City of Lake Macquarie

Lake Macquarie is the name of a Local Government Area (the City of Lake Macquarie) located in NSW, Australia, approximately 150km north of Sydney, and 20km south of Newcastle.

1 The City of Lake Macquarie
2 Photographs
3 Sister cities
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] The City of Lake Macquarie

The City of Lake Macquarie has an estimated population of 189,150 as of June 2003 (Australian Bureau of Statistics) and is the fourth or fifth largest Local Government Area in NSW by population (three of the largest, Sutherland, Blacktown, and Fairfield, are all within metropolitan Sydney). Its population is slightly larger than that of the City of Newcastle and similar to that of the City of Wollongong. One of its major tourist attractions is its lake, also named Lake Macquarie.

Lake Macquarie is classified as a "city", but there is no significant distinction between the terms "city", "shire", and "municipality" as applied to Local Government Areas in New South Wales. The area is demographically a set of closely contiguous towns that surround a coastal saltwater lake, and merge with the suburbs of Newcastle to the north. Some suburbs, such as Adamstown Heights are partly in the City of Newcastle and partly within the City of Lake Macquarie.

Significant population centres include:

The various towns and suburbs are classified as being part of the Newcastle Statistical District, so their population is included when Newcastle is commonly listed as Australia's sixth largest city. However, the City of Lake Macquarie has its own independent local government (Lake Macquarie City Council), which is planning to develop a new Central Business District. The largest commercial centre in the region is Charlestown which has a turnover greater than that of Newcastle's central business district.

Lake Macquarie City Council Coat of Arms

Shopping

Charlestown Square
Glendale Super Centre
Lake Macquarie Fair
Morisset Mega Market

Lake Macquarie has a significant coal mining industry and smaller agriculture and manufacturing industries. Eraring power station, a 1980s-era coal-fired power station, supplies 25% of New South Wales' power. As of September 2002, Lake Macquarie had an unemployment rate of 8.7%, which is higher than the state average but lower than that of surrounding areas. Some areas have become a popular retirement destination. There is very little tourism, with the area being virtually unknown even to residents as close as Sydney.

For information regarding the saltwater lake in the centre of the city see here Lake Macquarie, New South Wales

[edit] Photographs

View from Woods Point showing Vales Point	View from Cane Point showing Marks Point across Village Bay	Aerial photograph taken on a flight from Newcastle to Melbourne	Aerial photograph taken on a flight from Newcastle to Melbourne
Aerial photograph taken on a flight from Newcastle to Melbourne

[edit] Sister cities

Round Rock, Texas, United States of America
Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan
Rotorua, New Zealand
Tanagura, Fukushima, Japan

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Lake Macquarie City Council
Lake Macquarie Yacht Club
Belmont 16ft Sailing Club
Clickable map of New South Wales LGAs (NSW Dept. of Local Government)
Shires of Australia at Statoids
Panoramic shots of Lake Macquarie

	Cities of New South Wales
Capital:	Sydney
Cities:	Albury \| Armidale \| Bathurst \| Blue Mountains \| Broken Hill \| Cessnock \| Coffs Harbour \| Dubbo \| Gosford \| Goulburn \| Grafton \| Griffith \| Greater Taree \| Hawkesbury \| Lake Macquarie \| Lismore \| Lithgow \| Maitland \| Newcastle \| Orange \| Queanbeyan \| Shellharbour \| Shoalhaven \| Tamworth \| Wagga Wagga \| Wollongong