Wollongong, New South Wales
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| Wollongong New South Wales |
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| Population: • Density: |
274,072 (2004) (9th) 265.5/km² |
| Postcode: | 2500, 2520, 2522 |
| Elevation: | 5 m |
| Area: | 684 km² |
| Time zone:
• Summer (DST) |
AEST (UTC+10) |
| Location: | 82 km from Sydney |
| LGA: | Wollongong City Council |
Wollongong is the third largest city in the state of New South Wales, Australia, after Sydney and Newcastle. It is also a Local Government Area administered by the Wollongong City Council. It is located on the eastern coast of Australia, 82 kilometres (52 mi) south of Sydney in an area known as the Illawarra and has a metropolitan population of 274,072 (2004). Wollongong is connected to Sydney through a scenic road and rail route which takes between 90 and 120 minutes and via main roads, taking between 70 and 90 minutes.
The name Wollongong, (IPA: [‘wʊlɒŋgɒŋ]), is generally said to mean "sound of the sea" in the local Aboriginal language, although other explanations have been offered, such as "great feast of fish".[1]
Known affectionately as "the Gong", Wollongong is a town with a long history of mining and industry, having coal mines, steelworks and an industrial port. The city is also a regional centre for the South Coast fishing industry. It has a university, the University of Wollongong, which attracts a great number of international students each year. It has two Regional Cathedrals, and numerous churches of many denominations including the well-known land-mark, the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple, the largest in the Southern hemisphere.
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[edit] Geography
The City of Wollongong has a distinct geography. It lies on a narrow coastal plain flanked by the Pacific Ocean to the east and a steep sandstone precipice known as the Illawarra escarpment to the west. The coastal plain is widest in the south and narrowest in the north.
To the north of Wollongong it becomes so narrow that the coastal road Lawrence Hargrave Drive once precariously hugged the cliffline until rock falls forced its closure. It was replaced in 2005 by the Sea Cliff Bridge. The bridge carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic just off the coast, crossing the submerged rock shelf. The Illawarra Railway must go through several tunnels to reach the Sydney metropolitan area. The Southern Freeway and Old Princes Highway provide alternative inland routes, descending the escarpment further south at Bulli Pass or at Mount Ousley, entering the coastal plain at Gwynneville, just north of Wollongong's city centre.
The Escarpment ranges between 150 and 750 metres (490 - 2,460 ft) above sea level, with locally famous mountains such as Mount Keira, Mount Kembla, Broker's Nose and Mount Murray. The Escarpment contains strata of coal measures, and the adit entrances to many coal mines have been established along the slopes of the Escarpment right throughout Wollongong. The plain itself is traversed by several short but flood-prone and fast-flowing streams and creeks such as Para Creek, Allans Creek and Mullet Creek. These plains consist of highly fertile alluvium, which made Wollongong so attractive to agriculturists in the nineteenth century. The coastline itself 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. Just to the south of Wollongong City, near Port Kembla, lie five islands, which are known collectively as "The Five Islands", the largest being Gang-man-gang Island. The islands are a wildlife refuge.
A large coastal saltwater lagoon called Lake Illawarra is in the southern part of the city, separated from the Pacific Ocean by a long sandy spit. Just to the north of the lake is Port Kembla, a natural harbour that has been considerably expanded by human-made excavation and reclamation works.
[edit] History
The area was originally inhabited by the Dharwal (or Turuwal) Indigenous Australians. The first Europeans to visit the area were the navigators George Bass and Matthew Flinders 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. Further settlers arrived and in 1834 a town was planned. A road down the Escarpment through Bulli Pass was built by convict labour in 1835-6. By 1856 Wollongong had a population of 864. The Illawarra Railway to Wollongong was completed in 1887, and now continues as far south as the town of Bomaderry 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 Kembla mine when an explosion killed 94 men and boys, the youngest aged 14, the oldest 69. Two other men died attempting to rescue survivors.
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 Billiton after merging with Billiton) acquired AI&S in 1935, but has since spun-out their steel division as a separate company, now known as BlueScope Steel. 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.
Despite the decline of traditional manufacturing and blue-collar industries due to the abandonment of protectionist economic policies in the 1980s, many of these industrial installations still exist. This has not stopped Wollongong having the unenviable distinction of one of Australia's highest unemployment rates and rates of drug dependency[citation needed]. The city's economy is, however, on the rebound, thanks to diversification of economic activity including higher education, the fine arts, tourism, residential construction and eco-friendly electricity generation; however, the city's economy still relies primarily on heavy industry, and will continue to in the near future.
