalyptic television movie released in 2000. It is a remake of the 1959 film, and is based on the book by Nevil Shute. It starred Armand Assante, Bryan Brown, and Rachel Ward who was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best leading actress in...
as well as many music video clips, Vince JonesVince Jones is an Australian jazz artist. He is a singer, songwriter, and trumpet/flugelhorn player. His music includes both original music and new contemporary versions of jazz standards. His themes are often love, inequity, injustice, peace and anti-greed.He attributes his love of jazz to...
world-renowned trumpet player and jazz and blues singer, Craig YoungCraig Young is an Australian former representative rugby league footballer for the Australia national rugby league team, the New South Wales Blues and a stalwart player over 11 seasons from 1977 to 1988 with the St. George Dragons in the NSWRL premiership competition. He played at prop-forward...
rugby league player with St George who represented Australia, Jay and Ryan Marmont Motocross riders.
- Corrimal East Public School is an innovative public school exploring new approaches in curriculum delivery and promoting the values of public education. The school's website is often used by technology leaders to illustrate how schools can easily engage the school community using simple web-2.0 technology. The current principal is David Schofield.
- Dapto High School
Dapto High School is a high school located in Dapto, New South Wales, Australia. It was opened in 1958 and has around 935 students enrolled. The current principal is Mr Andrew FitzSimons....
(DHS) is a school with a rich agricultural background, with strong learning ethics "Strive for Higher Things". The High school has around 1000 people on site daily, making it one of the largest high schools in the area. The school supports greater community spirit through, its Dapto Learning Community.
- Edmund Rice College
Edmund Rice College is a Catholic secondary school located in West Wollongong, Australia. It is named after Edmund Ignatius Rice, founder of the Congregation of Christian Brothers. Edmund Rice College is a Catholic Secondary College catering for boys from Years 7 to 12. Situated at West Wollongong...
(ERC), a Catholic boys school, which plays brother school to St. Mary's Star of the Sea. The current headmaster is D. Lear. Notable students include Dr. Karl KruszelnickiKarl Sven Woytek Sas Konkovitch Matthew Kruszelnicki, AM is a scientist, who is best known as an author and science commentator on Australian radio and television. He is usually referred to as Dr Karl or as Karl Kruszelnicki.He holds degrees in mathematics, biomedical engineering, medicine and...
and stage icon Anthony WarlowAnthony Warlow is an Australian opera and musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range from ....
[citation needed].
- Elonera Montessori School
Elonera Montessori School is located in Wollongong, New South Wales, and was established in 1987 by parents and friends of an alternative school who were enthused about taking on the Montessori philosophy....
(EMS), an independent [Montessori school, located in Mount OusleyMount Ousley is a residential suburb situated on the foothills of Mount Keira about four kilometres northwest from the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is also the name of the road which crosses the nearby Illawarra Escarpment and is adjacent to the University of Wollongong. Mount...
, offering education from K-10. The current principal (referred to as Head of School) is Mrs. Elizabeth Goor.
- Figtree High School
Figtree High School is a comprehensive public high school located on Gibsons Road in Figtree, a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
(FHS), a government high school in FigtreeFigtree is an inner western suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is southwest of West Wollongong and connected to Wollongong by the Princes Highway and The Avenue....
, with an enrolment of over 1200, with that number growing by around 100 each year. The current principal is Steve Bouvet, with the Deputy Principals being John Kennedy and Paul Delaney.
- Holy Spirit College (HSC), a Catholic school formed from Holy Cross and St Paul's, it is situated in Bellambi
Bellambi is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It has a station on the CityRail South Coast line.Bellambi is situated directly north of Corrimal and east of Russell Vale...
. The current principal is Mr. Mark Baker.
- Illawarra Christian School
Illawarra Christian School is a Christian Parent Controlled School located in Wollongong. It was founded in 1982.It is composed of two campuses: Cordeaux Campus in Cordeaux Heights, and Tongarra Campus in Albion Park. Both campuses currently offer Prep to Year 12 education...
(ICS), a Christian school with two campuses at Cordeaux HeightsCordeaux Heights is a suburb in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the eastern foothills of Mount Kembla as is its southern neighbour Farmborough Heights. Its northern boundary of housing is along Cordeaux Road which goes to Mount Kembla Village...
and Albion ParkAlbion Park is a southern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Currently Albion Park has a population of approximately 11,261 and continues to expand by a rate of 12.5% per year. Albion Park is bordered by the Illawarra escarpment in the west, Dapto in the North, Kiama in the South and...
