Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of

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 ...

and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extremity of Brisbane Water, an extensive northern branch of the Hawkesbury River estuary and

Broken Bay Broken Bay, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a large inlet of the Tasman Sea located about north of Sydney central business district on the coast of New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies of water that separa ...

. The suburb is the

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

and

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 ...

of the Central Coast region, which is the third largest urban area in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle. Following its formation from the combination of the previous Gosford City Council and Wyong Shire Councils, Gosford has been earmarked as a vital CBD spine under the NSW Metropolitan Strategy. The population of the Gosford area was 169,053 in 2016.

History

SLNSW 796353 Looking south Mann St Gosford

Until white settlement, the area around Gosford was inhabited by the Guringai peoples, who were principally coastal-dwellers, and the Darkinjung people that inhabited the

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...

. Along with the other land around the Hawkesbury River estuary, the Brisbane Water district was explored during the early stages of the settlement of

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 ...

Gosford itself was explored by State Governor

Arthur Phillip Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 unti ...

between 1788 and 1789. The area was difficult to access and settlement began around 1823. By the late 19th century the agriculture in the region was diversifying, with market gardens and citrus orchards occupying the rich soil left after the timber harvest. As late as 1850, the road between Hawkesbury (near Pittwater) and Brisbane Water was a cart wheel track. Typical of early Colonial settlement, convicts lived and worked in the Gosford area. In 1825, Gosford's population reached 100, of whom 50% were convicts. East Gosford was the first centre of settlement. Gosford was named in 1839 after Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford – a friend of the then Governor of New South Wales George Gipps. Acheson's title derives its name from

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...

, a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

(sub-division) of Markethill in

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. In 1887, the rail link to Sydney was completed, requiring a bridge over the Hawkesbury River and a tunnel through the sandstone ridge west of

Woy Woy Woy Woy is a coastal town in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the southern reaches of Brisbane Water north of Sydney. It is a population centre within the local government area. Woy Woy is located in the nor ...

. The introduction of this transport link and then the Pacific Highway in 1930 accelerated the development of the region. Gosford became a town in 1885 and was declared a municipality in 1886. Rumbalara Reserve - panoramio (6)

Mann Street, the spine of the Gosford CBD has been the subject of much debate, with urban planners having ambitions to make Gosford a small smart regional city with various plans for a performing arts center, greater choice in cafes and restaurants, new library, high speed rail linkage to Sydney and Newcastle, better pedestrian access from the Gosford Hospital, education and research precinct over the railway lines to Mann Street and a new Central Coast University promised at State and Federal elections. Availability of affordable car parking around Gosford Railway station is an ongoing concern for rail commuters and visitors to Gosford CBD.

Demographics

At the , there were 3,499 people in Gosford. 59.6% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were India 4.5%, and England 2.9%. 65.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin at 3.7%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 33.9% and Catholic 18.2%. The Gosford Statistical Area, which incorporates the whole of Gosford's city and suburbs, includes

Terrigal Terrigal is a coastal town in the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located east of Gosford on the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the local government area. History Terrigal was first settled in 1826 by European Settler John Gray, ...

, Erina,

Kariong Kariong () is a locality of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia west of Gosford along the Central Coast Highway. It is part of the local government area. History Kariong's first British settler was W.H. Parry in 1901. The ...

Kincumber Kincumber is a south-eastern suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, nested between the Kincumba Mountain Reserve and the Kincumber Broadwater and located north of Sydney via the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway (F3). It is ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

and

Avoca Beach Avoca Beach is a coastal suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney. Avoca Beach is primarily a residential suburb, Avoca Beach is also a popular tourist destination. Avoca Beach is known for its ...

, and at the 2021 census had a population of 178,427.