[edit] Demographics
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In 2001 the city of Wollongong had a population of 181,612. The surrounding urban area including the City of Wollongong, City of Shellharbour and Municipality of Kiama comprise a metropolitan area population of 274,072.
Wollongong has a high proportion of residents with southern European ancestries, particularly from Republic of Macedonia, Italy, Greece, Turkey and former Yugoslavia many of whom migrated to Australia due to acute labour shortages and accelerating industrialisation in the boom period after World War II. In recent years migrants have come from Vietnam, Lebanon, Iran, Portugal, Spain, Africa, South America and Bosnia.
More recently, Wollongong has become an attractive destination for new residents moving from Sydney seeking lower real estate prices, less traffic congestion and a less-developed natural environment. Wollongong's cheaper real estate, combined with efficient transport links to Sydney via CityRail's South Coast Line and the F6 Southern Freeway, have seen many young families move to new subdivisions in Wollongong while retaining jobs in Sydney.
[edit] Climate
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily maximum temperature (°C) | 25.6 | 25.6 | 24.5 | 22.5 | 20.0 | 17.6 | 17.0 | 18.2 | 20.3 | 22.0 | 22.8 | 25.0 | 21.7 | |
| Mean daily maximum temperature (°F) | 78.1 | 78.1 | 76.1 | 72.5 | 68.0 | 63.7 | 62.6 | 64.8 | 68.5 | 71.6 | 73.0 | 77.0 | 71.1 | |
| Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) | 17.9 | 18.3 | 16.8 | 14.3 | 11.9 | 9.5 | 8.4 | 8.8 | 10.6 | 12.6 | 14.3 | 16.6 | 13.3 | |
| Mean daily minimum temperature (°F) | 64.2 | 64.9 | 62.2 | 57.7 | 53.4 | 49.1 | 47.1 | 47.8 | 51.1 | 54.7 | 57.7 | 61.9 | 55.9 | |
| Mean total rainfall (mm) | 135.0 | 160.5 | 171.0 | 133.5 | 115.1 | 108.0 | 60.4 | 88.4 | 64.2 | 100.5 | 113.6 | 93.7 | 1343.8 | |
| Mean total rainfall (in) | 5.31 | 6.32 | 6.73 | 5.26 | 4.53 | 4.25 | 2.38 | 3.48 | 2.53 | 3.96 | 4.47 | 3.69 | 52.9 | |
| Mean number of rain days | 13.7 | 14.1 | 14.5 | 11.2 | 11.1 | 9.4 | 8.5 | 7.7 | 9.0 | 11.5 | 13.2 | 12.9 | 136.7 | |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology | ||||||||||||||
[edit] Education
Wollongong has one university, the University of Wollongong, which was formerly part of the University of New South Wales, 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 also has a selective high school, Smith's Hill High School. Located in the heart of Wollongong, this school has some of the best HSC results in the state. Other notable high schools include Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts, Keira High School, The Illawarra Grammar School and the "twin" schools of St Mary's Star of the Sea College and Edmund Rice College.
[edit] Media
Wollongong and the Illawarra region is serviced by three commercial television networks - WIN Television, Prime and Southern Cross Ten. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) also broadcast television services to Wollongong. It is also possible to pick up Sydney broadcasts including the trial datacasting service, Digital Forty Four.
The region also receives four ABC radio services - 97.3 ABC Illawarra, Radio National 1431 AM, Triple J 98.9 FM and ABC Classic FM 95.7 FM. There are two commercial radio stations i98 FM (98.1), 965 WAVE FM (96.5FM), and a community radio station Vox FM (106.9).
Nowra's Power FM (94.9) also reaches the city, as does Christian broadcaster 94.1 FM. ABC NewsRadio is proposed on 90.9 FM, and should be broadcasting by 2010.
Wollongong is home to one daily newspaper, The Illawarra Mercury, in addition to several free community newspapers.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Road
The main road connecting Wollongong is the Waterfall-Yallah Southern Freeway (formerly the F6). The freeway, part of National Route 1, enters the city near the University of Wollongong and exits at its southern fringe. A second freeway, the Northern Distributor, connects Wollongong suburbs north of the university.
[edit] Rail
Wollongong is served by the South Coast railway line. Passenger rail services on this line connect the centres of Nowra and Kiama to the south and Sydney to the north. A branch line connects suburbs between the CBD and Port Kembla. A passenger rail services connecting Wollongong to the Southern Highlands 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.
[edit] 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 Park.
