Kahibah 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 The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area in Greater Newcastle and part of the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city from 7 September 1984. The area is situated adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is ...

Greater Newcastle Newcastle ( ; Awabakal language, Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the City of Newcastle, Newcastle and City of Lake Macquarie, Lake Macquarie Local gov ...

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 from 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 ...

. Kahibah is the closest suburb to

Glenrock Lagoon Glenrock Lagoon, an intermediate fresh water small coastal creek, is located within the Lake Macquarie local government area in the Newcastle and Hunter regions of New South Wales, Australia. The lake is located near the Newcastle suburbs of ...

, and is drained by Flaggy and Little Flaggy creeks which flow into Glenrock Lagoon 2 km to the east. The suburb's name is from the Aboriginal name word "Ky-yee-bah", which meant either a place for games or to be active and eager. The local Aboriginal people, the

Awabakal people The Awabakal people , are those Aboriginal Australians who identify with or are descended from the Awabakal tribe and its clans, Indigenous to the coastal area of what is now known as the Hunter Region of New South Wales. Their traditional te ...

, had camps in the area of Glenrock Lagoon, and named the area "Pillapay-Kullaitaran", meaning "Valley of the palms". In a letter dated 12 October 1842, to W. Kirchner 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 ...

, Friedrich Wilhelm

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...

describes a walk through the valley on his way from Newcastle to

Redhead Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a hair color found in one to two percent of the human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and ...

via Charlestown. On this walk he described the view of the lagoon from a high vantage point. That vantage point is today known as "Leichhardt Lookout", which is on the

Great North Walk The Great North Walk is a walking track which runs from Sydney to Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. The main track, in length, runs between the Obelisk in Macquarie Place in Sydney to Queens Wharf in Bicentennial Park in Newcastle and ...

. The township of Kahibah was gazetted on 27 February 1894. This township is not to be confused with a proposed village "Kahibah" approved by the Surveyor-General Office in 1865 which was to be located on the northern side of the entrance of

Lake Macquarie The City of Lake Macquarie is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Greater Newcastle and part of the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city from 7 September 1984. The area is situated adjacent ...

where the suburbs of

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

and

Blacksmiths A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

now exist. In 1880 a coal rail line was built to Redhead with the line being extended to Belmont in 1916. A station was built at Kahibah. On 8 April 1971 at 1710 the last rail passenger train to Belmont via Kahibah left Newcastle Station with the rail line closing to all coal traffic on 21 December 1992. Since then the line has been redeveloped to a

cycleway Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except w ...

called "

The Fernleigh Track The Fernleigh Track is a multi-use rail trail near Belmont in New South Wales. The track was constructed in the way of the former Belmont railway line. The project is a joint venture between Newcastle City Council and City of Lake Macquarie. T ...

". The first section from Adamstown to Kahibah was opened on 2 February 2003. The second stage, Kahibah to Whitebridge was opened on 7 May 2005. On 21 October 1922 the Memorial Hall was opened in Hexham Street. It has also been known as the "Soldiers' Memorial Hall". Within the hall were two honour rolls of men and women that went to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. These honour rolls now reside in the Kahibah Public School Memorial Hall. Over the life of the hall it served as a school, picture theatre, library, play group (last meeting December 1995). The hall was demolished in 1996 to make way for home units. In 1938 a school was established, in the Memorial Hall but it was not until 20 October 1954 that Kahibah Public School was moved to its current location. The

passes Kahibah on its way from Newcastle to

. Each section of the track is named. The first 25 km of the walk from Newcastle to

Teralba Teralba is a town and suburb of Greater Newcastle, City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, between the towns of Speers Point and Booragul on the northern shoreline of Lake Macquarie. The town first came into being with the cons ...

is known as the Yuelarbah Track.

History

The Aboriginal people, in this area, the

Awabakal The Awabakal people , are those Aboriginal Australians who identify with or are descended from the Awabakal tribe and its clans, Indigenous to the coastal area of what is now known as the Hunter Region of New South Wales. Their traditional te ...

, were the first people of this land.

References

External links

Kahibah Public School website

Newcastle City Council Fernleigh Track website
{{City of Lake Macquarie suburbs Suburbs of Lake Macquarie