, offering K-12 education.
- The Illawarra Grammar School
Illawarra Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational day school located at Mangerton in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia....
(TIGS), a private Anglican school founded in 1959. The current headmaster is Stephen Kinsella.
- Illawarra Senior College (ISC), a public school located in Port Kembla specialising in secondary education for post-compulsory students of all ages.
- Keira High School
Keira High School in Wollongong, New South Wales has existed as an institution under several names since 1917. Originally a collection of boys' technical schools on several sites throughout Wollongong, the school was amalgamated in 1954 at its current site in Lysaght Street North Wollongong.The...
(KHS), was re-established as a technology high school in 1990 but the title "technology" has been removed since. The current principal is Maurie Mulheron.
- Lake Illawarra High School
Lake Illawarra High School is a high school offering a wide selection of courses.Located on Reddall Parade, which follows the shores of Lake Illawarra, the school is bordered by the suburbs of Mount Warrigal, Warilla and Lake Illawarra...
(LIHS), a government high school whose principal is Tom Sleigh.
- Smith's Hill High School
Smith's Hill High School is the only selective school in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the heart of Wollongong city.-History:...
(SHHS), the only selective high school in Wollongong. The current principal is Rae Mitchell.
- St Mary Star of the Sea College (SMC), a Catholic girls' high school founded by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan
The Sisters of the Good Samaritan are a Roman Catholic religious congregation, of Tertiaries Regular of St. Benedict. They were established 2 February, 1857, at Sydney, Australia....
in 1873. Current principal is Greg Elliott.
- Warrawong High School, a school well known for its academic talent and achievements.
- Wollongong High School of The Performing Arts
Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts is a specialist co-educational, government secondary school located in Fairy Meadow, a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, run by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training. It was founded in 1916.The school enrolls both...
(WHSPA), a performing arts school. Notable students include Natalie Bassingthwaighte. The current principal is Marian Grant.
- Woonona High School (WHS), a government high school in Woonona
Woonona is a northern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern area of the Illawarra coastal plain. It is served by Woonona Station on the South Coast Line, and by the Princes Highway....
.
Media
Wollongong and the Illawarra region is serviced by three commercial
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
networks -
WIN TelevisionWIN Television is an Australian television network owned by the WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single Wollongong-only station, and has since expanded to 24 owned-and-operated stations with transmissions...
,
PrimePrime Television is an Australian television network owned by Prime Television Limited. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as CBN/CWN in Orange and Dubbo, New South Wales, and has since expanded to cover regional New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as a Seven...
and
Southern Cross TenSouthern Cross Ten is an Australian television channel broadcast by the Macquarie Media Group in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia. The channel is owned by the Macquarie Media Group as is affiliated to Network Ten...
. The
Australian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC", is Australia's national public broadcaster. With a total budget of AUD$1.13 Billion annually, the corporation provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia, as well as...
(ABC) and the
Special Broadcasting ServiceThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
(SBS) also broadcast television services to Wollongong. In some areas it is also possible to pick up Sydney broadcasts including the trial
datacastingDatacasting is the broadcasting of data over a wide area via radio waves. It most often refers to supplemental information sent by television stations along with digital television, but may also be applied to digital signals on analog TV or radio...
service,
Digital Forty FourDigital Forty Four is a trial datacasting service which was licensed by the Australian Broadcasting Authority in March 2004 to run initially for three years until late 2007. Its license has now been extended until the 31st July 2009. It is the world's first Digital Terrestrial TV service...
, and community station
Television SydneyTVS, or Television Sydney , , is a free-to-air community television station broadcasting in Sydney, Australia on UHF channel 31...
.
The region receives four ABC
radioRadio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
services -
ABC Classic FMABC Classic FM is an Australian classical music radio station available in major centres around the country. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...
95.7, ABC Illawarra 97.3,
Triple Jtriple J is a nationally-networked, government-funded Australian radio station , mainly aimed at youth...
98.9, and
Radio NationalRadio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
1431 AM. There are two commercial radio stations
i98 FMThe WIN Corporation is a Wollongong based media company, that owns the WIN Television network, NWS, and STW in Australia.It began broadcasting in Wollongong with one station in 1963. Bruce Gordon acquired control of the company in 1979 and initiated a period of growth which has seen the Network...
98.1 and WAVE FM 96.5, and two
community radioCommunity radio is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a certain area, broadcasting content that is popular to a local audience but which may often be overlooked by commercial or mass-media broadcasters....
stations
Vox FMVOX FM is a community radio station in Wollongong, New South Wales, broadcasting on the FM band. The station's FM frequency is 106.9....
