Narara () 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 ...

just north of

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 extr ...

on the Central Coast region 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 ...

, Australia. It is part of the

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 ...

. The suburb is mostly residential but also holds

Narara railway station Narara railway station is located on the Main Northern line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the northern Central Coast suburb of Narara opening on 15 August 1887. Platforms & services Narara has two side platforms. It is serviced by ...

on the

Central Coast & Newcastle Line The Central Coast & Newcastle Line is a NSW TrainLink passenger train service that runs along the Main North railway line in New South Wales, connecting the state's two largest cities, Sydney and Newcastle. The service runs from through to o ...

. It also contains a corner shop and bottleshop, a number of parks, sporting grounds, and a concrete public skatepark. It is the home of

Narara Valley High School Narara Valley High School (abbreviated as NVHS) is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in Narara, in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The school caters for approximately 800 ...

, a NSW government public high school, an
St Philips Christian College Gosford
a private school educating children from kindergarten to year twelve. It is also home to th
Narara Ecovillage
which aims to research, design and build a stylish, intergenerational, friendly demonstration Ecovillage, blending the principles of ecological and social sustainability, good health, business, caring and other options that can evolve from our well-being. Narara also hosts the annua
Ecoburbia
festival, awarded Best Community Event by Gosford City Council in 2015. The name 'Narara' can be traced back to the local Aboriginal term for 'black snake', which appears on the official emblem of

and the

scarf A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of differ ...

of 1st Narara Scout Group. Narara's claim to fame is that the

Narara Music Festival The Narara Music Festival was an outdoor music festival held on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia in 1983 and 1984. Despite the name, it was actually held at Somersby, a short distance from Narara. Narara is the original clan na ...

was held nearby in Somersby in 1983 and 1984. The Angels, an Australian rock band, produced an 11 track live album recorded at the festival named, appropriately enough, "Live at Narara". Narara largely consisted of orchards and small mixed farms. Water from the small dams that used to be accessible from Narara Creek Road was piped in wooden piping across Narara Creek to the Railway station to supply steam trains. The dams were also a popular swimming spot especially when the ladder and walkway still existed on the lower dam wall.

History

Narara is situated in the traditional lands of the

Darkinjung people The Darkinjung (not to be confused with the Darkinyung people further inland) are the Local Aboriginal Land Council in the Central Coast, New South Wales, area of Australia and a major landowner on the Central Coast, participating in formal join ...

, whose name of the area means ''black snake''. On 15 August 1887,

was opened. Two years later, with the opening of the Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge, the Main North railway line went through Narara.

References

External links

Narara Valley High School website

St Philips Christian College Gosford website

Narara Ecovillage

Narara Eco Living Network
Suburbs of the Central Coast (New South Wales) {{CentralCoastNSW-geo-stub