Wollongong, New South Wales

Wollongong New South Wales
Overlooking Wollongong Harbour to the CBD and beyond toward Mount Keira and the Illawarra Escarpment.
Wollongong
Population:	284,169 [1] (9th)
Postcode:	2500
Elevation:	5 m (16 ft)
Time zone:  • Summer (DST)	AEST (UTC+10) AEDT (UTC+11)
Location:	84 km (52 mi) S of Sydney
LGA:	City of Wollongong City of Shellharbour Municipality of Kiama
Region:	Illawarra

Wollongong (pronounced /ˈwʊləŋɡɒŋ/ WOOL-ləng-gong) is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres (51 mi) south of Sydney.

With a population of 284,169^[1] Wollongong is the 3rd largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle, and the 9th largest city in Australia. The metropolitan area extends from Helensburgh in the north to Gerroa in the south, and is administered by the Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama councils^[2].

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^[3], and is a regional centre for the South Coast fishing industry. The local University of Wollongong has around 22,000 students^[4] and is internationally recognised^[5].

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 Temple, one of the largest Buddhist temples in the southern hemisphere.^[6]

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".^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Geography

Scenic view of Wollongong's northern coastline from Bald Hill, overlooking Stanwell Park.

The city of Wollongong has a distinct geography. It lies on a narrow coastal plain flanked by the Pacific Ocean (or Tasman Sea) 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, with the city centre 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 Keira (464m), Mount Kembla (534m), Broker's Nose (440m) and Mount Murray (768m) to the south. It contains strata of coal measures, and the adit 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 sclerophyll 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 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 South Coast railway line 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 just north of Wollongong's city centre.

To the south the plain reaches its maximum extent around Albion Park where it incorporates a large coastal saltwater lagoon called Lake Illawarra, separated from the Pacific Ocean by a long sandy spit.

Lookout from the Illawarra Escarpment above Wombarra over the northern Illawarra plain viewing Austinmer, Thirroul, Bulli, Wollongong up to Port Kembla in the far distance.

The coastal strip consists of highly fertile alluvium, 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 Rivulet.

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 Kembla, Shellharbour and Kiama. Just off the coast south of Wollongong centre, near Port Kembla, lies a group of five islands known collectively as The Five Islands. The islands are a wildlife refuge.

Inner City

The inner city area includes the suburbs of Wollongong and North Wollongong, extending from Para Creek in the north, west to include the Wollongong Hospital, and south to the Greenhouse Park.

The CBD 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 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.

Wollongong Harbour including Belmore Basin, Brighton Beach and lighthouses.

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 fort, 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 Reserve, and Wollongong City Beach extending south from Flagstaff Point and into Coniston Beach.

Climate

Wollongong experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with average maximum temperatures varying from 17 °C in winter to 26 °C in summer tempered by sea breezes. The highest recorded temperature is 44.1 °C in January, and the lowest 0.8 °C in July^[13].

Hot summer evenings are sometimes relieved by a front of rapidly moving cool air known as a southerly buster.

Rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the seasons, with a bias to the first half of the year. It is often associated with orographic lift 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 mm of rainfall (the nearby suburb of Mt Ousley recorded in excess of 445 mm), mostly falling in a 3 hour period^[14][15]. Wollongong also experiences thunderstorms during the warmer months bringing lightning, heavy rain and occasionally hail.

Yearly rainfall is influenced by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation.

July and August are known as the windy months, with westerly gales that can gust at over 100 km/h^[13].

History

Cannons at Flagstaff Hill Fort

Smiths Hill Fort

St Michael's Cathedral, Church Street

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 at 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 court house. The main road down the Escarpment through Bulli Pass was built by convict labour in 1835-6, although 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, a court house was built. In 1861, a horse-drawn tramway from Mount Keira to the harbour was completed. In 1862 a telegraph line was opened between Wollongong and Bellambi. 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, with 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. Gas street lighting was introduced in 1883. In 1885, a new court house was erected in Market Street. Like many Australian court houses, it was designed in a Classical Revival style considered appropriate for public buildings. It is now listed on the Register of the National Estate.^[16] 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 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. In 1908 the Wollongong District Hospital was established on Garden Hill. In 1916 the Wollongong High School was opened.

Heritage-listed court house, Market Street

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 plc) 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.

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 Figtree 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.

The Illowra Battery, or Hill 60, was intended to defend Port Kembla in the event of a seaborne attack during World War II

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 Hargrave was placed via a helicopter on the eastern foothills of Mount Keira. In 1998 the 6000 seat Wollongong Entertainment Centre 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 Qantas established a daily air service from Wollongong to Melbourne 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 protectionist 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 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.