106.9 and Christian broadcaster 94.1 FM. Nowra's Power FM 94.9 also reaches the city, as do most Sydney commercial radio stations.
Wollongong is home to one daily newspaper
The Illawarra Mercury issued Monday to Saturday, in addition to several free community newspapers including the
Wollongong AdvertiserThe Wollongong Advertiser is a free newspaper for the residents of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, and its immediate suburbs.The newspaper contains a television guide, classifieds and a sports section as well as band gig listings, special focus sections and general local news.Its editor is...
,
Local Citizen and the
Wollongong & Northern Leader which distributes to the northern suburbs and Wollongong.
Transport
Road
The main road connecting Wollongong is the
WaterfallWaterfall is a small suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waterfall is located 38 kilometers south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire....
-Yallah
Southern FreewaySouthern Freeway is a freeway linking Sydney to Wollongong. It currently is designated as part of National Route 1, however was formerly signposted as F6 under a former route numbering system, and is commonly known by this latter name...
(formerly the F6). The freeway, part of National Route 1, descends the escarpment via Mount Ousley Road to enter the city near the
University of WollongongThe University of Wollongong is a public university with approximately 22,000 students, located in the coastal city of Wollongong, which is 80 kilometres south of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
and exits at its southern fringe. A second freeway, the Northern Distributor, continues northward from the university to connect Wollongong's northern suburbs,
Bulli PassBulli Pass is a mountain pass northwest of Bulli, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the Illawarra Escarpment west of the Illawarra Coastal Plain. It was built during the 1800s for use by loggers and locals transporting goods to and from Sydney...
and the scenic
Lawrence Hargrave DriveLawrence Hargrave Drive is a scenic coastal road and popular tourist drive connecting the northernmost suburbs of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia to both Wollongong and Sydney....
. The
Illawarra HighwayIllawarra Highway connects Wollongong to NSW Southern Highlands. It links Princes Highway and Hume Highway and signed as National Route 48.It is named after the geographical area it crosses, the Illawarra region...
connects Wollongong's southern suburbs to the Southern Highlands via
Macquarie PassMacquarie Pass is a 8 kilometre long section of the Illawarra Highway passing through Macquarie Pass National Park. It was opened in 1898.Macquarie Pass links the Southern Highland town of Robertson to the coastal town of Albion Park, descending the Illawarra Escarpment via a very narrow bitumen...
.
Rail
Wollongong is served by the
South Coast railway lineThe South Coast Line is in the intercity region of Sydney's CityRail services. It serves the coastal region to the south of the Sydney metropolitan area including the Illawarra region, most notably the regional city of Wollongong, and extended services reach as far as Nowra in Shoalhaven.- Line...
. Passenger rail services on this line connect the centres of
NowraNowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Located approximately south of the state capital of Sydney, it has a population together with its twin-town of Bomaderry of 27,478...
and
KiamaKiama is a township 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. At the 2006 census, Kiama had a population of 12,286 people. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. The seaside town features several popular surfing...
to the south and Sydney to the north. A branch line connects suburbs between the CBD and Port Kembla. A passenger rail service connecting
Wollongong to the Southern HighlandsThe Unanderra - Moss Vale railway line is a cross country railway line in New South Wales, Australia. The line branches from the Illawarra railway line at the town of Unanderra and winds west over the Illawarra escarpment to the Southern Highlands town of Moss Vale...
has since been replaced with a coach service. Freight services connect Sydney markets with Port Kembla and the Manildra factory at Bomaderry. The Southern Highlands line is used primarily for freight, providing an important bypass for Sydney's congested rail network.
Bus
Bus services in Wollongong are provided by Premier Illawarra and other bus companies. Wollongong railway station serves as the network's hub. Services connect Wollongong suburbs to Shellharbour, Lake Illawarra and the
Royal National ParkThe Royal National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 29 km south of Sydney.Founded by Sir John Robertson, Acting Premier of New South Wales, and formally proclaimed on 26 April 1879, it is the world's second oldest purposed national park, the first usage of the term "national...
.
Air
Wollongong is serviced by
Illawarra Regional AirportIllawarra Regional Airport is an airport located 18 km southwest of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.-Airport features:...
, also known as the
Wollongong Airport and the base for the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS). The Airport is located at
Albion Park RailAlbion Park Rail is a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. The South Coast railway line was opened to the railway station and Bombo in 1887. At the time the nearest town was Albion Park, several kilometres away...
