Cringila is a southern suburb of the city of

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near w ...

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. The suburb is bounded by Berkeley, Unanderra, Lake Heights and Warrawong. The suburb is planned on a north-south residential/commercial strip and the east west streets that adjoin it, making a rectangular pattern.

Cringila Community Park Cringila is a southern suburb of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is bounded by Berkeley, Unanderra, Lake Heights and Warrawong. The suburb is planned on a north-south residential/commercial strip and the east wes ...

is a 78 ha site purchased by Wollongong City Council after residents defeated a proposal by BHP to use the land as a dump for

industrial waste Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt an ...

. Its main purpose is to regenerate the local area's natural wildlife. Surrounding Cringila's primary school is a protected rain forest. A fraction of Cringila is the Port Kembla steelworks, which is a major local employer. This led to an influx of ethnic groups, primarily

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

, Portuguese, Turks and

Lebanese Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic * Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...

. This in turn transformed the demographics of Cringila significantly and at the more people lived in households where

was spoken (31.8%) than in households where only English was spoken (24.6%), making it the only suburb in Australia where this was true. However, at the only 18.5% of the population lived in households where Macedonian was spoken and 40.2% lived in households where only English was spoken.

History

The word Cringila is 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 ...

name - the town was formerly called Steeltown. In 1928 the first blast furnace opened up at the Port Kembla steelworks. In 1935 the first public school opened, it was known as Steel Town School. In 1957 Cringila Public School opened.

Shopping

The main operating shops include Abdul's Butcher, the Cringila Hotel, a few burek shops, a newsagency, a

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

and convenience store. Other businesses include a petrol station,

kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish (food), dish that originates from Middle Eastern cuisine, cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the ...

shops, and a florist.

Sport

Cringila also has a local

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

team which participates in the local Illawarra Premier League. They are supported strongly by the Macedonian community of Cringila and Wollongong. They play their local games at their home ground at John Crehan Park, Merrett Avenue, Cringila. In 2008 Cringila had finished 4th in the local Illawarra Premier League and also won the Corrimal League cup which also led to greater success in winning the Bert Bampton Cup. Cringila Lions have a strong rivalry with Wollongong United also backed heavily by the Macedonian community. Cringila Community Park 1

Transport

Cringila railway station Cringila is an intercity train station located in Cringila, Australia, on the South Coast railway line's Port Kembla branch. The station serves NSW TrainLink trains travelling south to Port Kembla and north to Wollongong and Sydney. History T ...

in on the Port Kembla Branch of the South Coast railway line.

Demographics

At the , Cringila had a total population of 2,198 with 1,121 (52.0%) born in Australia and a median age of 36. Their country of birth was as follows: 40.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Macedonian 18.5% and Arabic 16.1%. The most common responses for religion were Islam 23.5%, Catholic 16.7%, Eastern Orthodox 14.9%, No Religion 14.0% and Christian, not further defined 8.1%.

References