The Entrance is a coastal town and
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 ...
in 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
Central Coast Council 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 ...
. At the , The Entrance had a population of 3,873 people.
[
The town occupies a ]promontory
A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...
bounded by water on three sides. The Entrance gains its name from the channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
that runs along much of its northern border that is 'the entrance' to Tuggerah Lakes
The Tuggerah Lakes, a wetland system of three interconnected coastal lagoons, are located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia and comprise Lake Munmorah, Budgewoi Lake and Tuggerah Lake.
History
The area around the Tuggerah L ...
. The Entrance has been a holiday destination since the first guest house
A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use ...
was established there in 1885.
Located approximately halfway between 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 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 ...
, The Entrance has been described as the "holiday playground of two cities". The town has extensive tourist
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
accommodation, with attractions including its beaches, lake and town centre. It is also used as a base for day trip
A day trip is a visit to a tourist destination or visitor attraction from a person's home, hotel, or hostel in the morning, returning to the same lodging in the evening. The day trip is a form of recreational travel and leisure to a location tha ...
s to the Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and ...
vineyards.
History
Settlement
It is believed Europeans first discovered The Entrance in 1796. It was found by Governor of Tasmania
The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...
, Colonel David Collins, who had arrived on the First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
during the search for an escaped convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...
woman, Mary Morgan, who was said to be living with the Aborigines to the North of the Hawkesbury River
The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...
.
The area now known as The Entrance was occupied by Henry Holden in 1828. He occupied and was bounded by 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 ...
on the eastern side, Tuggerah Lake
Tuggerah Lake, an intermittently open intermediate wave dominated barrier estuary that is part of the Tuggerah Lakes, is located within the local government area in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The lake is located ...
on the northern and western sides and extended all the way to the current Toowoon Bay Road. Holden named the property ''Towoon''. In 1835 the deeds were issued to John Edye Manning and he sold the land for £200 to Thomas Cade Battley who renamed the property ''Terilbah''. Both Battley and Manning have streets named in their honour at The Entrance.
In 1850, ownership was transferred to the Taylor Family and it was referred to as ''Tuggerah Beach''. The land remained privately owned until about 1900 when it was divided up among the twelve children of Richard Brown Taylor and Norberta Maria Gertrude (née Watkins). The Taylors donated land to the Roman Catholic Church, The Church of England and The Entrance Public School. Many street
A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...
s in the area are named after them including Taylor Street, Richard Street, Norberta Street and Victoria Street.
On 15 December 1910, ''Karagi'' Receiving Office was opened. Karagi, meaning ''the entrance'', was the Aboriginal name for the point on the south bank of the channel at the Pacific Ocean, a name which has since been officially adopted. On 1 June 1911, Karagi Receiving Office was designated a post office. The name Karagi was changed on 15 November 1911 and the name "The Entrance" was adopted.
Growth
In 1889 the railway line was completed from Sydney to Newcastle and tourism began to develop in the area during the late 19th century following the construction of several guest houses. The first guest house in the area was built at The Entrance North by Mr and Mrs Walter Denniss in 1885 and was called ''Dunleith Guest House''. ''Bayview Guest House'' was the first to be opened in the Entrance and was opened in 1900 by Mr and Mrs Dening (née Taylor). ''Pinehurst Guest House'' was another that was constructed in 1903 by Les Taylor and was by far the largest at that time. By 1912, members of the Taylor family were operating four guest houses at The Entrance.
In March 1920, 200 parcels of land were auctioned after it had become clear that the land in the township needed to be subdivided. Each block of land averaged a selling price of £60 to £80, although some blocks closer to the water sold for as much as £200. Immediately holiday houses began to be built rapidly. It also resulted in a total of 15 guest houses operating soon after, including ''Lakeside'' built by Rene Johnson (née Taylor) that was the most exclusive (the building has since relocated to Wyee). Although competition was fierce, the guesthouses had high occupancy rates in the booming times. Bayview Avenue, Ozone Street, and Lakeside Parade are named after guest houses that were located at The Entrance.
Despite the growth, the area was still isolated and access was restricted to a wagon on the bush track 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 extr ...
or by a ferry from Wyong
Wyong () is a town in the Central Coast of New South Wales, located approximately 63 km SSW of Newcastle and 89 km NNE of Sydney. Established in 1888, it is one of the two administrative centres for the local government area.
Hist ...
. The area was popular among fishermen and prior to 1908 the majority of boats that travelled to The Entrance used ''Tuggerah Jetty'', the remains of which, still exists on the shore of Tuggerah Lake between the entrances to Wyong River and Ourimbah Creek. When Wyong River was dredged in 1908, the boats would take their catch into Wyong.