, in the Shellharbour City LGA.
Arts
Despite its industrial heritage, Wollongong maintains an active arts scene. In the area of music the city is home to the
Wollongong Symphony OrchestraThe Wollongong Symphony Orchestra was formed in 2004 as a collaboration between conductor Carlos Alvarado and Wollongong Conservatorium of Music. The orchestra gives regular concerts at Anita's Theatre in Thirroul, a northern suburb of Wollongong...
,
BlueScope Steel Youth OrchestraThe BlueScope Steel Youth Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based at the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music, in New South Wales, Australia, composed of the best high school music students in the Wollongong and surrounding regions. Players are selected via an audition process...
, a
jazz club and various groups and ensembles. The
Wollongong Conservatorium of MusicWollongong Conservatorium of Music is a centre for music education and performance serving the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the English Tudor style Gleniffer Brae Manor House and grounds, part of the Wollongong Botanic Gardens in the suburb of Keiraville.The...
provides musical tuition for instruments and voice in classical, jazz and contemporary styles. It is one of the largest regional conservatorium in Australia and located in the historic Gleniffer Brae Manor House, part of the
Wollongong Botanic GardensThe Wollongong Botanic Garden is located in the Wollongong suburb of Keiraville at the foot of Mount Keira in New South Wales, Australia. It is the local botanical gardens of the Illawarra and was opened in September 1970...
.
Local theatre groups include the
Arcadians,
Roo Theatre,
Merrigong and Wollongong Workshop Theatre.
The annual
Wollongong Eisteddfod showcases local talent in music, theatre and dance.
The
Wollongong City Gallery houses a significant collection of the art of the Illawarra, contemporary Australian, Aboriginal and Asian art. In addition there are a number of private galleries, particularly in Wollongong's northern seaside suburbs.
Entertainment and Nightlife
Entertainment venues include the
Crown Street MallCrown Street is the main street in the City of Wollongong, New South Wales.It was created in the early 1800s from a cattle track which follows a ridge from Mt. Keira to the first farm house in the area, and quickly became the "main" street of the then town....
, many restaurants and cafes, the town cinemas and the
Illawarra Performing Arts Centre. Adjacent to
WIN StadiumWollongong Showground is a rectangular multi-purpose stadium located in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawarra Steelers NRL team...
, the home ground of the NRL team St. George Illawarra Dragons, is the
WIN Entertainment CentreWIN Entertainment Centre, formerly the Wollongong Entertainment Centre and often referred to simply as the WEC, is a multipurpose indoor arena located in downtown Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia...
: a multipurpose venue which hosts concerts and sporting events (including Southern Stars, basketball and motocross stunt shows). There are numerous city nightclubs pubs & Registered Clubs, including The Illawarra Master Builders Club, Cooneys, The Glasshouse Tavern, One Five One (Formerly Bourbon St), Castros (Formerly Rusty's), The Illawarra Hotel, The Harp Hotel, The Oxford Tavern and The North Wollongong Hotel.
Recreation
Wollongong has 17 seasonally-patrolled local beaches: Stanwell Park, Coalcliff, Austinmer, Thirroul, Sandon Point, Bulli, Woonona, Bellambi, Corrimal, Towradgi, Fairy Meadow, North Wollongong, Wollongong City, Port Kembla and Windang. Surfing, rock fishing, swimming, skimboarding are common activities. The
Wollongong to Thirroul Bike TrackThe Wollongong to Thirroul Bike Track is a walking, jogging and bicycle track running from Wollongong City to Thirroul, a northern suburb of Wollongong, in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia....
, a thirteen kilometre Heart Foundation walking/biking pathway which runs northwards adjacent to the
IllawarraIllawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the Shoalhaven region, encompassing the cities of Wollongong and Shellharbour and the municipality of Kiama...
coastline starting at Wollongong Beach, is frequented by walkers, joggers, skaters and bicycle riders. Bushwalking on nearby
Mount KeiraMount Keira is a 464 metre high mountain lying 4 kilometres northwest of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Its distinctive shape and proximity to Wollongong make it a major local landmark. It is noted for the views of the city from the popular summit lookout and its history of...
and
Mount KemblaMount Kembla is a mountain in New South Wales, Australia, as well a suburb of Wollongong, which gets its name from the mountain. Kembla is an Aboriginal word meaning "plenty of game". It is a former coal mining town and the home of the miners killed in the Mount Kembla Mining Disaster...
