Broadmeadow is the geographic center of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the "Nineways".
[Newcastle City Council, About Newcastle]
In 2016, it had a population of approximately 1,600.
History
Origins
Broadmeadow was originally part of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve of 648 hectares. It developed around the Great Northern Railway, the road to Newcastle's western suburbs and the construction of the Sydney to Newcastle Railway in the 1880s.
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''Nineways'' is a major intersection at Broadmeadow, originally constructed as a landscaped garden in the centre of a roundabout at the intersection of nine roads/tramlines that converge there,][ the area was later reconstructed to have a set of traffic lights connected to only four roads. The other roads that accessed the roundabout were variously partly or fully closed off.
At ''Nineways'' stood the ''Century Theatre'', rebuilt by Hoyts Theatres after World War II, with vast foyers on two floors and seating 1600, as one of Newcastle's premier theatres for stage and screen. It was often a venue for symphony orchestra concerts after the closure of the city's Victoria Theatre, but the exodus from cinemas because of television caused its closure in the early 1970s. It was said to have sustained severe structural damage during the 1989 earthquake, and was subsequently quickly demolished, amidst great controversy.
]
Railways
The Broadmeadow railway station
Broadmeadow railway station is a major regional interchange located on the Main North Line. The station itself serves the Newcastle suburb of Broadmeadow. The station was first opened on 15 August 1887.
The island platform was accessed by a le ...
is situated close by and, before the construction of the Newcastle Interchange at Wickham, was once considered as the site for Newcastle's official transport interchange following truncation of the Newcastle railway line
The Newcastle railway line is a branch railway line in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The line branches off the Main North line at Broadmeadow and travels in an easterly direction through the inner suburbs to Newcastle Inte ...
. Between Adamstown Adamstown may refer to:
Locations Australia
* Adamstown, New South Wales, a suburb in New South Wales
Ireland
* Adamstown, Castletownkindalen, a townland in Castletownkindalen civil parish, barony of Moycashel, County Westmeath
* Adamstown, Conr ...
and Broadmeadow railway stations there is a large marshalling yard that opened in 1938. Adjoining this marshalling yard was Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot
Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot (NSW depot number 2) was a large locomotive depot consisting of two Railway roundhouse, roundhouse buildings and associated facilities constructed by the New South Wales Government Railways adjacent to the marshalling ...
which was the second largest steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
depot in the state, and served the last mainline steam locomotives in service on the New South Wales Government Railways in 1973. The depot was then used for the stabling & servicing of Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
s until the depot was closed in 1994.["Remember When" ''Railway Digest'' February 1995 page 45]
Facilities
There are two high schools in Broadmeadow: Hunter School of Performing Arts, whose students have to pass a performance trial, and Merewether High School
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. The latter is the only academically selective secondary school in the Newcastle region.
Broadmeadow is home to the Newcastle Regional Showground, which holds the Newcastle Regional Show
The Newcastle Regional Show (or just Newcastle Show) is an annual agricultural show held by the Newcastle AH & I Association at the Newcastle Regional Showground in Broadmeadow, a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
The show was fo ...
and has the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, which hosts concerts and other large-scale performances. The Hunter Pirates
The Hunter Pirates are a defunct Australian professional men's basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). It was based in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales.
Team history
The team was once known as the Canberra ...
basketball team previously played home games at the Entertainment Centre before being relocated to Singapore.
District Park within Broadmeadow has been the base of the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service since 1973.
Broadmeadow contains the Newcastle Racecourse, situated in Darling Street.
Demographics
In the 2016 Census, there were 1,592 people in Broadmeadow. 83.1% of people were born in Australia and 83.9% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 40.0%, Catholic 19.8% and Anglican 13.5%.[
]
Heritage listings
Broadmeadow has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Premiers and Railway Commissioners Rail Car Collection
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
Broadmeadow Railway Locomotive Depot
Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot (NSW depot number 2) was a large locomotive depot consisting of two roundhouse buildings and associated facilities constructed by the New South Wales Government Railways adjacent to the marshalling yard on the Main ...
References
{{Authority control
Suburbs of Newcastle, New South Wales