Prime Minister Menzies, Mrs Menzies, and their daughter Miss. H. Menzies visited the town in October 1953. The Prime Minister spoke with the pupils at The Entrance Public School and spent the evening at the Floral Ball held at The Palm Grove Dance Hall. It was reported in The Gosford Times that "It was most probably the most magnificent floral display ever assembled ...in this district".
There was a proposal for the railway to have a branch line to The Entrance. The proposed route would have left the Main North line just south of Chittaway Creek and terminated at present day Taylor Park. There was also a proposal for a local government area to be named and centred on The Entrance. Prior to 2016, The Entrance was part of the former Wyong Shire
Wyong Shire was a local government area located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The incorporation of the Wyong area dates back to 7 March 1906 when the entire area of the Brisbane Water Police District outside of the ...
.
Transport
The construction of ''Wyong Wharf'' allowed greater access to The Entrance and the demand for ferry transport boomed. Numerous operators took advantage of the demand and ferries such as ''Wyong'', ''Waiwera'', ''Loongana'' and ''Maheno'' were making regular journeys across Tuggerah Lake. In 1922, the bush track to Wyong was opened as a road. By the end of the nineteen-twenties the ferries were rendered obsolete by buses that could reach The Entrance quickly and cheaply.
The Entrance Bridge links The Entrance with The Entrance North over The Entrance Channel as part of Wilfred Barrett Drive. It was originally a wooden single lane bridge with bypass bays and a traffic light that allowed traffic travelling in the opposite direction to pass. It was opened in 1934. The original bridge was adequate until 1965 as it only served traffic travelling as far as The Entrance North.
By the end of 1965 the traffic flow over the old bridge at The Entrance increased to such an extent the structure was under constant repair. Work began on the current two lane, concrete structure on 17 July 1967 after a successful tender by Transbridge. The bridge was opened to traffic on 20 December 1968 and officially opened by the Premier of New South Wales
The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislatu ...
Robert Askin
Sir Robert William Askin, GCMG (4 April 1907 – 9 September 1981), was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but ...
on 18 April 1969.
The Entrance is serviced by Red Bus Services
Red Bus Services is an Australian bus company operating route bus services on the New South Wales Central Coast.
History
In 1923 Messrs. Barham & Wells started a bus service between The Entrance and Wyong in opposition to a ferry service. In ...
, and the town is the major terminus, with several routes terminating and beginning in Torrens Avenue. Generally, Red Bus Services run every 30 to 60 minutes from 5am to 12am. The depot for The Entrance Red Bus was on the corner of Denning Street and Blue Bay Road until the early 1980s, the site became the "St. Tropez" building.
Culture
The Entrance Cinema is located on the corner of The Entrance Road and Bayview Mall. The cinema was opened as The Prince Edward Theatre in 1934 and was immediately popular due to the fire that burnt the other cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
...
in The Entrance, the Wintergarden Theatre in the same year. The Prince Edward Theatre closed in 1977 but was reopened in 1981 when it was purchased and converted into a smaller cinema. A second screen was added in 1988.[Pry, Kathryn. Fenton, Joan. ''History of Wyong Shire: 1947-1997'' 1997. Wyong Shire Council. . p. 221.] The cinema was subject to news coverage in 2006 when it refused to screen the film, The Da Vinci Code
''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows symbologist Robert Lang ...
as it was contrary to the owner's beliefs.
There is a history walk along the main street and the ocean front boardwalk. This identifies with both text and photos important historic sites in the town.
In 1999, The Entrance waterfront was named 'The Pelican Capital of Australia' by Wyong Shire Council to coincide with the opening of a pelican feeding platform as part of the waterfront redevelopment. The daily practice attracts 20,000 visitors annually. The Entrance is also visited by anglers. The species of fish that can be found in the area include whiting, flathead, bream
Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...
, and blackfish.
Notable people
* Arthur Chipperfield
Arthur Gordon Chipperfield (17 November 1905 – 29 July 1987) was an Australian cricketer who played in 14 Test matches between 1934 and 1938. He is one of only three players to make a score of 99 runs on his Test match debut.Max Dupain
Maxwell Spencer Dupain AC OBE (22 April 191127 July 1992) was an Australian modernist photographer.
Early life
Dupain received his first camera as a gift in 1924, spurring his interest in photography. He later joined the Photographic Society ...
– photographer regularly holidayed at The Entrance, images taken during these stays are held by the Art Gallery of NSW and National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum.
The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
* Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian singer and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''. Three years after leaving the programme, she began a singing car ...
– singer and actress, attended Our Lady of the Rosary School, The Entrance
* Craig McLachlan
Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap ...
– singer-songwriter and actor, attended The Entrance Public School
Commercial area
The town centre
A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus s ...
is located predominately along The Entrance Road, extending from Dening Street (named after the original owners of Bayview Guest House.) to The Entrance Bridge. Lakeside Shopping Centre containing a Coles supermarket and speciality stores, is located on the corner of The Entrance Road and Dening Street. The main street of the town (The Entrance Road) has approximately 200 shops, banks and services. Most stores are independent retailers, with only a small number of chain stores in the town.