, and motorbike riding at the Motocross Track on the escarpment west of Wollongong, are also popular activities.
Wollongong has many parks. In the city centre is
MacCabe ParkMacCabe Park is a small park located in the City of Wollongong, Australia. It is commonly misspelt McCabe Park, though the sign has since been changed to its correct name...
, featuring a playground, the local youth centre, a war memorial, community hall, a sculpture called "Nike" and a brick amphitheatre. Lang Park, adjacent to the city beach, has a number of shelters built in the 1950s. These were subject for demolition but were saved by a community vote. Stuart Park, to the coastal north of the city but south of Fairy Lagoon and
Puckeys Estate ReservePuckey's Estate Reserve is a coastal nature reserve in Wollongong, Australia. It is mainly she-oak forest, but also has sand dune and wetland areas, including areas along Para Creek...
, is well known as a landing spot for skydivers as well as a place for outdoor recreation and social gatherings. Stuart Park is also distinctive for its
Norfolk IslandNorfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It and two neighbouring islands form one of Australia's external territories....
Pines, planted during the North Wollongong tourism boom in the 1920s. J.J.Kelly Park to the south is used by circuses, as well as a protected area of creek leading to the
Greenhouse ParkThe Greenhouse Park is a park immediately south of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. It is south of J.J Kelly Park and in the inner suburb of Coniston, New South Wales. It was created in 1999 as a green corridor between the city and the industrial areas at Port Kembla...
north of the Port Kembla Steelworks, containing a revegetated area of once waste and a lookout, as well as the small remnants of Tom Thumb Lagoon, which once stretched north to Swan Street. Beaton Park in
GwynnevilleGwynneville is an inner city suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia located approximately 2 km north west of the city centre.It has an area of bush heritage land on its southern side located in and around Wiseman Park. There are two schools, and...
is home to
Tennis Wollongong and the
Leisure Centre with an athletics complex, indoor heated swimming pool, gymnasium and multipurpose sports hall.
Sport
The
St George Illawarra DragonsThe St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club.They compete in the National Rugby League. The club entered the NRL competition in 1999 as a joint venture between the St. George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers. They officially formed as the game’s first...
represent the city in the
NationalThe National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL competition is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
Rugby LeagueRugby league football is a full-contact form of football, played with a prolate spheroid ball by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. Rugby league is one of the two codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union...
(NRL)The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL competition is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
competition. The club was formed in a merger between the
St. George DragonsThe St George Dragons were an Australian rugby league club that has, since 1999, formed half of the merged St. George Illawarra Dragons team of the National Rugby League. St George are still represented as a stand alone entity at a junior level, with teams representing the district in the Harold...
and the
Illawarra SteelersThe Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club previously played in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 when they, along with the Canberra Raiders, were admitted into the New South Wales Rugby...
in 1999, and continues to play some home games at
WIN StadiumWollongong Showground is a rectangular multi-purpose stadium located in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawarra Steelers NRL team...
. Prior to the merger the Illawarra Steelers had represented the area in the
New South Wales Rugby League premiershipThe New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League from 1908 until 1994, the premiership was the state's and later the country's elite rugby league competition...
and NRL between 1982 and 1998. Rugby league has been played in Wollongong since 1911, and the area has produced at least 41 international players. At the local level league continues to have a strong following with a number of teams playing in the
Illawarra Rugby LeagueThe Illawarra Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Wollongong, NSW. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1911 with five clubs ....
and
Group 7 Rugby LeagueGroup 7 is a rugby league competition among 9 teams drawn from the Southern Illawarra and South Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia...
competitions.
Trent Johnston, captain of Ireland at the 2007 Cricket World Cup, is a native of Wollongong. He grew up in Dapto and left Australia in 2004. He played his 100th game for Ireland against England in August 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Johnston
The
IllawarriorsThe Illawarriors are a new rugby union franchise based in the Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia. Although being inducted into the Sydney Tooheys Shute Shield competition in 2006, it wasn't until 2007 that they played their first full season....
are a
rugby unionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
club based in the Illawarra, who contest the
Shute ShieldThe Shute Shield is a rugby union competition in Sydney, New South Wales. It is the premier grade rugby trophy in NSW rugby. The Shute Shield is awarded in the first half of the Sydney club season. The Shield is contested by the twelve NSWRU clubs and, in previous seasons clubs from outside of the...
NSW club competition. The club play some of their home games out of WIN Stadium.
