| Avoca Beach Central Coast, New South Wales |
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| Population: | 4,196 (2006 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 2251 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 4.0 km² (1.5 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Location: | |||||||||||||
| LGA: | City of Gosford | ||||||||||||
| Parish: | Kincumber[2] | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Terrigal | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Robertson | ||||||||||||
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Avoca Beach is a coastal suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, about 95 kilometres (59 mi) north of Sydney. It is located within the City of Gosford local government area.
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Avoca Beach is located on the Tasman Sea 17 kilometres (11 mi) east-southeast of the Gosford central business district, and about halfway between Newcastle and Sydney, being about 95 kilometres (59 mi) from each. It is bordered to the north by the Bulbararing Lagoon, to the west by Saltwater Creek and to the east by the ocean.[3]
The area was originally inhabited by the Awabakal Aboriginal people. "Avoca" is an Irish name meaning "great estuary" or "where the river meets the sea", and is also the name of a town in County Wicklow, Ireland.[4]
On 4 January 1830, 640 acres (259 ha) of land in the area were promised to Irish army officer John Moore. However, the official deeds were not issued until 30 September 1839, due to the difficulty in surveying the land. He built a house opposite Bulbararing Lake (now known as Avoca Lake) and planted vines, cereals and fruit trees. He left the area in 1857 for the Victorian goldfields.[5] In the late 19th century, Tom Davis leased the area in order to exploit local timber, which was transported by tram to a mill at Terrigal via what is now Tramway Road in North Avoca.[6]
Residential development in Avoca Beach began during the 20th century, and the area subsequently became a popular holiday retreat with wealthy residents of Sydney's North Shore.[6]
A rich history exists in the community groups in this small village with the Avoca Beach Rural Fire Brigade operating since the 1940s, Avoca Beach Surf Life Saving Club (1929) and the 1st Avoca Beach Surf Cub Scouts being very active in the area.
In February 2010, following the proposal to scuttle the frigate HMAS Adelaide off the beach as a dive wreck in late March, a resident action group was formed to protest against this.[7] The group claims that the wreck will negatively effect surf conditions, tides, and littoral sand drift, and is concerned over the thoroughness of inspection and removal of dangerous materials and chemicals from the former warship, with the chance that marine life and people could be poisoned.[7][8][9] An appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal three days before the planned scuttling date of 27 March led to an postponment of the plan until the residents' claims were investigated.[10][11] The decision from the Tribunal, in favor of the project going ahead after further cleanup work, was handed down on 15 September 2010, and despite further attempts to delay, Adelaide was scuttled on 13 April 2011.[12][13]
At the ABS 2006 census, Avoca Beach had a population of 4,196 people.[1] This was an increase of 106 people from the 2001 census.[14]
Avoca Beach residents had a median age of 38, compared to the Central Coast average of 40.[15] Median individual incomes in Avoca Beach were above average for the region — $515 per week compared with $407 per week. The 2006 Census reported 1,513 occupied private dwellings, of which 7.8% were non-permanent (caravans, cabins and houseboats), and the median monthly housing loan repayment of $1,720 was well above the regional average of $1,500. In the year to July 2007, Avoca Beach's median house price was $571,250 versus $350,000 for the Central Coast region.[16] In 2008, Avoca Beach was listed as the fourth most expensive place to live in New South Wales, and the sixteenth most expensive in Australia, based on the sale of units that year.[17]
The population of Avoca Beach is predominantly Australian-born, with some 80.5% of its residents being born in Australia as at the 2006 census.[1] The second most prevalent birthplace was the United Kingdom at 7.36%, followed by New Zealand, South Africa and Germany. The most popular religious affiliations in descending order in the 2006 census were Roman Catholic, Anglican, no religion, Uniting.
Avoca Beach has a state primary school, which first opened in 1935. The suburb is within Kincumber High School's catchment area.
At federal level, Avoca Beach is within the Division of Robertson, which was won in the 2007 Federal Election by Belinda Neal of the Australian Labor Party, who defeated Liberal incumbent Jim Lloyd on a 7.0% swing. Labor retained the seat in the 2010 Federal Election, and is now represented by Deborah O'Neill.
While Avoca Beach's booth has previously been considered more favourable to the Liberals than the electorate as a whole, the swing to Labor of 6.78% at Avoca Beach in 2007 was consistent with the rest of the electorate.[18][19]. On a two party preferred basis, there was an additional swing of 2.47% to Labor at the 2010 election.[20]
In the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Avoca Beach is within the electorate of Terrigal, currently held by Chris Hartcher of the Liberal Party.
Polling place statistics are presented below from the Avoca Beach polling place in the 2007 federal and state elections as indicated.
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