Cameron Park 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 the City of Lake Macquarie

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 ...

, Greater Newcastle in

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 ...

, located west of Newcastle's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

near

West Wallsend West Wallsend is a suburb and small town in the City of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. It is near the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and the western suburbs of Newcastle. History The Awabakal are the traditional p ...

and the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway.

History

The suburb was originally known as Estelville, named for local politician

Jack Estel Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, i ...

, and was first subdivided in 1905. By 1998, the land was owned by the Lake Macquarie City Council, Coal and Allied, BHP Collieries, the Hunter Water Corporation and a few private owners. of the suburb was rezoned as a mixed-use greenfields site as part of the council's Lifestyle 2020 planning strategy early in 1998, and by September, a proposed A$300 million development featuring 1,700 homes, a primary and high school, and a shopping centre with a supermarket, tavern, specialty shops and a commercial area had been announced by development consortium Northlakes Pty Ltd, who forecast the development would be complete within 10–15 years. The council and developers wanted to rename the suburb Cameron Park because of a nearby

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

of that name, which was itself named after Ian Cameron, one of the founders of speedway racing in Australia. A poll of residents in 2000 showed a majority wanted the name changed, with only 1.4% favouring retention of Estelville. Other names considered included Oakwood, as well as "Pambulong", from a clan of the Awabakal

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

living nearby whose name was suggested by Tyneside Property Management who were developing an industrial technology park in another part of the suburb. The

Geographical Names Board of New South Wales The Geographical Names Board of New South Wales, a statutory authority of the Department of Customer Service in the Government of New South Wales, is the official body for naming and recording details of places and geographical names in the sta ...

approved the new name and boundaries in August 2001. Construction subsequently began on 477 lots in the suburb. Approval was given in August 2005 to build a $6.2-million shopping centre, including a

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 ...

supermarket and a Harrigan's Irish pub. Construction finally commenced in January 2016.

Newcastle Kart Raceway

In Cameron Park, there is a go-kart circuit, in close proximity to the Sydney-Newcastle freeway. The circuit hosts many major national karting events, including the Australian CIK Stars of Karting series and the NSW State Titles.

References

External links

History of Cameron Park
(Lake Macquarie City Library) {{City of Lake Macquarie suburbs Suburbs of Lake Macquarie