Albion Park is a suburb situated in the Macquarie Valley in the

City of Shellharbour The City of Shellharbour is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The city is located about south of Sydney and covers the southern suburbs of the Wollongong urban area centred on Shellharbour and it had ...

, which is in turn one of the three local government areas that comprise the Wollongong Metropolitan Area, New South Wales, Australia. Although it is surrounded by a 'green belt' of farms, Albion Park had a population of 13,316 at the . The Illawarra escarpment is to the west,

Dapto Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering an area 7.15 square kilometres in size. As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,730. History ...

is to the north,

Jamberoo Jamberoo is a village on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. It is approximately 11.3 km inland from Kiama. At the , Jamberoo had a population of 1,667. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal ...

is to the south and

Shellharbour Shellharbour (also known as Shellharbour Village) is a suburb located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the local government area, City of Shellharbour, and its central business district, Shellhar ...

is to the east.

History

On 9 January 1821, the area around Albion Park was part of a grant of land of over 2000 acres given to Samuel Terry, a former convict who became one of the richest men in New South Wales. Terry owned and operated the Terry's Meadows Estate, which operated as a cattle stud. In 1834, Terry suffered from a stroke and died in 1838. The land was inherited by Samuel Terry's nephew, John Terry Hughes. Hughes renamed the site to Albion Park. The township began to grow around the centre of the estate. For European settlers, this had been a natural meeting place as it was where the road from Wollongong in the north crossed the road from the timber industry in Calderwood and Tongarra in the west as it ran out towards the port at Shellharbour. The arrival of the

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

in 1887, and the completion of the road through

Macquarie Pass Macquarie Pass is an eight-kilometre-long section of the Illawarra Highway passing through Macquarie Pass National Park. It was opened in 1898, though had been used by the Wodi Wodi tribe. Macquarie Pass links the Southern Highland town of Rob ...

to the Southern Highlands, hastened the town's growth.

Heritage listings

Albion Park has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Tullimbar Road:

Toongla Toongla is a heritage-listed former residence and dairy farm and now residence at 41 Tullimbar Road, Albion Park in the City of Shellharbour local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It was built during 1873. ...

Etymology

The term "

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

", is an ancient name of Great Britain.Albion – Online Etymology Dictionary
/ref> The name was given to the area by John Terry Hughes after originally being known as the Terry's Meadow Estate.

Population

According to the 2021 census of Population, there were 13,826 people in Albion Park. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.5% of the population. * 84.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.2%, New Zealand 0.8%, Scotland 0.6% and Germany 0.6%. * 90.4% of people only spoke English at home. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 39.0%, Catholic 24.3%, and Anglican 17.2%.

Infrastructure

Trains

In order to avoid the highest parts of the ridge between Albion Park and

Minnamurra Minnamurra is a suburb in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Municipality of Kiama. It has a station (opened 1891) on City Rail South Coast line. The Minnamurra River flows into the ocean at Minnamurra. There is a sa ...

, the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

needed to keep closer to the shore of

Lake Illawarra Lake Illawarra ( Aboriginal Tharawal language: various adaptions of ''Elouera'', ''Eloura'', or ''Allowrie''; ''Illa'', ''Wurra'', or ''Warra'' meaning pleasant place near the sea, or, high place near the sea, or, white clay mountain), is an ope ...

. After the opening of

Albion Park railway station Albion Park railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the South Coast railway line on the Princes Highway in , New South Wales, Australia. The station was designed by New South Wales Government Railways and built during 1 ...

two km to the east in 1887, a new town began to develop next to it, now known as Albion Park Rail.

Roads

The

Illawarra Highway Illawarra Highway is a short state highway in New South Wales, Australia. It connects Wollongong to the Southern Highlands and links Princes Highway and Hume Highway. It is named after the geographical area it crosses, the Illawarra region. ...

runs through Albion Park and joins the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

just north of the suburb. This road brings many people through the region. Albion Park is also on the most direct link between

Jamberoo Action Park Jamberoo Action Park is a seasonal water theme park, which operates between September and April inclusive. Outside those times, the office remains open and staff are always available to field all types of bookings or enquiries. Jamberoo Act ...

and Sydney via the Princes Motorway and thus is directly on the route for those travelling south.

Education

There are currently 4 Primary Schools and 3 High Schools in Albion Park:
Albion Park Public School

Albion Park High School

Mount Terry Public School

St. Joseph's Catholic School, Albion Park

St. Paul's Catholic Primary School, Albion Park

Illawarra Christian School
(Tongarra Campus)
Tullimbar Primary school

Recreation

Albion Park is home to the Shellharbour Regional Sporting Complex, which consists of two all-weather hockey fields, several football (rugby league) fields, a multi-purpose indoor basketball stadium, a turf cricket / AFL field, an athletics field, a BMX track, a remote control car racing track, and several tennis courts. A cycleway also courses its way through the Sporting Complex and links it to a polo field and a complex of soccer fields. Albion Park is also home to a Shellharbour Council Swimming Pool, which is open during the summer months and now costs a fee of $2.00 entry, to a pool paid for by the members of the town.

Clubs and pubs

Albion Park is home to three clubs where people go to eat and drink. They include:
Albion Park Hotel

Albion Park RSL

Albion Park Bowls and Recreation Club

Sport

Albion Park is also home to various sporting teams such as: *

Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles The Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles are an Australian rugby league football team based in Albion Park, a country town of the Illawarra region. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and have competed in both the Illawarra and South Coast comp ...

Albion Park Hockey Club
*

Albion Park Bowls and Recreation Club Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

* Albion Park Cows Football Club *

Albion Park Cricket Club Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

Albion Park White Eagles Albion Park White Eagles is a mainly Serbian Australian-backed football club based in the suburb of Albion Park, a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales. History Established in 2000, the White Eagles amalgamated with Albion Park Soccer Club ...

Albion Park Crows Junior AFL Club

Museums

Albion Park has the Tongarra Museum, which showcases the history of the region, and the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society Museum located at the Illawarra Regional Airport.

Commercial area

There is a small

Vicinity Centres Vicinity Centres , previously known as Federation Centres and Centro Properties Group, is an Australian Real Estate Investment Trust specialising in ownership and management of Australian shopping centres. As at December 2021, it had stakes i ...

shopping complex in Albion Park. In 2009, the local Council started a program to revitalize the town centre and it has attracted more tourists to the town. The town is often referred to as Boganville by its community . The community wanted a big Ugg boot in the middle of the town .

References

External links

{{Wollongong suburbs City of Shellharbour Suburbs of Wollongong