Demographics

The Wollongong metropolitan area includes the suburbs, outlying towns and rural localities stretching from Helensburgh in the north to Gerroa in the south^[2]. With an estimated population of 280,159 as at 30 June 2007^[1] 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 Clifton to Shell Cove^[17][18][19].

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[17]			Urban Area[18]			Inner City[20]
Area		Helensburgh to Kiama[2]			Clifton to Shell Cove[19]			Wollongong Suburb[21]
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	English only	215,079	81.6%	English only	187,944	80.2%	English only	9,308	64.8%
	2	Macedonian	6,857	2.6%	Macedonian	6,814	2.9%	Macedonian	522	3.6%
	3	Italian	5,275	2.0%	Italian	5,097	2.2%	Mandarin	389	2.7%
	4	Spanish	2,456	0.9%	Spanish	2,390	1.0%	Serbian	371	2.6%
	5	Greek	2,353	0.9%	Greek	2,272	1.0%	Italian	320	2.2%
	6	Serbian	1,782	0.7%	Serbian	1,738	0.7%	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 Dapto area is a major centre of future growth with plans for 19,000 new dwellings and 50,000 people within 40 years^[22][23]. New residential areas are also being developed further south around the Albion Park, Shell Cove and Kiama areas.

The Great Mercy Shrine at the Nan Tien Temple complex.

Wollongong has a distinctly multicultural population. Many migrants were attracted to the area by the job opportunities at the Port Kembla steelworks in the post-war period, and settled in surrounding suburbs such as Cringila, Warrawong and Coniston. By 1966 about 60% of the wage earners at the Australian Iron and Steel steelworks were born overseas coming from over 70 countries.^[24] These included British, Yugoslavians (especially Macedonians), Bosnians, Croatians, Serbians, Italians, Germans, Greeks, Turks, and Chileans^[24]. With the end of the White Australia policy these were followed by Indo-Chinese refugees in the 1970s, Indians, Filipinos, Chinese, Malays and Pacific Islanders in the 1980s and 1990s^[24]. The university continues to attract students and staff from all over the world, with around 5,000 overseas student enrolments^[4].

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.^[17]

Major sources of employment include education, steel and food service.^[17] Around 20,000 people commute daily to jobs in Sydney by road and rail, making it one of the busiest commuter corridors in Australia.^[26]

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^[5].

Wollongong has a number of primary and high schools, including public, denominational and independent. Specialist high schools include the selective Smith's Hill High School, the Illawarra Sports High School, and Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts.

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. In some areas it is also possible to pick up Sydney broadcasts including the trial datacasting service, Digital Forty Four^[27], and community station Television Sydney.

The region receives four ABC radio services - ABC Classic FM 95.7, ABC Illawarra 97.3, Triple J 98.9, and Radio National 1431 AM. There are two commercial radio stations i98 FM 98.1 and WAVE FM 96.5, and two community radio stations Vox FM 106.9 and Christian broadcaster 94.1 FM.^[28] 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 Advertiser, Local Citizen and the Wollongong & Northern Leader which distributes to the northern suburbs and Wollongong.

Transport

The Sea Cliff Bridge on Lawrence Hargrave Drive bypasses a dangerous section of the Illawarra Escarpment.

Lockheed Super Constellation (Connie), part of the HARS fleet housed at the Illawarra Regional Airport.

Road

The main road connecting Wollongong is the Waterfall-Yallah Southern Freeway (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 Wollongong and exits at its southern fringe. A second freeway, the Northern Distributor, continues northward from the university to connect Wollongong's northern suburbs, Bulli Pass and the scenic Lawrence Hargrave Drive. The Illawarra Highway connects Wollongong's southern suburbs to the Southern Highlands via Macquarie Pass.

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 service 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.

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.

Air

Wollongong is serviced by Illawarra Regional Airport, also known as the Wollongong Airport and the base for the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS). The Airport is located at Albion Park Rail, in the Shellharbour City LGA.

Culture

Arts

Indigenous Australians performing at Crown Street Mall

Wollongong maintains an active arts scene. In the area of music the city is home to the Wollongong Symphony Orchestra, BlueScope Steel Youth Orchestra, a jazz club and various groups and ensembles. The Wollongong Conservatorium of Music 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 Gardens.

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^[29].

