Central Coast (New South Wales)

Coordinates: 33°18′S 151°12′E / 33.300°S 151.200°E / -33.300; 151.200
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Central Coast.

Central Coast
Federal division(s)
Localities around Central Coast:
Upper Hunter Hunter Tasman Sea
Blue Mountains Area (Greater Sydney) Central Coast Tasman Sea
Greater Sydney
 Northern Sydney (Greater Sydney) Tasman Sea

The Central Coast is a

subtropical national parks, forests and also encompasses the major coastal waterways of Brisbane Water, Tuggerah Lakes and southern Lake Macquarie. The region's hinterland, which has fertile valleys, rural farmland and wineries, and also includes the Watagan Mountains. The Central Coast is known for its regional coastal towns like Terrigal, The Entrance, Ettalong Beach, Budgewoi and Bateau Bay with resorts and holiday parks, which feature many expansive beaches and lagoons with surfing and coastal tracks, as well as scenic views. Gosford
is the main commercial hub and gateway.

The Central Coast includes major localities, villages and towns such as

Sydney basin.[4]

History

The region has been inhabited for thousands of years by Aboriginal people. The local Kuringgai people were the first Aboriginal people to come in contact with British settlers. An Aboriginal man from the region named Bungaree became one of the most prominent people of the early settlement of New South Wales. He was one of the first Aboriginal people to learn English and befriended the early governors Phillip, King and Macquarie.[5] He accompanied explorer Matthew Flinders in circumnavigating Australia.[6] Macquarie later declared Bungaree "The King of the Broken Bay Tribes".[7]

In addition to Kuringgai-speaking people (referred to as the "Pittwater tribes" and "Broken Bay tribes" by early colonists),

Darkinyung languages are related to each other, but are distinct from the Dharrug and Sydney languages that were spoken south of the Central Coast.[8]
Post-settlement disease, disruption and genocide greatly reduced the numbers of Aboriginal people.

In 1811, the Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, gave the first land grant in the region to William Nash, a former marine of the First Fleet. No further grants were made in the area until 1821.[9]

Geography

Woy Woy Bay from Spion Kop, with various suburbs in the background

The region is a network of towns that have been linked in recent years by expanding suburban development. The main urban cluster of the region surrounds the northern shore of

Terrigal, Bateau Bay and Woy Woy
.

On 2 December 2005, the Central Coast was officially recognised as a stand-alone region rather than an extension of

Greater Sydney by the NSW Government.[10]

Climate

The Central Coast has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa), with warm humid summers and mild winters. Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year, but is slightly more frequent during autumn. Winter is the driest time, with often minimal to no rain.[citation needed]

Population

Woy Woy
are some of the more populated areas of the Central Coast region

The Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes population census data and regular population estimates on the Central Coast under a Significant Urban Area. In 2021, the estimated population of this region was 343,180,[11] with population forecasts projecting it will grow by more than 20 per cent to 415,050 by 2035.[12]

The median age was 43, with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of 4.9%.

Greater Sydney
which results in Greater Sydney's population being larger than that of Greater Melbourne, however the NSW government definition for the Central Coast region it has its own regional population definition as a stand alone region.

Education

The Central Coast has two campuses of the

Ourimbah and Gosford Hospital
. There are three campuses of the
Hunter Institute of TAFE
located at Gosford, Wyong and Ourimbah along with multiple private colleges. The Central Coast has a large number of primary and secondary school institutions.

Culture

Media

Television

The Central Coast has four

broadcast translators across the region, located at Bouddi (between Killcare & MacMasters Beach), Gosford and Wyong (Forresters Beach), and Mount Sugarloaf (Newcastle).[citation needed
] Due to the Central Coast being split between the Sydney (metro) and Northern NSW (regional) licence areas, these translators carry stations from both areas.

In total eight television stations service the Central Coast:

Each station broadcasts a primary channel and several multichannels. Of the three main networks,

NBN produces a bulletin containing local, national and international news screening every night at 6:00pm on the Nine Network. Both WIN Television and the Seven Network produce short local updates to fulfill local content quotas. Foxtel
is also available via satellite.

Radio

The Central Coast has a number of local radio stations. The three large commercial stations are Triple M 107.7, Star 104.5, Hit 101.3, all being part of national networks.