There is an increasing number of specialist food stores including bakeries, patisserie, two confectionery
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...
stores, one of the few specialist Asian supermarkets on the Central Coast, and three bottle shops. Markets are held each week. Legal, medical, the library, Australia Post and political offices are also located within the town. Medicare is co-located with Centrelink
The Centrelink Master Program, or more commonly known as Centrelink, is a Services Australia master program of the Australian Government. It delivers a range of government payments and services for retirees, the Unemployment, unemployed, f ...
in Torrens Avenue. At the northern end of the main street the stores focus on the needs of tourists with fashion, cafes, and restaurants. The Golden Gate Cafe in the town is a "classic" Australian milk bar, having opened to serve patrons to the Prince Edward Cinema. It features booth seating, mirror displays, sweet and lolly counters.
Wyong Shire Council
Wyong Shire was a local government area located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The incorporation of the Wyong area dates back to 7 March 1906 when the entire area of the Brisbane Water Police District outside of the T ...
has an office in the town.
The Entrance has two hotels, both located on The Entrance Road, these being the newer "The Lakes", opened in the 1940s, and the original "The Entrance Hotel" opened in the 1920s. Both contain original architectural features.
Mardi Gras
To celebrate the start of the summer tourist season, held traditionally on the first full weekend in December, The Entrance holds its annual Mardi Gras festival. The first Mardi Gras was held in 1950, and as such is one of the oldest town festivals in NSW. Mardi Gras is a major event of the town and district for the year. The festival is named Mardi Gras after the spirit of the carnivals and Mardi Gras of Europe. The event contains a number of events including fun runs, concerts, fireworks and displays. The highlight is the parade. This contains numerous floats from local commercial, sporting, and community organizations.
Due to a lack of funds Mardi Gras was not held in 2013. Mardi Gras returned in 2014 with some 75 groups participating and an attendance in excess of 12 500 people. In 2015 Mardi Gras was held on the last weekend in November.
Clubs, sport, and leisure facilities
The Entrance has a selection of sporting facilities. These include The Entrance Ocean Baths – a three pool salt water complex with free access all year around. Taylor Park is the main playing field in the town hosting cricket matches. The Entrance beach has one of the oldest surf clubs in the region, housed in an art deco building overlooking the beach. The Entrance Skate Park at Picnic Point allows free access to a purpose built skate board area. The Entrance Cycle & Walking track, is a concrete path starting in at Picnic Point allowing for off-road cycling alongside the lake. Fishing and boat ramp facilities are located at Picnic Point. The Entrance Memorial Park, within the town, features a band stand with views across the channel and lake.
1st Tuggerah Lakes Scout Group is the local Scout Troop. Established in 1932, they have a large, modern, group headquarters located in Baden-Powell reserve.
The Entrance District Cricket Club was founded in 1912. The has development of juniors, which commenced in the 1970s, the coaching programs and the ability of the club to have a mix of youth and experience on the playing field, have combined to see the club take out premierships throughout the grades as well as being Club Champions on a number of occasions.
Church services
Churches in the town provide services to Catholic (Our Lady of the Rosary), Anglican (All Saints), Uniting, and Presbyterian (St. Andrew's) faiths.
Education
Within The Entrance town there is a one state public primary school, The Entrance Public School. It is a K–6 school, having been established in November 1915 with an enrollment of 10 students. Previously a split site school, with the infants located on Oakland Avenue, it was amalgamated into a single site with new buildings in the early 2000s. The school covers the district from North Entrance to Shelly Beach. The school includes students who would have previously been educated at The Entrance North Public School, which was closed in the 1989 due to low enrollments.
Glenvale Special School is located at The Entrance North, on the former grounds of The Entrance North Public School. It is a dual campus school, with a main campus at Narara near Gosford.
The Entrance High School was opened in 1970 and is located at Shelly Beach. It has since become the senior campus for Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College.
Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School was located within the church grounds from 1952 until the 1990s. The school was a split site school from the 1970s when the infants school, "The Little School", was located on Shelly Beach road. The sites switched in 1987 with the primary school moving to Shelly Beach and the little school moving to the church grounds at The Entrance. The school is now located K–6 at Shelly Beach as a function of The Entrance Parish.
St. Peter's Catholic College is the parish secondary 7–12 school for Our Lady of the Rosary. It is located in Tuggerah.
Heritage listings
The Entrance has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Ocean Parade: The Entrance Ocean Pools
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Entrance, The
Suburbs of the Central Coast (New South Wales)
Towns in New South Wales
Seaside resorts in Australia