Gillieston Heights 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 Maitland The City of Maitland is a local government area in the lower Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Hunter railway line. The Mayor of the City of Maitland is Cr. David T ...

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 ...

in the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

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 ...

, approximately from the

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

CBD. Prior to 1967, the village was named East Greta however this was changed to honour former Maitland mayor and member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

John Gillies following a poll of residents. At 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 ...

, Gillieston Heights had a population of 3,150.

History

The

Traditional Owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

and Custodians of the Maitland area are the

Wonnarua The Wonnarua people, otherwise written Wanarruwa, are a group of Aboriginal Australian people united by strong ties of kinship, and who survived in family groups or clans scattered along the inland area of what is now known as the Hunter Region ...

people. Following the discovery of high quality coal by prospector T.W. Edgeworth David in 1888, a group of local businessmen purchased of land surrounding present-day Gillieston Heights and were within weeks able to produce coal which was transported by dray to

for sale. To capitalise on this success, the East Greta Coal Mining Company was established in 1891. The company constructed a railway line from West Maitland to the East Greta colliery, completed in 1893. Orders to supply coal for power companies in

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 ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

saw the company declare a dividend in 1896 and expand its operations, sinking a second mine shaft the same year. Railway brake van (2821101948)

As the coal mining activities in the area were expanded, the railway line from Maitland was extended further to the south, and a station platform was opened at East Greta in 1902, with passenger services to Stanford Merthyr near the town of

Kurri Kurri Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the , its population was 6,044. Kurri Kurri is the largest town in a group of towns and hamlets, including Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, ...

. Initially, passengers had to walk to

Maitland railway station Maitland railway station is located on the Main Northern line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the city of Maitland opening on in 1880 as West Maitland being renamed on 1 April 1949. It is the junction station for the Main Northern and ...

to connect with trains operated by

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of differe ...

, but in 1903 this service was extended to Maitland, and a year later to Cessnock on the newly extended

South Maitland Railway The South Maitland Railway was once an extensive network of privately owned colliery and passenger railway lines which served the South Maitland coalfields in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia and were the second last system in Aust ...

. Mining operations at the East Greta colliery ceased following a miners strike in 1929 and subsidence caused by floods in 1930s damaged the workings. After closure the plant & rail sidings at the 2 collieries were soon removed. The village consisting of permanent dwellings which had been erected to house miners remained. After the closure of the mine, the town continued to be served by passenger trains until 1967 when the privately run passenger service over the line between Cessnock and Maitland ended. Coal traffic over the line to services to collieries in the Cessnock area continued. Since 2005, Gillieston Heights has experienced rapid population growth, with large residential developments approved as part of the Maitland City Council's urban settlement strategy. The population doubled between 2005 and 2011, with the rapid growth placing pressure on Gillieston Public School, leading to the acquisition of more land for future expansion.

Population

According to the

of Population, there were 3,150 people in Gillieston Heights. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.3% of the population. * 88.3% of people were born in Australia and 91.8% of people spoke only English at home.. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 27.4%, Catholic 25.1% and Anglican 24.8%.

Transport

Gillieston Heights is served by Rover Coaches route 164 to Cessnock and Maitland. The rapid population growth in the suburb and other former mining villages in the area has led to calls by Maitland and Cessnock councils to reinstate passenger services on the South Maitland Railway, connecting to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

to ease congestion on regional roads. A new station at Gillieston Heights has been identified as a priority.

References

{{Suburbs of City of Maitland Suburbs of Maitland, New South Wales