The
Wollongong HawksThe Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League , based in the New South Wales city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005...
basketball team play in the
National Basketball LeagueThe National Basketball League is Australasia's top-level professional basketball competition.There are currently 8 teams in the league, with teams in Adelaide, Auckland, Cairns, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, Townsville, and Wollongong. This comes after a turbulent period, when the league lost...
and are the only NBL club (as of 2009/10) to have competed in every season since the league's inception in 1979. Home games are played at the
WIN Entertainment CentreWIN Entertainment Centre, formerly the Wollongong Entertainment Centre and often referred to simply as the WEC, is a multipurpose indoor arena located in downtown Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia...
, known as the "The Sandpit" in the NBL.
Wollongong F.C. is the region's
football (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
club who compete in the
New South Wales Premier LeagueThe New South Wales Premier League is the highest state-level men's Association football competition in New South Wales, Australia. Nationally, it is considered one grade lower than the A-League...
.
Scott ChipperfieldScott Chipperfield is an Australian international football player who plays as a midfielder for FC Basel in the Swiss Super League.-Personal life:...
, a Wollongong native who became a professional football player in Europe, has recently expressed an interest in being involved in a Wollongong football club in the
A-LeagueThe A-League is the premier Australasian domestic football competition. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia, it was founded in 2004 following the collapse of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005-06...
, as well as the Sydney club playing some promotional games in Wollongong. Great South Football is a consortium preparing the Illawarra's
South Coast A-League bidSouth Coast Football is a community based group bidding to enter a team in the Hyundai A-League competition in 2010-2011. The bid, led by local businessman Eddy De Gabriele, aims to represent a population of 500,000 in the south coast region of New South Wales, taking in the Wollongong,...
. In late 2008, the club folded due to debt incurred over the past season. It is proposed that a new community-based entity will take on the Football NSW licence previously held by Wollongong FC.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/01/2433937.htm
The Illawarra Cycling Club
http://www.illawarracycleclub.org.au/ holds road cycle races almost every week of the year. During the summer, velodrome racing is also promoted at the Unanderra Velodrome on the Princes Highway. A recent focus within the club has seen a shift to encompass a stronger emphasis on youth development programs alongside its already strong commitment to competitive under 19's, 23's and adult road racing. The club is represented at a state and national level regularly and has had several riders compete at international levels.
Other popular sports in the Illawarra include rock climbing, surfing, triathlon and mountain biking.
Reference in popular culture
- Wollongong has received its share of attention from novelists, songwriters and filmmakers over the years. English author D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English author, poet, playwright, essayist and literary critic. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
penned the novel KangarooKangaroo is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, first published in 1923. It is set in Australia.-Description:Kangaroo is an account of a visit to New South Wales by an English writer named Richard Lovat Somers, and his German wife Harriet, in the early 1920s...
while staying in the northern suburb of ThirroulThirroul is a northern seaside suburb of the city of Wollongong, Australia, with the name supposedly Aboriginal for "Valley of Cabbage Tree Palms". Situated between Austinmer and Bulli, it is approximately 13 kilometres north of Wollongong, and 69 km south of Sydney...
.
- Wollongong is the home of a professional Quidditch
Quidditch is a fictional sport developed by J. K. Rowling for the Harry Potter book series. It is described as an extremely rough but very popular semi-contact sport played by wizards and witches around the world. Matches are played between two teams of seven players riding flying broomsticks,...
team, the Woollongong Warriors [sic], that operates within the fictional Harry Potter universeThe fictional universe of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels comprises two separate and distinct societies: the wizarding world and the Muggle world...
.
- The original (Australian) version of the song "I've Been Everywhere
The song "I've Been Everywhere" was written by Geoff Mack in 1959 and made popular by the singer Lucky Starr in 1962.It listed Australian towns...
" mentions Wollongong and its suburb UnanderraUnanderra is a suburb of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 10 km south-west of the Wollongong CBD. It is bordered to the west by Farmborough, Cordeaux Heights and Farmborough Heights in the Mount Kembla foothills, the north by Figtree, the east by Berkeley...
in its list of places visited.
- The city was famously lampooned in the 1970s ABC-TV
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC", is Australia's national public broadcaster. With a total budget of AUD$1.13 Billion annually, the corporation provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia, as well as...
comedy series The Aunty Jack ShowThe Aunty Jack Show was a Logie-award winning Australian television comedy series that ran from 1972 to 1973. Produced by and broadcast on ABC-TV, the series attained an instant cult status that persists to the present day....
