Wamberal, New South Wales

Wamberal (pronounced: /ˈwɒmbərəl/) is a largely affluent coastal suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, just north of Terrigal. It is part of the City of Gosford local government area and is located adjacent to the Wamberal Lagoon.

Geography and amenities

Wamberal is the next suburb from Terrigal, with the two suburbs being separated by the Terrigal Lagoon Estuary.

The suburb has two distinct areas; there is a coastal strip which includes Wamberal Beach and the Lagoon estuary which houses medium to high density residential properties, as well as a semi-rural area, slightly west of the beach. The latter contains coastal acreages and ridges of bushland which are legislated non-development areas in order to retain the area's ecosystem.

The main thoroughfare through the suburb is the Central Coast Highway through the north and south, previously known as The Entrance Road. Since 2008, the roadway has undergone developments at an estimated cost of A$100 million into a four lane dual carriageway from Matcham to the north end of the suburb. Servicing the suburb from the south-east is Ocean View Drive, linking Wamberal to Terrigal.

Wamberal has small clusters of high-end cafes, restaurants and boutique stores dotted along the beach front strip, Ocean View Drive, and on nearby streets. In 2009 the Wamberal Surf Life Saving Club was redeveloped to accommodate a cafe and award winning restaurant, in addition to new function rooms and surf life saving amenities. Wamberal also has a Country Club, "Breakers", commemorating ANZAC efforts; its amenities include a golf course, bowling green and tennis facilities in addition to a brasserie and various bars with gambling outlets, all overlooking the lagoon front. It is scheduled for a redevelopment from 2011 onwards.

There is a government primary school in the rural sector of the suburb, teaching kindergarten through grade six.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 6,298 people in the suburb of Wamberal, of these 48.8% were male and 51.2% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.3% of the population. The median age of people in Wamberal was 38 years; close to the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.9% of the population, compared to 14.0% being the national median of people aged over 65 years. Of people in the suburb aged 15 years and over, 54.3% were married and 11.1% were either divorced or separated.^[1]

Population growth in Wamberal between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 5.08%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 10.24%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the suburb of Wamberal was significantly higher than the national average.^[2] The median weekly income for residents within the suburb of Wamberal was approximately 25% higher than the national average.^[1][3]

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in Wamberal who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 83% of all residents. In excess of 60% of all residents in the suburb of Wamberal nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 Census, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in Wamberal had a lower than average proportion (6.3%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a higher proportion (92.6%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).^[1]

Selected historical census data for the suburb of Wamberal
Census year			2001[2]	2006[3]	2011[1]
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	5,437	5,713	6,298
		% of Gosford local government area population	3.53%	3.61%	3.88%
		% of New South Wales population	0.09%	0.09%	0.09%
		% of Australian population	0.03%	0.03%	0.03%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		English			32.5%
		Australian			30.2%
		Irish			9.7%
		Scottish			8.3%
		German			2.2%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Italian	0.5%	0.4%	0.5%
		German	0.2%	0.2%	0.4%
		Spanish	n/c	n/c	0.3%
		Greek	0.3%	0.2%	0.3%
		Cantonese	0.3%	n/c	0.3%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	27.1%	27.2%	27.3%
		Anglican	30.0%	26.4%	25.1%
		No Religion	14.1%	16.4%	21.5%
		Uniting Church	6.9%	5.1%	4.9%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	4.8%	3.5%	3.0%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$528	A$662
		% of Australian median income		113.3%	114.7%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,123	A$1,771
		% of Australian median income		109.3%	119.6%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,286	A$1,552
		% of Australian median income		109.8%	125.8%

Property

The prestige among Wamberal's property has increased dramatically in recent years largely credited to leafy, family friendly streets, shrinking availability of land and its proximity to local amenities including public transport, commercial and industrial areas and education whilst still remaining distant. This motif was heralded in 2008 by the passing in at auction of a 1940s bungalow on a double block of beach front land at A$7.2 million, the property has recently been redeveloped, believed to be worth in excess of $10 million, which would make it the most valuable home on the Central Coast.

This practice of redevelopment of property within Wamberal is seeing a shift further upmarket in property prices and moving the suburb further into the limelight with wealthier home buyers. This shift may also be credited to the redevelopment of local amenities, such as playgrounds, and community spaces such as parks of which some were initiated under the Nation Building Scheme of the Rudd Government's Economic Stimulus Policy. In September 2010, the median house price for Wamberal was $1.1 million.^[4]

References