Geography

Climate

Gosford has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: Cfa) with warm summers and mild winters. In summer, temperatures average about 27–28 °C in the day with high humidity and about 17–18 °C at night. Winters are mild with cool overnight temperatures and mild to occasionally warm daytime temperatures with lower humidity. Records range from a maximum of on 18 January 2013, to a low of on 16 July 1970. Average rainfall is 1333 mm, much of which falls in the late summer and autumn. Rainfall is less common in late winter and early spring because of the

foehn effect A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of ...

, as the city is located on the

leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

side of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

Central business district

Gosford proper is located in a valley with President's Hill on the city's western border, Rumbalara Reserve on its eastern border, and Brisbane Water to the city's south. Mann Street, Gosford's main street and part of the Pacific Highway, runs north-south and contains the frontage for much of the commercial district. In the centre of Gosford is a shopping and community precinct, including

Kibble Park Kibble Park is an urban park in Gosford City, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The park is a common location for public events in Gosford City. History City officials announced construction plans for a library, fountain, ...

, William Street Mall, Gosford City Library, the Imperial Shopping Centre and a full range of shops, cafes, banks and services. A renewed period of optimism has followed demolition of several derelict buildings and several infrastructure investment projects including the full fibre optic telecommunications rollout of the

National Broadband Network The National Broadband Network (NBN) is an Australian national wholesale open-access data network. It includes wired and radio communication components rolled out and operated by NBN Co, a Government-owned corporation. Internet service provider ...

in 2012 in the city's CBD as well as the so-called Kibbleplex project, announced in 2013 that plans to house the new regional library, tertiary teaching rooms and associated organisations.

Economy and infrastructure

Gosford is situated along an identified business growth corridor between Erina, the

West Gosford West Gosford is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the local government area. West Gosford is home to the Henry Kendall cottage and was home to the Gosford Classic Car Museum prior to its 2019 cl ...

light industrial zone and Somersby. Connectivity of main roads and rail travel times between Sydney, the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie and the city of Newcastle are key issues for corporate business relocation to the region. Aged and personal care and retail are major employers in Gosford. As an entertainment hub, Mann Street enjoys relatively good public transport links and is one of the Central Coast's most popular spots for pubs and clubs and in close proximity to cultural and sporting events. Yacht and other boat building has been undertaken by East Coast Yachts since 1964 in West Gosford.

Facilities

Gosford is home to: *

Gosford Hospital Gosford Hospital is a state owned public hospital in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD) which is a division of New South Wales Ministry of Health. Gosford Hospital provides a range ...

– the largest public hospital on the NSW Central Coast * Laycock Street Community Theatre – the only professional, proscenium arch theatre venue on the Central Coast. Home of Gosford Musical Society who in fact provided financial support in the construction of the theater. * The Central Coast Conservatorium (in the original Gosford Courthouse) * Central Coast Stadium (formerly Bluetongue stadium) in Grahame Park, adjacent to the Central Coast Leagues Club. Originally built for the

Central Coast Bears The Central Coast Bears were a proposed rugby league club based on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. They were trying to be included in an expanded National Rugby League competition. The proposed team would have played 11 gam ...

team in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

competition (to this day, the seats are arranged to say 'Go Bears'), since 2005 it is the home of the successful

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

soccer / association football team and was the home venue of the

Central Coast Rays Sydney is an Australian rugby union team that competes in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). Formerly known as Sydney Rays, the team is one of two sides from New South Wales in the competition; the other being the NSW Country Eagles. T ...

rugby union Australian Rugby Championship team. * Central Coast Leagues Club – is the largest community sporting and social club in the region * The Entertainment Grounds, formerly known as Gosford Racecourse * Gosford Showground, home to

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

organised by Gosford Greyhounds. * The

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

of the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

workplace health and safety regulator, SafeWork NSW * Gavenlock Oval – Home ground of the Gosford City Dragons, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club associated with

Central Coast Football Central Coast Football is a governing body and football (soccer) competition located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales. Its administrative headquarters are based at Pluim Park, Lisarow, New South Wales. The association consists of ...

