Balgowlah is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of northern

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Balgowlah (or Bulgowlah) said to be an Aboriginal name for "North Harbour". The area now known as Balgowlah was known to the Aboriginals as Jilling. Balgowlah is located 12 kilometres north-east of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...

in the

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

Northern Beaches Council The Northern Beaches Council is a local government area located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 after the amalgamation of Manly, Pittwater and Warringa ...

, in the

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the entra ...

region. Balgowlah shares the

postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

2093 with the adjacent suburbs of

Manly Vale Manly Vale is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, in the Northern Beaches region ...

Balgowlah Heights Balgowlah Heights is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 11 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, in the Northern Beaches ...

and

North Balgowlah North Balgowlah is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. North Balgowlah is located 13 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, an ...

History

Balgowlah was named in 1832 after an

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

word meaning ''north harbour'' in reference to its position from

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

. In the early days of European Settlement it had been known as Little Manly.

Sir Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to ...

, Australia's first prime minister, resided in the building known as Whitehall in White Street. Since 2004, Whitehall has been the site of the

Norwegian Seamen's Church The Norwegian Church Abroad or ''The Norwegian Seamen’s Church'' ( no, Sjømannskirken) is a religious organisation serving Norwegians and other Scandinavians travelling abroad. Founded in 1864, The Norwegian Seamen’s Mission – Sjømannsmisjo ...

Heritage listings

Balgowlah has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 83 Griffiths Street:

Balgowlah Substation The Balgowlah Substation is a heritage-listed former electrical substation and now child care centre located at 83 Griffiths Street, Balgowlah, Northern Beaches Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1928. It is also known as #150 ...

Demographics

According to the

2016 census Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

of population, there were 7,961 residents in Balgowlah. 63.3% of residents were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England 9.5%, New Zealand 3.0% and South Africa 1.8%. 81.4% of residents spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religious affiliation were No Religion 37.4%,

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

23.7% and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

17.1%.

Commercial area

Balgowlah's main commercial area is located on Condamine Street and Sydney Road. Major businesses in Balgowlah are

Harvey Norman Harvey Norman is a large Australian-based, multi-national retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned ...

and Bunnings Warehouse. Stockland Balgowlah is a shopping centre located on Condamine Street. The centre opened on 15 July 2009. Its main majors are Coles,

Fitness First Fitness First is an international fitness centre brand founded in 1993 in the United Kingdom. The company owned and operated its clubs around the world until financial pressures saw parts of the company sold off to various owners in different reg ...

and 62 other retailers. Stockland Balgowlah is built on the site of the historic Totem Centre, which opened in 1959. The name Totem was based on the North American model. The centre had 33 shops, a bowling alley and a huge

Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

store. In 2007 the Totem Centre was demolished, the centre was run down at the time of its demolition and the Totem name was not continued. However, the centre is still colloquially referred to as "the Totem" or the "Totem Shopping Centre" in the area. The nearest major shopping centre is Westfield Warringah Mall, located 2 kilometres north of the suburb. There are a few smaller shopping areas in Balgowlah, some of them the remnants of the traditional "corner shop" prior to the 1960s.

Transport

Balgowlah is one of the destinations for the Hop-Skip-Jump free bus service operated by

. Numerous public buses operated by Keolis Downer Northern Beaches also operate in the area, the majority coming through Balgowlah en route to Manly, Westfield Warringah Mall, Seaforth and the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Schools

Schools in the Balgowlah region include: *St. Cecilias Primary School *Balgowlah Heights Public School *Manly West Public School * Northern Beaches Secondary College Balgowlah Boys Campus

Parks and reserves

The North Harbour Reserve on Condamine Street, south of the shopping centre, is a popular picnic spot for large groups. The reserve is also on the scenic walk that runs from Manly through

Fairlight Fairlight may refer to: In places: * Fairlight, East Sussex, a village east of Hastings in southern England, UK * Fairlight, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Fairlight, Saskatchewan, Canada In other uses: * Fairlight (company), an ...

, Balgowlah,

and Clontarf to The Spit, near the Spit Bridge.

Notable people

* Wayne Jarratt – actor on stage and television *

Emma Jeffcoat Emma Jeffcoat (born 2 December 1994) is an Australian triathlete. Career Emma Jeffcoat competed in the German for the club. In March 2016, she became a champion of the U23-Oceania triathlon and second-class Oceania champion in the elite cl ...

– Australian triathlete * Callan Mulvey – actor on television and film * Jack Vidgen – singer

References

External links

* C-By-SA {{DEFAULTSORT:Balgowlah, New South Wales Suburbs of Sydney Northern Beaches Council