The ABC has an outreach station on 92.5 FM that operates a locally produced breakfast show from 6am to 9am weekdays, outside this it broadcasts Sydney programming from ABC 702 AM. A 24-hour Country music station TodayCountry94one is based in Gosford and broadcasts online and in syndication across the country. It also has a Christian radio station Rhema FM on 94.9 MHz. As at January 2021, The Central Coast has a locally based internet Radio Station providing locals with a radio station being broadcast by local presenters from their place of business/home.[citation needed]

In most locations on the Central Coast, Sydney and Newcastle radio stations can be received at reasonable levels particularly on the AM band.[citation needed]

Print

The Central Coast is not serviced by its own daily print newspaper though has three weekly local newspapers as well as a fortnightly paper and several popular monthly newsletters.

A series of locally owned local papers have grown in popularity over time.

News Limited
's News Local, though that ceased printing in 2019. It is now purely a subscription-based online service.

Theatre

The area has three operating theatres. Laycock Street Theatre, located in

North Gosford, has a proscenium arch configuration and seats 392 patrons.[citation needed] The venue also contains a multi-purpose space suitable for conferences, board meetings, annual general meetings, cabaret and small musical acts. The resident amateur theatre group, the Gosford Musical Society, currently contribute 5 shows a year.[citation needed
]

The largest theatre on the Central Coast is The Art House, Wyong, which opened in May 2016[14] and replaced the old Wyong Memorial Hall which was used mainly by Wyong Musical Theatre Company and Wyong Drama Group. The Art House is a multipurpose venue with a 500-seat proscenium arch theatre with a 12m x 9m stage and automated fly tower as well as a 285m2 studio space with retractable tiered seating for 130 people and AV link to the main theatre. The Art House also features a 500m2 space suited to functions and events, as well as an exhibition wall ideal for visual art and photography displays. The opening of this venue saw a sudden growth in arts companies producing theatre in the region including Endless Night Theatre Company, Gosford Theatre Company, Nate Butler's Studio,[15] Salt House Theatre Company, and the regions only youth theatre body, Jopuka Productions.[16]

In late 2018, the Elderslee Foundation purchased a large building along the Tuggerah Strait close to Wyong which has subsequently been renovated and repurposed into a community facility, including office facilities, hot desks, training rooms, a commercial kitchen and art exhibition space for use by the community and the Red Tree Theatre, a small adaptable space for forums, seminars, concerts, theatre rehearsals and productions. The Red Tree Theatre features a 144-seat ranked auditorium equipped with professional standard lighting and sound.[17]

The Peninsula Theatre at Woy Woy features a 122-seat raked auditorium, 49m2 stage area and professional standard staging, lighting and sound capabilities.[citation needed]

Sport

Gosford, is the current home of the Central Coast Mariners
.

Gosford
, the largest stadium on the Central Coast with a capacity of 20,059.

The

Intrust Super Premiership at Morry Breen Oval in Kanwal. They are the feeder team of the Sydney Roosters National Rugby League team, who have developed an agreement to play one regular season fixture per year at Central Coast Stadium for five years, starting in 2015. The South Sydney Rabbitohs
also play regular games.

The Central Coast Rhinos played in the Australian Ice Hockey League from 2006 to 2008 and the Australian International Ice Hockey Cup from 2009 to 2012. They played out of Erina Ice Arena at Erina Fair, which is the Central Coast's only ice rink. The Erina Ice Arena has been closed since the 19th of August 2019 for renovations and is looking to reopen on the 2nd of January 2021.[citation needed]

Other teams include the Central Coast Crusaders – the elite senior basketball program of the Central Coast region and the Central Coast Centurions – the Central Coast's junior rugby league representative team who compete in the

S.G. Ball Cup and the Harold Matthews Cup
.

Several attempts have been made to have teams enter other national competitions. The most notable of these was the attempt to enter the

Central Coast Rays rugby union club who competed in the ill-fated Australian Rugby Championship
's only season late in 2007, called Central Coast Stadium home.

The Central Coast has numerous sporting ovals, golf courses, skate parks, tennis courts and swimming pools that are open to the public and one target shooting facility. Attempts are underway to build a series of bicycle paths. A velodrome is also open to the public at

scuttled off North Avoca Beach as an artificial reef.[20]

Infrastructure

Health

Emergency department at Wyong Hospital

The Central Coast has two large public hospitals with

Wyong.[22]

Telecommunications

The Central Coast falls in the fixed phone 43xx xxxx region and is classified Regional 1 for billing with the exception of northern suburbs Gwandalan and Summerland Point, which fall in the fixed phone region for Newcastle and Lower Hunter 49xx xxxx. Fixed-line telephone service is universally available. 3G, 4G and 5G mobile network services are available from Optus, Telstra and Vodafone, though numerous black spots exist due to the topography and remoteness of some parts of the region. Steps to improve coverage areas along the railway have been announced by the Federal Government.[23]