. * Gosford Regional Gallery and Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Garden – The Commemorative Garden is a

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...

that was built as a

gift A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...

to residents of Gosford City Council by the Ward of Edogawa,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan. They were opened in September 1994.

Media

Newspapers

Express Advocate: A

News Corp News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the News Corporation (1980–2013), original News Corporation, it was formed ...

publication suburban style newspaper in the ''News Local Group'' Gosford Community News has been published fortnightly by Ducks Crossing Publications since 2010.

Commercial radio networks

Radio stations available: *

Triple M Central Coast The Central Coast's 107.7 Triple M (call-sign: 2GGO) is a commercial radio station based in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia. The broadcast area is the NSW Central Coast, a region that extends from southern Lake Macquarie to the Hawkesbur ...

(formerly 2GO) – part of Southern Cross Austereo *

Hit101.3 Central Coast Hit101.3 (call sign: 2CFM) is an Australian radio station located on the New South Wales Central Coast, part of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network. Hit101.3 broadcasts from the Central Coast Radio Centre on Henry Parry Drive, in Gosford, alon ...

(formerly Sea FM) * ABC 92.5 * CoastFM 96.3 * StarFM 104.5 * EVT FM – Chinese radio network

Transport

Transport is serviced by Red Bus Services. Gosford railway station

The

Central Coast Highway Central Coast Highway is a highway through the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It connects Pacific Motorway ( M1) at Kariong with Pacific Highway (A43) at Doyalson. The highway was named after the region it goes through ...

cuts through Gosford's waterfront area, while its predecessor the, Pacific Highway, takes on several names through the CBD itself. Mann Street contains the main public transport links for Gosford, including

Gosford railway station Gosford railway station is located on the Main Northern line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the Central Coast city of Gosford, opening on 15 August 1887. Between January 1960 and April 1982, Gosford was the northern extremity of the ...

, with trains twice an hour to Sydney Central Station and to Newcastle Interchange. There is also a terminal for several bus routes linking Gosford to the rest of the Central Coast outside of Gosford station.
Mezlernejo Gosford

Education

*Gosford Public School and Henry Kendall High School in Faunce Street * Gosford High School - the only academically selective high school on the Central Coast * St Philip's Christian College Gosford * St Joseph's Catholic College, East Gosford is an all girls Catholic school *

St Edward's College, East Gosford , motto_translation = Through Faith and Knowledge , established = , founder = Congregation of Christian Brothers , type = Independent secondary day school , denomination ...

- is an all boys Catholic school *

Hunter Institute of TAFE TAFE NSW is an Australian vocational education and training provider. Annually, the network trains over 500,000 students in campus, workplace, online, or distance education methods of education. It was established as an independent statutory bod ...

* University of Newcastle Central Coast Clinical School

Notable people

* Craig Anderson – pitcher for Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League *

Estelle Asmodelle Estelle Asmodelle, formerly known as Estelle Maria Croot, is a polymath. She is an Australian model, actress, belly dancer, musician, activist, abstract artist and physicist. She became Australia's first legally recognised transgender person ...

– former model, dancer, and activist. Currently, musician, abstract artist and academic. She is known as Australia's first legal transsexual * Cindy-Lu Bailey – deaf former Olympic athlete *

Bradman Best Bradman Best (born 9 August 2001) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League (NRL). Background Best was born on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia and ...

– rugby League player for Newcastle Knights *

Charlotte Best Charlotte Elise Best (born 16 January 1994) is an Australian actress and model. She is best known for her role in the show ''Home and Away'' as the young girl in the Campbell family, Annie Campbell. Biography Best grew up in the suburb of Po ...

– actress, known for her role as Annie Campbell on ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

'' * Anthony Biddle – Paralympian tandem cyclist and athlete * Matt Burke – former rugby union player * Alan Davidson – former Australian cricketer * Grant Denyer – Australian television and radio presenter *

Bill Dunk William Edgar Dunk (born 10 December 1938)Billy Dunk
Player Profile at Australian ...

