| Bateau Bay Central Coast, New South Wales |
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Crackneck Lookout |
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| Population: | 11,599 (2006 census) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 2261 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 6.9 km² (2.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Location: |
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| LGA: | Wyong Shire | ||||||||||||
| Parish: | Tuggerah | ||||||||||||
| State District: | The Entrance | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Dobell | ||||||||||||
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Bateau Bay is a coastal suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Wyong Shire local government area. Bateau Bay lies in the area known as Darkinjung to Indigenous Australians. "Bateau" is French for "boat."
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Bateau Bay is about 6 km south of the town of The Entrance and 17 km northeast of Gosford's central business district. In 2006, it had a population of 11,599 people.[1] Bateau Bay Beach provides access to Crackneck Point, which is a popular local surfing spot. Crackneck Point Lookout (274 m high) is a short distance from the beach, where there is a large clearing and carpark with information boards and a picnic-barbecue area.
Much of the Bateau Bay area is dominated by the southern 140 ha section of Wyrrabalong National Park. A distinctive foreshore feature of the park's coastal cliffs are extensive rock platforms, which are good bases for rock fishing or low tide exploration. Wyrrabalong National Park is a haven for marine, bird, and native wildlife, which include goannas, bandicoots, fantails, and the tawny frogmouth. A 1.6 km walk through Wyrrabalong National Park links Crackneck Point Lookout and Forresters Beach.
Bateau Bay is home to several parks that facilitate all sports including rugby league, rugby union, soccer, Australian rules football, softball, baseball, and cricket. The Entrance District Sporting and Community Centre (EDSACC) is located on The Entrance Road, between Yakalla Street and Eastern Road. The precinct is separated into three areas: EDSACC North Ovals (soccer), EDSACC South Ovals (rugby league), and a Sports Centre that bisects the two. At the very south of the precinct is a golf driving range and a ten-pin bowling centre. EDSACC is home to the Killarney District Football Club and The Entrance Tigers Rugby League Club.
The Bateau Bay Recreation Centre (now known as the PCYC) offers tennis courts, indoor basketball courts, and a gymnasium, and was opened in 1979 by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Roden Cutler.
The precinct also has a golf driving range, which was formerly a football field, but was deemed unsafe due to its uneven surface. The home side—The Entrance Bateau Bay Blues—was forced to relocate to a field on Mingara's property at Tumbi Umbi. The Blues have since resettled at Eastern Road Oval.
Pat Morley Oval, located on Cresthaven Avenue, was until the early 1980s a rubbish tip and nightsoil depot and was used as a football oval in the 1990s. Development of a new oval adjacent to the existing Pat Morley Oval will be completed in 2010, and will be used for cricket and Australian rules football. The Entrance Bateau Bay Blues AFL Club will relocate there in 2011. Central Coast Softball will also use the new ground in the summer season. The main ground is home to The Entrance Bateau Bay United Soccer Club, the oldest soccer club on the Central Coast, having been established in 1949.
Sir Joseph Banks Oval, located behind Cresthaven Shopping Centre, is used by The Entrance Rams Rugby Union club.
Bateau Bay is home to Stockland Bay Village, a shopping centre formerly known as Bay Village which was opened on 24 January 1985 and is operated by Stockland, a major property developer in Australia. Major retailers include Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and K-mart. Free-standing McDonalds and Red Rooster restaurants are located on the shopping pad to the north-east of the main centre.
A smaller centre, Cresthaven Shopping Centre, with a Franklins, Brumby's and Video Ezy, opened in 2003. Several other clusters of shops are located throughout Bateau Bay. There are also shops on Bateau Bay Road between Harbour Street and Parkside Avenue, the corner of Bateau Bay Road and The Central Coast Highway as well as on Coleridge Road.
Bateau Bay Bowling Club is located on the corner of Pheasent Avenue and Bias Avenue. It is owned by the Canturbury Leagues Club and features TAB facilities, a bar, and a bistro, as well as an undercover carpark. The club has three bowling greens, has more active bowling members than any other club in the state, and is strong in competitions run statewide.
The Entrance Leagues Club was established in 1992 and is located on The Entrance Road adjacent to Stockland Bay Village. It has 11,000 members and has recently undergone renovations. It now features a large carpark as well as TAB facilities, bar and bistro, function room, and courtesy bus. The Entrance Leagues Club is a major sponsor of The Entrance Tigers Rugby League Clubs.
The Bateau Bay Hotel is located on The Entrance Road between Lumby Drive and Cresthaven Avenue. Its approval date for building was 4 February, and the day of opening was 8 September, in 1980. It features a large carpark as well as TAB facilities, two bar areas, drive-through bottle shop, bistro, and beer garden, as well as a motel. Bateau Bay Hotel is now a sponsor of The Entrance Rams Rugby Club.
There are three State schools in Bateau Bay:
The suburb is bisected by The Entrance Road, a main Central Coast arterial route. Residents of the eastern side and many of the area's real estates have campaigned for the eastern side to be called East Bateau Bay, as it is expected that property values would be boosted.
Bateau Bay is also home to one of New South Wales' highest revenue collecting speed cameras. The camera is located on The Entrance Road between Shelly Beach Road and Yakalla Street. The camera is the seventh largest collector of revenue, collecting 14,057 fines for $1,813,086. The camera has achieved notoriety because it is placed in a school zone that operates at slightly different hours to most school zones in the area. Its reliability has been questioned after an incident in 2005, in which a driver was fined for speeding twice in two minutes.[2]
Red Bus Services is the local bus operator and runs several routes through Bateau Bay. The operator's depot is also located at Bateau Bay on Coleridge Road. Routes that operate through Bateau Bay can be found on the Red Bus website.