ADSL and good quality fixed-wireless broadband services are widely available; however, significant blackspots continue to exist. High speed ADSL2 is available at most exchanges through Telstra. Few other providers exist, leading to an expensive high speed broadband offering for the region. Many areas experience very slow and/or unreliable ADSL connections due to the age and quality of the infrastructure.[citation needed]

Fibre optic based broadband services are available in some areas serviced by the National Broadband Network NBN. These include

Long Jetty.[citation needed
]

In 2011, the region was selected as one of the early roll out regions for the National Broadband Network's fibre to the premise installation which will offer stable speeds of 100/40 Mbit/s down/up load respectively.[24] Two Points Of Interconnect (POI) are located in the region at Gosford and Berkley Vale exchanges. The regional rollout will radiate out from these two super exchanges. Services in areas around the two POI are now available. The rollout of the NBN to the remainder of the region is in question following a change of government in September 2013. Trials of fibre to the node technology are planned for Umina Beach and Woy Woy.[citation needed]

Governance

The Central Coast is administered by one

Wollongong and the Hunter Region, but is not considered a metropolitan area. As of April 2015, Scot MacDonald served as the parliamentary secretary for the Hunter and Central Coast.[26] In November 2015 both Gosford City and Wyong Shire councils controversially voted to merge following a NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal assessment which found the Gosford City and Wyong Shire Councils did not meet the stand-alone operating criteria for the NSW State government's "Fit for the Future" plans for the Local Area Councils within the state.[27]
Despite local opposition and concerns over Wyong Shire, in effect, being subsumed within the Gosford City Council, and claims of councillors being bullied into the merger,[28] as part of the process, merging into a single Central Coast Council local government area passed all administrative and legislative requirements and came into effect in 2016.[29] As of mid-2020, the amalgamation process had cost $49 million.[30] The newly amalgamated Central Coast Council held elections in September 2017.[31]

Transport

The Central Coast is serviced by an extensive and burgeoning road system. A combination of bus and rail provide limited

which?
] in regional plans and priorities by local, state and federal government agencies, with incremental investments largely in road infrastructure.

Roads

Cheero Point on the Pacific Motorway
Pacific Motorway (Sydney - Newcastle Freeway)

The main access to the Central Coast by road is by the 127 kilometres (79 mi)

Peats Ridge interchange was also widened to 3 lanes in each direction in 2020.[34]

Central Coast Highway

The roads that link Kariong with Doyalson (Pacific Highway, Dane Drive, Masons Parade, York Street, George Street, The Entrance Road, Oakland Avenue, Coral Street, Wilfred Barrett Drive, Budgewoi Road and Scenic Road) became known as the Central Coast Highway from 9 August 2006.[35]

The Central Coast's roads are maintained by the Central Coast Council as well as state roads by the NSW government; however, due to the relatively large geography maintenance issues often arise.[citation needed]

Rail

Main entrance of Gosford railway station

The western and south-eastern towns and suburbs of the Central Coast are on the

Taree, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Casino, Gold Coast and Brisbane
. The line has connections with most bus services as well as taxis. Trains terminate at both Gosford and Wyong stations which are also utilised by long-distance services.

Central Coast railway stations on the Northern NSW line are (from south to north):

North

South

Bus

Bus services in the region are operated by

Charmhaven, Red Bus Services and Coastal Liner
. All companies serve their own individual areas covering almost all areas of the region and rarely overlapping.

Busways operates services using

Gwandalan. Further services also utilise routes which goes as far north as Swansea and Charlestown in the Hunter
.

Red Bus Services operate services mainly between Wyong and

Hamlyn Terrace. Its services also operate to West Gosford, Wyoming, Holgate, Matcham, Point Frederick and Springfield. Although most services operate to/from Wyong Hospital via Berkeley Vale and Westfield Tuggerah
, one service (Route 29) operates from Bay Village to Wyong Hospital via The Entrance, Magenta Shores, Toukley, Gorokan and Lake Haven. Red Bus have around 25 buses that are suitable for wheelchairs.