- Professional golfer *

Mark Edmondson Mark Edmondson (born 28 June 1954 in Gosford, New South Wales) is a retired Australian professional tennis player. Edmondson won the 1976 Australian Open while ranked 212th in the world, and remains the lowest-ranked winner of a Grand Slam t ...

– former tennis professional and winner of the 1976 Australian Tennis Open *

David Fairleigh David Fairleigh (born 1 September 1970 in Wyoming, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and current assistant coach for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). An Australian inte ...

– former Rugby League forward, current coach of the

James Gleeson James Timothy Gleeson (21 November 1915 – 20 October 2008) was an Australian artist. He served on the board of the National Gallery of Australia. Early life Gleeson was born in the Sydney district of Hornsby in 1915 and attended East Sydn ...

– one of Australia's earliest and most recognised surrealist painters, also a poet and art critic. His family lived in Narara and in the 1920s, Gosford and they owned the Gosford pub. The coolroom of the Gosford pub occasionally served as an impromptu city morgue * Des Hasler – former professional

footballer, former coach of Manly Warringah Sea Eagles *

Nicho Hynes Nicholas Hynes (born 18 June 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League, NRL. He previously played as a for the Melbourne Storm in the National R ...

- rugby league player for Cronulla Sharks *

Matt Ikuvalu Matt Ikuvalu (born 9 November 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er or for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League, NRL. He previously played for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. Bac ...

- rugby league player for Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks *

Allyson McConnell Allyson McConnell (née Meagher, November 1978 – September 2013) was an Australian resident in Millet, Alberta, Canada who, in 2010, killed her sons by drowning them in a bathtub. She was convicted of manslaughter and deported to Australia. An ap ...

– convicted killer who drowned her two children in Alberta, Canada *

Julia Morris Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris (born 20 April 1968) is an Australian comedian, television presenter and actress who has worked extensively in Australian television and radio, touring the country with her solo comedy shows. She relocated to the Un ...

– actress and television host * Matt Orford – former

halfback * Chris Payne –

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

playing for the

North Queensland Fury Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from t ...

in the

Ron Peno Ronald "Ron" Stephen Peno (born mid 1950s), who also performed as Ronnie Pop, is an Australian rock singer, he fronted Died Pretty, from 1984 to 2002, he was a member of early punk band the Hellcats (1976–77), and followed with the 31st (in B ...

– Australian Punk & 1980's Rock musician; Lead Singer of Died Pretty * Brad Porter – retired Football Midfielder *

Andrew Redmayne Andrew James Redmayne (born 13 January 1989) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Sydney FC in the A-League and the Australia men's national team. Redmayne was born in Gosford and played youth football w ...

– goalkeeper for

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

Sam Retford Sam Retford (born 22 June 1999) is an Australian-English actor, known for portraying the role of Cory Wilson on the Channel 4 drama ''Ackley Bridge''. As well as starring in various stage productions, he has also made appearances in television s ...

– actor, known for his role as Cory Wilson on '' Ackley Bridge'' * Mark Skaife – 5-time

Supercars A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

champion and 6-time Bathurst 1000 winner *

Matthew Zions Matthew Zions (born 27 December 1978) is an Australian professional golfer. Zions was born in Gosford, Australia. He grew up in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, where he played at the Kempsey Golf Club. His father Paul Zions is a ...

– European PGA professional golfer (2003–present), 2011

Saint-Omer Open The Saint-Omer Open is an annual men's professional golf tournament played at Saint-Omer Golf Club in Saint-Omer, France. The tournament was founded in 1997 and was part of the MasterCard Tour a year later, before taking its place on the Challen ...

winner

Sister cities and twin towns

* Edogawa,

* Nitra

References

External links

Gosford City Council official website

Central Coast Tourism official website
{{Authority control Cities in New South Wales Coastal cities in Australia Suburbs of the Central Coast (New South Wales)