Terrigal is a coastal town in the Central Coast 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, located east 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

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. 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 ...

History

Terrigal was first settled in 1826 by European Settler John Gray, who called his property Tarrygal, after the indigenous Aboriginal place name, signifying 'place of little birds'.

Geography and climate

The town's long beach is highly popular with tourists with a large

Crowne Plaza Crowne Plaza is a British multinational chain of full service, upscale hotels headquartered in the United Kingdom. It caters to business travelers and the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family ...

hotel. Of geographical significance are the Terrigal

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

s. There are in fact two lagoons at Terrigal, one of which has been filled in to make way for a traffic oval. A local landmark is "The Skillion", a promontory which provides a view of all Terrigal. In recent years the Skillion has undergone rehabilitation by the local city council. Other popular attractions are the numerous nearby surf schools and

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

s. The Skillion is on a preserved area of land known as "The Haven". The Haven is centred by a popular public oval which is home of the "Terrigal Trojans", a

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club. Their new club house was provided by the former Gosford City Council. During the summer it is used by the Terrigal Matcham Cricket Club for both senior and junior fixtures. The Haven also has a popular boat ramp which is partnered by a diving club, and a small number of restaurants and cafes (due to tight development restrictions on the area). ViewChurch

Gosford City Council has invested Terrigal's CBD with a multi-level car park, esplanade walkway and stormwater drainage system. As a result of improved infrastructure and increased developer interest, Terrigal has become substantially more urban since the 1970s, when there was only one market, one medical centre and several orchards in the area. Terrigal's growth as a tourist destination and investment opportunity for wealthy individuals, such as holiday homes and small businesses, has had both positive and negative effects on the area. Terrigal, as a popular beach-destination, is generally relatively mild to warm all year round, although can become somewhat cool during the winter months.

Landmarks

Terrigal is home to a number of both natural and man-made landmarks. The Skillion is a sedimentary rock formation which was formed in the

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

Period. Not only is the Skillion a beautiful artifact, the flip-side features an extremely steep hill which is used for exercise by locals and tourists. The Terrigal Boardwalk was opened on the 14th April 2021, and was commissioned by the Central Coast Council and partially funded by the

NSW Government 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 ...

, to much controversy. The boardwalk provides a link between the Terrigal Beach, the rockpools, boatramp, and The Skillion. The Twyst Terrigal is a well-known roundabout at the intersection of Terrigal Drive and Oceanview Drive, one of the main travel routes into the town. There has been debate over the need for upgrades along this route, with traffic lights proposed by local MPs, however locals and tourists do not believe that the historical Twyst should be replaced by traffic lights.

Amenities

Just outside the CBD lie a number of amenities: a recently re-built hotel (2006), a primary school and high school (separate campuses),

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

, basketball stadium (used for training by Olympic athletes in the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

), and a large multi-purpose oval with three fields and year-round sporting activities. There have been calls for construction of a skate bowl park at the beach, similar to those at other surf beaches such as those at Bondi and Maroubra, to allow the many local skaters who currently use the esplanade and the space between the surf life saving club and the beach side car park. Recent development of high quality skate bowls at beach-side locations including nearby Copacabana Beach, Bar Beach,

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, and

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydne ...

(in advanced planning at the time of writing) have lent weight to the case for skate facilities at Terrigal. In April 2011, HMAS ''Adelaide'' was scuttled off Terrigal as a

dive wreck Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificia ...

Transport

Not far from the town centre are large shopping centres and M1 freeway () linked 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 ...

(south) and

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 ...

(north). The town itself is served by Terrigal Drive (to the west), Scenic Highway (to the south) and Ocean View Drive to the north. Terrigal is served by

Busways Busways is an Australian bus company operating services in Sydney, and in the Central Coast, Great Lakes, Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales and Adelaide. It is the largest privately owned bus operator in Australia. History The ...

routes 67 and 68 to Gosford station.Routes 67 & 68 timetable

Gallery

File:Beach Front.jpg, Beachfront File:Morning Beach.jpg, Morning beach File:Residential Development.jpg, Residential development File:Local Businesses.jpg, Local businesses

References

{{Authority control Suburbs of the Central Coast (New South Wales) Surfing locations in New South Wales