. The show's characters included a gormless local TV reporter Norman GunstonNorman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s.- Early years :...
, described as a Wollongong media non-personality, who presented a segment "What's On In Wollongong" and subsequently went on to have his own spin-off series and 'career'. Another spin-off from the show was the album Aunty Jack Sings WollongongAunty Jack Sings Wollongong is an album released in 1974, as a spin-off from the cult ABC-TV show Aunty Jack. It contains a mixture of songs, and sketches, and along with the single Farewell Aunty Jack is the only audio release from the Aunty Jack crew....
, a mixture of sketches and songs loosely based around a visit to Wollongong.
- In the episode Unnatural Love
"Unnatural Love" is the fifth episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on February 15, 2009...
from the New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
/AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series Flight of the ConchordsFlight of the Conchords is a New Zealand comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Billing themselves as "Formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo", the group uses a combination of witty observation, characterisation and...
, Bret pretends to be Jemaine's Australian girlfriend in a message on their answering machineAn answering machine, also known as an answerphone , and sometimes/formerly ansaphone or ansafone or telephone answering device , is a device invented in 1935, by Benjamin Thornton, and independently in Switzerland by Willy Mueller...
, saying that she has moved back to Wollongong. Jemaine corrects Bret, telling him she is actually from Woolloomooloo.
Attractions
In addition to numerous swimming and surfing beaches, major visitor attractions to the Wollongong region are:
- Wollongong Botanic Gardens
The Wollongong Botanic Garden is located in the Wollongong suburb of Keiraville at the foot of Mount Keira in New South Wales, Australia. It is the local botanical gardens of the Illawarra and was opened in September 1970...
- Cockatoo Run scenic train ride from Wollongong to Robertson
Robertson is a small town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town is located on the edge of an elevated plateau about 35 km from the coast. Robertson is known for its high annual rainfall and fertile soil...
- Cycling to Sandon Point from North Wollongong
The Wollongong to Thirroul Bike Track is a walking, jogging and bicycle track running from Wollongong City to Thirroul, a northern suburb of Wollongong, in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia....
- Wollongong Harbour (Belmore Basin), lighthouses
Wollongong with a population of nearly 200,000 is the third largest city in the Illawarra region of New South Wales , south of Sydney in Australia. It is the only place in the east of Australia to have two lighthouses that are located within close proximity of each other...
and surrounding foreshores
- Historical Aircraft Restoration Society located at the Illawarra Regional Airport
Illawarra Regional Airport is an airport located 18 km southwest of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.-Airport features:...
- Illawarra Light Railway Museum, with light and miniature train rides
- Illawarra Museum
- Jamberoo Action Park
- Kiama Blowhole
The Kiama Blowhole is a blowhole in the town of Kiama, New South Wales, Australia. It is the town's major tourist attraction. Under certain sea conditions, the blowhole can spray water up to 25 metres in the air, in quantities that thoroughly drench any bystanders...
- Lookouts at Bald Hill, Bulli Tops (Sublime Point
Sublime Point is a feature of the Illawarra Escarpment west of Austinmer. It is a summit on the plateau edge where the escarpment turns to go in a more northerly direction from a more northeasterly direction....
and Cliffhanger Restaurant), Mount KeiraMount Keira is a 464 metre high mountain lying 4 kilometres northwest of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Its distinctive shape and proximity to Wollongong make it a major local landmark. It is noted for the views of the city from the popular summit lookout and its history of...
, Port KemblaPort Kembla, a suburb 8km south of Wollongong, isin the Illawarra region of New South Wales, comprises a seaport, industrial complex , a small harbour foreshore nature reserve and a town area with shops...
(Hill 60), Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk, Saddleback MountainSaddleback Mountain is a mountain in New South Wales, Australia which rises to about 600 metres above sea level and has spectacular views of Noorinan Mountain, 662 metres above sea level, and Barren Grounds Plateau to the west and south to Coolangatta Mountain and Pigeon House Mountain to...
- Minnamurra Rainforest Centre and Minnamurra Falls
- Motorlife Museum
- Nan Tien Temple
Nan Tien Temple is a Buddhist temple complex located in the industrial suburb of Berkeley, on the southern outskirts of the Australian city of Wollongong, approximately 80 km south of Sydney...
- Port Kembla
Port Kembla, a suburb 8km south of Wollongong, isin the Illawarra region of New South Wales, comprises a seaport, industrial complex , a small harbour foreshore nature reserve and a town area with shops...
steelworks and Australia’s Industry World tours
- Science Centre and Planetarium
- Sea Cliff Bridge
The Sea Cliff Bridge is a balanced cantilever bridge located in the northern Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The $52 million bridge links the coastal villages of Coalcliff and Clifton...
