Helensburgh, New South Wales

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Helensburgh is a small town (5 000+ population) in New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately half way between Sydney and Wollongong, at the southern end of the Royal National Park. What separates it from Waterfall is little more than a hill in the national park, about 400m. Waterfall is considered Sydney's most southern suburb and the city train service stops here. Correspondingly, Helensburgh is the northernmost suburb of the Wollongong LGA.

The town is serviced towards Wollongong by the south coast railway line. Owing to the steep drop from Waterfall to Helensburgh, a series of almost hairpin turns are created along the train line. One of these was the scene of a fatal crash in 2003. Located 34 km (21 miles) north of Wollongong City, Helensburgh is now under the area controlled by Wollongong City Council and marks the northern end of the Illawarra District. Originally called Camp Creek, Helensburgh started out as a workers' camp established in the 1880s to accommodate coal miners who came to the area to work the coal mine, which operates to this day.

Helensburgh is surrounded by the bushland of the Royal National Park, The Garrawarra State Recreation Area and the water catchment of the Woronora Dam and adjacent Heathcote National Park, so is environmentally sensitive. This bushland location also makes Helensburgh susceptible to damage from frequent summer bushfires.

It is traditionally a Labor-voting area, however from 1996 to 2001, Danna Vale (a Liberal) represented the federal division of Hughes until a redistribution moved Helensburgh into the Division of Cunningham, then a Green seat, now a safe Labor seat containing Wollongong. Helensburgh straddles the State seats of Keira and Heathcote each are represented by Labor members.

Also known to locals in the surrounding areas of the Sutherland Shire and the south coast as simply "the burgh", pronounced the berg as opposed to some Gaelicised locals who prefer the buruh pronunciation.