[edit] Census 2001 statistics
Population: On Census Night, 7 August 2001, there were 181612 people (90213 males and 91399 females) counted in the City of Wollongong. This represents an increase of 2.6% since the 1996 Census, and an increase of 4.5% since the 1991 Census. Of those people counted on Census Night, 96.5% were counted at home. The City of Wollongong has an area of 684 square kilometres, giving a population density of 265.5 people per square kilometre.
Median Age: The median age of people in the 2001 Census was 36 years.
Country Of Birth: The number of people born overseas in the 2001 Census was 41444 (23.0%). Of those born overseas, the three main countries of birth at the 2001 Census were:
United Kingdom: 11876 (6.6%)
Republic of Macedonia: 3793 (2.1%) and
Italy: 3553 (2.0%).
Ancestry: In the 2001 Census, the three most common ancestries identified with were:
Australian: 63659 people (35.1%)
English: 58820 people (32.4%) and
Irish: 16855 people (9.3%)
Indigenous Origin: There were 2661 people (1.5%) who identified as being of Indigenous origin in the 2001 Census.
Language: English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 141179 people (77.7%) in the 2001 Census. The three most common languages spoken at home other than English in the 2001 Census were:
Macedonian: 5859 (3.2%)
Italian: 5181 (2.9%) and
Greek: 2084 (1.1%).
Marital Status: In the 2001 Census, of the 145019 people aged 15 years of over, there were 75116 married people (51.8%), 4466 separated people (3.1%), 10387 divorced people (7.2%), 9894 widowed people (6.8%) and 45156 people who had never been married (31.1%).
Families: In the 2001 Census, of the 173739 people in occupied private dwellings, there were 22902 couple families with children (which comprised 47.1% of all families in occupied private dwellings), 17262 couple families without children (35.5%), 7684 one parent families (15.8%) and 743 other families (1.5%).
In total, there were 146052 people (84.1%) counted in 48591 families. Further to this, there were 1187 unrelated individuals (0.7%) living in family homes, 5500 people (3.2%) in group households and 16278 people (9.4%) in lone person households. There were 4722 visitors (2.7%) staying in private dwellings.
Dwellings: In the 2001 Census, there were 49651 separate houses (72.2%), 5549 semi detached, row or terrace houses and townhouses (8.1%), 11921 flats, units or apartments (17.3%) and 1213 other dwellings (1.8%). Of all occupied private dwellings in the 2001 Census, 44757 were either fully owned or being purchased, which represents 65.1% of all occupied private dwellings, while 19313 (28.1%) were being rented.
Education: In the 2001 Census, 4875 (3.4%) people held a postgraduate degree, graduate diploma or graduate certificate; 11632 (8.1%) people held a bachelor degree; 35629 (24.8%) people with an advanced diploma, diploma or certificate; and 91714 (63.8%) people did not have a qualification.
Industry of Employment: In the 2001 Census, 10880 (14.9%) people were employed in the Manufacturing industry; 5129 (7.0%) people employed in the Construction industry; 10649 (14.6%) people employed in the Retail Trade industry; 7332 (10.0%) people were employed in the Property and Business Services industry; 6861 (9.4%) people employed in the Education industry; and 7647 (10.5%) people employed in the Health and Community Services industry.
Unemployment: In the 2001 Census, 7337 people were unemployed, representing 9.1% of the labour force. The labour force participation rate was 67.5%.
Income: The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over in the 2001 Census was $300-$399.
Journey To Work: On Census day, 7 August 2001, 3017 (4.1%) people travelled to work by train only, 1016 (1.4%) people took the bus only and 233 (0.3%) people took both the train and bus. There were 48905 (66.9%) people who travelled to work by car, either as the driver or as a passenger and 3050 (4.2%) people either rode a bike or walked to work.
Computer Usage: In the week preceding the 2001 Census, 72525 people (40.2%) had used a personal computer at home. The total number of persons who had used the Internet in the week preceding the 2001 Census was 61839. There were 7921 people (4.4%) who had used the Internet at work only, 33068 people (18.3%) who had used the internet at home only and 6148 people (3.4%) who had used the internet elsewhere only. There were 14702 people (8.2%) who provided a multiple response to the question of Internet use.
Census data sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.[2]
[edit] Social Life
Recreational establishments include the local mall, Crown Street Mall, many restaurants and cafes, and a variety of nightlife attractions. Wollongong beaches are also popular. There are 17 patrolled (September to April) beaches in the Wollongong area (Stanwell Park, Coalcliff, Austinmer, Thirroul, Sandon Point, Bulli, Woonona, Bellambi, Corrimal, Towradgi, Fairy Meadow, North Wollongong, Wollongong City, Port Kembla and Windang). The WIN Entertainment Centre is a multipurpose venue which hosts concerts and sporting events such as basketball. It is adjacent to WIN Stadium, which is the home ground of the NRL team the St. George Illawarra Dragons. The WIN Entertainment Centre serves a market of 1 million people within an hours drive of the venue.