Coastal Liner operate limited route bus services around Westfield Tuggerah, Wyong, Hamlyn Terrace,

Jilliby
. Routes 10 (Tuggerah-Wyee via Hue Hue Road and Wyong), 12 (Tuggerah-Jilliby via Dicksons and Mandalong Roads) and 13 (Tuggerah-Dooralong via Jilliby Road) all operate only on weekdays with limited services. Route 11 is the most popular service, linking Lake Haven with Warnervale via Hamlyn Terrace and Woongarah. This service on weekdays occasionally extends to Westfield Tuggerah and Wyong Station via Hue Hue Road.

CDC NSW operate services between Cheero Point, Mooney Mooney with the bus line extending to Sydney areas such as Brooklyn and sometimes as far as Hornsby. The bus route is isolated from rest of the Central Coast bus network.[36]

Retail and commercial

The Central Coast is home to Erina Fair, the largest single level shopping mall in the Southern Hemisphere and the largest regional shopping mall in Australia. It provides many of the area's amenities such as restaurants, cinema, fast food and shopping. Another large shopping mall exists to the north, Westfield Tuggerah.

Other smaller local shopping malls are located throughout the region, including at Woy Woy, Umina Beach, Kincumber, Gosford, Wyoming, Bateau Bay, Wyong and Lake Haven.

Notes

  1. ^ These figures are the distances from Sydney and Newcastle to Gosford, the major population hub in the region.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Central Coast". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Significant Urban Area, 2008 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Significant Urban Area (SUA) ASGS Edition 2016 in .csv Format". abs.gov.au. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Central Coast". VisitNSW.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  5. ISBN 9781742373645
  6. ^ McCarthy, F. D. "Bungaree (?–1830)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2018 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  7. ^ "King Bungaree and Matora - National Museum of Australia". www.nma.gov.au. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  8. JSTOR 40329895
    .
  9. ^ Bennett, F. C., The Story of the Aboriginal People of the Central Coast of New South Wales, Brisbane Water Historical Society, 1968, p. 9.
  10. ^ "Central Coast". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 May 2008. Edit this at Wikidata
  11. ^ "2021 Central Coast, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  12. ^ "About Council". Central Coast Council About Page. Central Coast Council. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  13. ^ "2021 Central Coast, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  14. ^ "You never know who you might see treading the boards at The Art House at Wyong". Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Wyoming studio accredited to run Diploma in Musical Theatre". Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Members of new youth arts company set to tread the boards in Cosi". Central Coast Wyong Express Advocate. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  17. ^ "About Us | Red Tree Theatre". 2 December 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Central Coast door ajar for Sydney club". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 December 2004. Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2006.
  19. ^ "ccmariners.com.au". Central Coast Mariners: Stadium Info. Archived from the original on 20 October 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2006.
  20. ^ Gardiner, Stephanie (12 April 2011). "HMAS Adelaide goes under after dolphin display delays scuttling". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  21. ^ "health.nsw.gov.au/areas/ccahs/". Central Coast health: About Us. Archived from the original on 2 November 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2006.
  22. ^ "ambulance.nsw.gov.au". Ambulance Service of New South Wales: Map of ambulance stations across NSW. Archived from the original on 29 October 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2006.
  23. ^ "Turnbull pledges $12m to mobile coverage for Central Coast trains". iTnews. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  24. ^ "NSW Central Coast commuters tipped to take to teleworking in Gosford | NBN - Australia's new broadband access network". Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  25. ^ 2012 Central Coast at a Glance [permanent dead link]. Central Coast Research Foundation.
  26. ^ "Mr Scot MACDONALD, MLC". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  27. ^ Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal. "Wyong Council Fit for Future Assessment Summary" (PDF). IPART - Fit for Future Assessments. IPART. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Councillors bullied into amalgamation vote - Central Coast Community News". coastcommunitynews.com.au. 17 November 2015. Archived from the original on 17 December 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  29. ^ Central Coast NSW, Regional Development Australia. "Fit for the Future and Council Amalgamation Position Statement". RDACC. RDACC. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  30. ^ Merilyn, Vale (30 July 2020). "Council amalgamation has cost $49M to date". CCN. Coast Community News. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  31. ^ "Central Coast Council - NSW Local Council Elections 2017". Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  32. Roads & Maritime Services. Archived
    from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  33. ^ "Sydney-Newcastle (F3) Freeway". Ozroads. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 6 July 2006.
  34. ^ F3 Sydney - Newcastle Freeway between Calga and Somersby Department of Main Roads 1987
  35. ^ "Kariong to Doyalson". Roads & Traffic Authority. 23 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2 January 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  36. ^ "| transportnsw.info". transportnsw.info. Retrieved 13 March 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Central Coast, New South Wales.
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