suburb profiles

Wollongong

History

Wollongong is the 3rd largest city in the state of New South Wales after Sydney & Newcastle and is famous for its spectacular escarpment and its long coastline with 17 beautiful surf beaches. The name Wollongong is generally said to mean "sound of the sea" in the local Aboriginal language, while others say it is based on Aboriginal words meaning ‘five islands’, which refers to the islands off Port Kembla.

The area was originally inhabited by the Dharwal (or Turuwal) indigenous Australians. Charles Throsby established a stockmans hut in the area in 1815 and the first land grants were made in 1816.

Wollongong has a high proportion of residents with Southern European ancestries, many of whom migrated to Australia due to acute labour shortages & accelerating industrialisation in the boom period after World War II. Despite the decline in traditional manufacturing the city's economy is going well due to diversification of economic activity including higher education, the fine arts, tourism, residential construction & eco-friendly electricity generation.

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Real Estate

Real estate in Wollongong is undergoing a transformation. 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 affordable real estate, combined with effective transport links to Sydney, have seen many young families move to new subdivisions in Wollongong while retaining jobs in Sydney.

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Shopping

Wollongong’s Crown Street Mall is ideally located in the heart of the city centre. It is the largest shopping destination in Wollongong and the Illawarra with Wollongong Central Shopping Centre, David Jones, Myer, Rebel Sport and over 300 specialty stores.

Crown St Mall located within easy walking distance to the foreshore and the city's major sporting, arts and entertainment facilities.

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Famous Landmarks

The Wollongong Breakwater Lighthouse was built in 1871 to assist the passage of vessels into the harbour. To aid the burgeoning resources industry, the new Wollongong Head Lighthouse was constructed in 1937 to direct ships into Port Kembla, and this became the main lighthouse.

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Sport

A broad range of sporting activities are popular in Wollongong due to its coastal location & escarpment, these include surfing, parasailing, windsurfing, fishing, sailing, bush walking, hang gliding, cycling & motocross just to name a few.

The WIN entertainment centre is a multipurpose venue which hosts concerts & sporting events & is the home of the NBL Wollongong Hawks. WIN Stadium is adjacent which is the home ground of the NRL team the St. George Illawarra Dragons. Other sporting facilities are the Beaton Park Leisure Centre & the University of Wollongong Recreation & Aquatic Centre (URAC) which often hosts visiting international swimming teams.

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Art Gallery

The Wollongong City Gallery is the largest regional art gallery in Australia with a major collection of contemporary Aboriginal & Illawarra colonial art.

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Restaurants & Cafes

Wollongong has a world-class cultural, entertainment and dining scene. Wollongong's multicultural population ensures a large number of city restaurants, cafes and bars serve cuisines from around the world. These include food from: China, India, France, Thailand, Greece, Italy, Spain, Korea, South America, Singapore, North America, Germany, Turkey & Vietnam as well as contemporary Australian Cuisine. With a thriving harbour Wollongong also has many excellent seafood restaurants.

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Education

Wollongong has one university, The University of Wollongong (est. 1951) which was awarded the "Australian University of the Year" in two consecutive years (1999-2000, 2000-2001) by the Good Universities Guide & won the inaugural 2006 Commonwealth University of the Year Award for Community Engagement from The Times Higher Education Supplement and the Commonwealth Association of Universities. UOW has been ranked as one the top 200 universities in the world by The Times Higher Education Supplement - Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings 2006/2007..

There are currently 23,000 students studying across 10 faculities and has campuses spread across Sydney, Nowra, Batemans Bay, Bega, Moss Vale, Loftus & United Arab Emirates: Dubai

Wollongong has 84 public schools & 28 private schools across the region. This includes a number of selective high schools specialising in sports, performing arts & acedemics.

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