[edit] Notable Schools
- University of Wollongong (UoW) [1], A University Campus, sporting numerous University of the Year awards. The current chancellor is Michael Codd.
- Keira High School (KHS) [2], was reestablished as a technology high school in 1990 but the title "technology" has been removed since. The current principal is Maurie Mulheron.
- Smith's Hill High School (SHHS) [3], The only selective high school in Wollongong. The current principal is Rae Mitchell.
- The Illawarra Grammar School (TIGS) [4], A private Anglican school founded in 1959. The current headmaster is Stephen Kinsella.
- Wollongong High School of The Performing Arts (WHSPA) [5], A performing arts school whose current principal is M. Grant.
- St Mary Star of the Sea College (SMC) [6], Catholic girls' high school founded by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan in 1873. Current principal is Fay Gurr.
- Edmund Rice College (ERC) [7], A Catholic boys school, which plays brother school to St. Mary's Star of the Sea. The current headmaster is D. Lear.
- Illawarra Senior College (ISC) [8], A public school located in Port Kembla specialising in secondary education for post-compulsory students of all ages.
- Cedars Christian College (CCC) [9], A Christian school located in Unanderra , a suburb within Wollongong. Offers both Primary and Secondary education.
- Holy Spirit College (HSC) [10], A Catholic school formed from Holy Cross and St Paul's, it is situated in Bellambi. The current principal is Mr. Mark Baker
Information on numerous Government Primary and Secondary Schools available at the Wollongong City Library website
[edit] Sport
Rugby league is the pre-eminent sport in Wollongong and the whole Illawarra area and has a rich history in the area. Its culture is interwoven with the tough character of the mining and industrial areas. During one period, an Illawarra football club made an offer for French great Puig Aubert and almost lured him. An Illawarra football club was finally admitted to the Sydney premiership in 1982.
The Illawarra Steelers represented the city between 1982-1998 before it merged to form the St George Illawarra Dragons. The St George Illawarra Dragons are by far the highest drawing sports team in the Illawarra area, averaging over 12,000 spectators to matches at WIN Stadium.
The Wollongong Hawks basketball team play in the National Basketball League and are one of only two NBL clubs (the other being Brisbane Bullets) to have competed in every season since the league's inception in 1979.
The Wollongong Wolves are the region's soccer club who compete in the New South Wales Premier League. Scott Chipperfield, a Wollongong native who became a professional soccer player in Europe, has recently expressed an interest in being involved in a Wollongong soccer club in the national soccer competition, as well as the Sydney soccer club playing some promotional games in Wollongong. The biggest barrier to a national soccer team located in Wollongong is long term viability as not too many people attended the promotional matches, and when the Wollongong Wolves were national champions in the old National Soccer League, their attendances were unexpectedly poor.
Brett Lee is from Wollongong.
[edit] Trivia
- Wollongong was continually lampooned in the 1970's ABC series The Aunty Jack Show, including a parody of Lucky Starr's I've Been Everywhere where the verse consisted only of many Wollongongs and one Dapto. This series also launched the character of Wollongong media non-personality Norman Gunston.
- In Harry Potter, there is an Australian Quidditch team from 'Woollongong' that is often considered to be the same as Wollongong (many names of Quidditch teams are similar, though not identical, to real towns) Quidditch Through the Ages
[edit] See also
- List of cities in Australia
- Church Street, Wollongong
- Crown Street, Wollongong
- Otford
- Kiama
- Dapto
- Horsley
- Stanwell Park
- Fairy Meadow
- Shellharbour
- Illawarra Line
- South Coast Line
- Nan Tien temple
- University of Wollongong
- Wollongong Botanic Garden
- List of songs about Sydney
[edit] External links
- "Illawarra Mercury" newspaper
- University of Wollongong
- Wollongong Airport
- Tourism Wollongong
- Wollongong City Council
- createillawarra.com - Local Arts Directory
[edit] References
- ^ Place Names of Wollongong. Wollongong City Library.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002-11-19). 2001 Census Community Profile Series : Wollongong (C) (Local Government Area). 2001 Census Community Profile Series. Retrieved on February 11, 2007.
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Categories: Cities in New South Wales | Articles to be merged since April 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles lacking sources from October 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Wollongong | Coastal cities in Australia | Australian Aboriginal placenames