Entertainment and Nightlife

Entertainment venues include the Crown Street Mall, many restaurants and cafes, the town cinemas and the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre. Adjacent to WIN Stadium, the home ground of the NRL team St. George Illawarra Dragons, is the WIN Entertainment Centre: 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, The Grande Hotel (Formerly 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

Nippers at start position before their swim at Stanwell Park beach.

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 Track, a thirteen kilometre Heart Foundation walking/biking pathway which runs northwards adjacent to the Illawarra coastline starting at Wollongong Beach, is frequented by walkers, joggers, skaters and bicycle riders. Bushwalking on nearby Mount Keira and Mount Kembla, 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 Park, 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 Reserve, 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 Island 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 Park 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 Gwynneville 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 Dragons represent the city in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The club was formed in a merger between the St. George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers in 1999, and continues to play some home games at WIN Stadium. Prior to the merger the Illawarra Steelers had represented the area in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership 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.^[30] At the local level league continues to have a strong following with a number of teams playing in the Illawarra Rugby League and Group 7 Rugby League 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.

The Illawarriors are a rugby union club based in the Illawarra, who contest the Shute Shield NSW club competition. The club play some of their home games at WIN Stadium.

The Wollongong Hawks basketball team play in the National Basketball League 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 Centre, known as the "The Sandpit" in the NBL^[31].

Wollongong F.C. is the region's football (soccer) club who compete in the New South Wales Premier League. Scott Chipperfield, a Wollongong native who became a professional football player in Europe, along with Tim Cahill, has recently expressed an interest in being involved in a Wollongong football club in the A-League, 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 bid. 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. [1]

The Illawarra Cycling Club [2] 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.

The Wollongong Lions Australian Football Club play in the Sydney AFL competition. The club was established in 1971 as the Swans and in 1989 joined the Sydney AFL as the Lions. The club also has junior teams playing in the AFL Illawarra Juniors competition.

Baseball has been played in the region with structured competitions conducted since 1938. The Illawarra District Baseball Association was the governing body from this year until 1991 when the Illawarra Baseball League was created. The Illawarra Junior Baseball League was inaugurated in 1984 to accommodate a growing number of juniors that peaked at around 950 players in 1995. Eight regional clubs from four Local Government Areas play in the I B L. A regional club, the Illawarra Flame Basball Club, fielded teams in four grades in the New South Wales Baseball League Sydney Major League from 1994 to 2007. The first grade team made the Grand Final in their inaugural season. The Club won a total of four premierships while participating. The IFBC played their inaugural games against the All Kawasaki Baseball Club in August 1994 the games being the first sporting exchange between the Sister Cities, Wollongong and Kawasaki.

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 penned the novel Kangaroo while staying in the northern suburb of Thirroul.

• Wollongong is the home of a professional Quidditch team, the Woollongong Warriors [sic], that operates within the Harry Potter universe.^[32]

• The original (Australian) version of the song "I've Been Everywhere" mentions Wollongong and its suburb Unanderra in its list of places visited.

• The city was famously lampooned in the 1970s ABC-TV comedy series The Aunty Jack Show. The show's characters included a gormless local TV reporter Norman Gunston, 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 Wollongong, a mixture of sketches and songs loosely based around a visit to Wollongong.

• In the episode Unnatural Love from the New Zealand/American television series Flight of the Conchords, Bret pretends to be Jemaine's Australian girlfriend in a message on their answering machine, 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:

Sister cities

Wollongong has sister city arrangements with:^[33]

• Kawasaki, Japan, since 1987
• Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia, since 1999
• Longyan, People's Republic of China (friendship city), since 2000

See also

• The Aunty Jack Show, Norman Gunston and Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong
• Church Street
• Crown Street
• Greenhouse Park
• HMAS Wollongong
• Illawarra Escarpment
• The Illawarra Region
• Mount Keira
• Mount Kembla
• Nan Tien temple
• Port Kembla
• Puckeys Estate Reserve
• Wollongong Lighthouses
• List of songs about the Illawarra
• List of Wollongong suburbs
• South Coast Railway Line
• University of Wollongong
• Wollongong Botanic Garden
• Wollongong Central

References

External links

• Tourist Guides
  • Grand Pacific Drive
  • Tourism Wollongong
• Special Interest
  • Arts Directory
  • Wollongong Beaches Guide
  • Bicycle rides in the Wollongong area
• News
  • "Illawarra Mercury" newspaper
• Councils and Governance
  • Wollongong City Council
  • Shellharbour City Council
  • Kiama Municipal Council
  • Wollongong Against Corruption
• Facilities
  • Illawarra Regional Airport
  • University of Wollongong