North Wollongong is a coastal suburb of 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 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 ...

. It is immediately to the north of the Wollongong city centre. Although North Wollongong is an official suburb with precise boundaries, the term North Wollongong may refer to northern areas of Wollongong which are not part of the suburb.

Geography

The suburb has a beach, North Wollongong Beach, or simply North Beach, with adjacent cafes and restaurants as well as the Novotel Northbeach Hotel. Most of North Wollongong is commercial or residential with many of Wollongong's highrises situated there. The main commerce is along a strip on 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 ...

near North Wollongong Station and the overpass as well as another strip on the north (western) side of the overpass including food stores. North Wollongong is the terminal of Mount Ousley Road, the main route to

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 ...

History

In 1893

Smiths Hill Fort Smiths Hill Fort was a fort at North Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. The fort was also known as ''Wollongong Fort''. History Built between 1891-1893 to provide a deterrent to a possible Russian attack upon Wollongong Harbour. The fort i ...

was built to fend off possible Russian attack; two of the three original cannons remain. The suburb achieved tourist popularity in the 1920s, and many

Norfolk Island Pine ''Araucaria heterophylla'' (synonym ''A. excelsa'') is a species of conifer. As its vernacular name Norfolk Island pine (or Norfolk pine) implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific ...

s planted during that era still remain. A Bather's Pavilion was opened in 1936.

Amenities

North Beach is a popular surfing and swimming destination with a year-round surf patrol. The North Wollongong beachfront is also the beginning of the Heartcare Foundation section of the

Wollongong to Thirroul Bike Track 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 wat ...

which runs adjacent to the coast to

Thirroul Thirroul () is a northern seaside suburb of the city of Wollongong, Australia. Situated between Austinmer and Bulli, it is approximately 13 kilometres north of Wollongong, and 73 km south of Sydney. It lies between the Pacific Ocean ...

to the north. West of North Beach is a small strip of park along the cliff that runs between Cliff Road and the bike track; this is the location of Smiths Hill Fort. North Wollongong has a beachside recreation ground, Stuart Park, which also houses the headquarters of ''Skydive the Beach''. North of the park 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 ...

Heritage listings

North Wollongong has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Cliff Road:

North Beach Precinct North Beach Precinct is a heritage-listed precinct at Cliff Road, North Wollongong, City of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It includes North Wollongong Beach, the North Beach/Wollongong Bathing Pavilion, Puckey's Salt Works, the Tram C ...

References

{{Wollongong suburbs Suburbs of Wollongong City of Wollongong