Fairy Meadow, New South Wales
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Fairy Meadow is a suburb in the
City of Wollongong The City of Wollongong is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the Tasman Sea, the Princes Motorway and the Illawarra railway line. Located south of Sydney central busi ...
,
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. Located in the
Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...
region and only 4 km from the city centre, it is a mainly low-density residential area, with a large strip of commercial and industrial properties along and off 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 ...
.


Overview

Fairy Meadow is popular with tourists and surfers, due to its long beach (Fairy Meadow beach) and views of
Mount Keira Mount Keira () is a suburb and mountain in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. Mount Keira is a site of significant cultural heritage for the Wodi Wodi people. The name Mount Keira derives from the Wodi Wodi name for the mounta ...
, and
Mount Kembla Mount Kembla is a suburb and a mountain in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb, a semi-rural township of Wollongong, gets its name from the mountain, located on the Illawarra escarpment, is derived from an Aborig ...
. Fairy Meadow residents live mainly in older style houses, though apartments are now being built along the aforementioned strip. The main shopping area includes Coles, Woolworths and
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
supermarkets and many smaller stores and boutiques. Guest Park which is located to the west of the Princes highway commercial strip has a skate park, tennis courts, netball courts and a large soccer pitch. A local historical building is the old Northern Illawarra Council Chambers. To the southeast of Fairy Meadow in
North Wollongong North Wollongong is a coastal suburb of the City of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is immediately to the north of the Wollongong city centre. Although North Wollongong is an official suburb with precise boundaries, the term North Wol ...
is
Puckeys Estate Reserve Puckey's Estate Reserve is a coastal nature reserve in North Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is mainly she-oak forest, but also has sand dune and wetland areas, including areas along Para Creek. It is located in the suburb of Fairy ...
, a bush reserve known for bird watching and coastal environment protection, open to the public for walking on the tracks, once site of a saltworks. The area is also bordered by a long beach which stretches from Towradgi Point in the north, to Wollongong in the south, interrupted only by the rocks at the Fairy Lagoon entrance. North of Puckey's Reserve and east of Fairy Meadow is Fairy Meadow Beach, the picnic facilities, playground and toilets in 2007 went under upgrades along with several other beachside areas in the Illawarra. The beach is patrolled in summer and has a surf life saving club, established in 1951. West of Puckey's Reserve is Brandon Park, a greyhound racing track and the Wollongong Science Centre and Planetarium complex as well as an area of university property. The science centre is known for its laser concerts. The science centre was opened on 15 May 2000 by MP Colin Markham. The centre building is overtly white and clearly visible from Wollongong's higher points. Outside the entrance there stands a sculpture called 'Southern Cross', featuring poles in the shape of the constellation with graphics on them. The science and planetarium centre contains two levels, including a laser theatre, observatory, dinosaur and fossil exhibit, electronics exhibit and other attractions such as a setup demonstrating solar power with a model railroad and a forest logging simulation game Fairy Meadow churches include the historic 1928 Anglican church Crossroads Christian Community, the more recent 1952 St John Vianney's Catholic Church, and the Reformed Church.


Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 7,405 people in Fairy Meadow. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.8% of the population. * 65.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 4.7%, Italy 3.1%, England 2.9% and Vietnam 1.5%. * 67.9% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 4.4%, Italian 4.2%, Turkish 2.3%, Arabic 2.2% and Vietnamese 1.9%. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 28.7%, Catholic 28.2% and Anglican 11.9%.


History

Fairy Meadow, currently part of the suburb of Wollongong, was originally a village called Ferrah Meadow, when the area was occupied to 300 acres by Connor Bowlen on 13 February 1824. Two village lots from the Balgownie Estate were later advertised in 1841 and the village from this sale presently became Fairy Meadow.


Transportation

The area is served by Fairy Meadow railway station on the
South Coast line The South Coast Line is an intercity rail service operated by NSW TrainLink that services the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The service runs from , and runs the entire length of the eponymous South Coast railway line to . T ...
, which is part of the
NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...
railway network. The station is accessed via steps which climb to the road bridge on Elliot's Road that runs from Puckey's Estate/Fairy Meadow Beach Surf Lifesaving Club to Princes Highway. Fairy Meadow is also located along
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 wate ...
's free shuttle bus to North Wollongong railway station, and Keiraville
University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...
campus. The free shuttle bus service that serves Fairy Meadow includes City of Wollongong bus routes 55A and 55C.


Education

The suburb hosts two primary schools – Good Samaritan Catholic Primary and Fairy Meadow Demonstration School – as well as two high schools: Keira Technology High School and
Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts 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 wate ...
. Other nearby primary schools include
Mount Ousley Mount Ousley is a residential suburb situated on the foothills of Mount Keira about four kilometres northwest from the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is also the name of the road which crosses the nearby Illawarra Escarpmen ...
Public School and Towradgi Public School. Fairy Meadow is home to
University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...
's Innovation Campus – iC. The campus houses a large part of UOW's student population in the Campus East housing complex. The Innovation Campus is home to the university's faculty of science. Among the iC campus' many features is the aforementioned Science Centre and Planetarium. A
TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...
site is also located adjacent to Keira high school.


Heritage listings

Fairy Meadow has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Squires Way: Balgownie Migrant Workers Hostel


Notable residents

* Birthplace of cricketer Dave Gregory, captain of the first Australian cricket test team * Birthplace of Dr Mary Puckey, the first female superintendent of an Australian hospital


References


External links


Fairy Meadow
{{Wollongong suburbs Suburbs of Wollongong City of Wollongong