- Skydiving at North Wollongong Beach
- Symbio Wildlife Park
Sister Cities
Wollongong has sister city arrangements with:
Kawasakiis a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the 9th most populated city in Japan and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area....
, Japan, since 1987
OhridOhrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has been...
,
Republic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country in the central Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, since 1999
LongyanLongyan is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Fujian province, China.-Geography:It is situated in the upper reaches of the Jiulong and Tingjiang rivers...
, People's Republic of China (friendship city), since 2000
See also
- The Aunty Jack Show
The Aunty Jack Show was a Logie-award winning Australian television comedy series that ran from 1972 to 1973. Produced by and broadcast on ABC-TV, the series attained an instant cult status that persists to the present day....
, Norman GunstonNorman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s.- Early years :...
and Aunty Jack Sings WollongongAunty Jack Sings Wollongong is an album released in 1974, as a spin-off from the cult ABC-TV show Aunty Jack. It contains a mixture of songs, and sketches, and along with the single Farewell Aunty Jack is the only audio release from the Aunty Jack crew....
- Church Street
Church Street is a main north-south running street in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It contains many of Wollongong's well known and lesser known attractions and historic sites...
- Crown Street
Crown Street is the main street in the City of Wollongong, New South Wales.It was created in the early 1800s from a cattle track which follows a ridge from Mt. Keira to the first farm house in the area, and quickly became the "main" street of the then town....
- Greenhouse Park
The Greenhouse Park is a park immediately south of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. It is south of J.J Kelly Park and in the inner suburb of Coniston, New South Wales. It was created in 1999 as a green corridor between the city and the industrial areas at Port Kembla...
- HMAS Wollongong
Three ships of the Royal Australian Navy have been named HMAS Wollongong, after the city of Wollongong, New South Wales* The first HMAS Wollongong was a Bathurst class corvette launched in 1941...
- Illawarra Escarpment
The Illawarra Escarpment is the fold created cliffs and plateau/ eroded outcrop mountain range west of the Illawarra coastal plain south of Sydney, Australia, enclosing the region known as the Illawarra which stretches from Stanwell Park in the north to Kiama, Gerringong and the Shoalhaven river in...
- The Illawarra Region
Illawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the Shoalhaven region, encompassing the cities of Wollongong and Shellharbour and the municipality of Kiama...
- Mount Keira
Mount Keira is a 464 metre high mountain lying 4 kilometres northwest of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Its distinctive shape and proximity to Wollongong make it a major local landmark. It is noted for the views of the city from the popular summit lookout and its history of...
- Mount Kembla
Mount Kembla is a mountain in New South Wales, Australia, as well a suburb of Wollongong, which gets its name from the mountain. Kembla is an Aboriginal word meaning "plenty of game". It is a former coal mining town and the home of the miners killed in the Mount Kembla Mining Disaster...
- Nan Tien temple
Nan Tien Temple is a Buddhist temple complex located in the industrial suburb of Berkeley, on the southern outskirts of the Australian city of Wollongong, approximately 80 km south of Sydney...
- Port Kembla
- Puckeys Estate Reserve
Puckey's Estate Reserve is a coastal nature reserve in Wollongong, Australia. It is mainly she-oak forest, but also has sand dune and wetland areas, including areas along Para Creek...
- Wollongong Lighthouses
Wollongong with a population of nearly 200,000 is the third largest city in the Illawarra region of New South Wales , south of Sydney in Australia. It is the only place in the east of Australia to have two lighthouses that are located within close proximity of each other...
- List of songs about the Illawarra
- List of Wollongong suburbs
- South Coast Railway Line
The South Coast Line is in the intercity region of Sydney's CityRail services. It serves the coastal region to the south of the Sydney metropolitan area including the Illawarra region, most notably the regional city of Wollongong, and extended services reach as far as Nowra in Shoalhaven.- Line...
- University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong is a public university with approximately 22,000 students, located in the coastal city of Wollongong, which is 80 kilometres south of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
- Wollongong Botanic Garden
- Wollongong Central
Wollongong Central is a major shopping centre in the Illawarra region, located in the CBD of Wollongong, approximately 90 kilometres south of Sydney. It is operated and managed by Australian property investment company, General Property Trust . It is of local importance and is used by much of the...
External links
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