Unanderra ( ) is a suburb of

Wollongong 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 wate ...

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 located approximately 6 km south-west of the Wollongong CBD. It is bordered to the west by Farmborough, Cordeaux Heights and Farmborough Heights in the

Mount Kembla Mount Kembla is a suburb and a mountain in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb, a semi-rural township of Wollongong, gets its name from the mountain, located on the Illawarra escarpment, is derived from an Aborigin ...

foothills, the north by Figtree, the east by

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

and Flagstaff Hill, site of the Nan Tien Temple, and the south by

Kembla Grange Kembla Grange is a suburb west of Berkeley, in the City of Wollongong. At the , it had a population of 252. The Kembla Grange Racecourse and its railway station are located there. History Kembla Grange takes its name from Mount Kembla, whic ...

. Unanderra is both a residential suburb, mostly to the west of 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 ...

and industrial, to the east. Along the highway is a strip of commercial ventures such as a

Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

and several speciality stores. Two distinctive and beautiful buildings in Unanderra are the Catholic Church and the

Syriac Orthodox , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...

Church. The Immaculate Conception Catholic Church was opened in 1954 and subsequently extended in 1997 and is located at 48 Princes Highway, Unanderra. Saint Thomas

Church in Central Road, Unanderra, was opened in 2007. Unanderra has several local attractions including an old school building, several historic houses and a community centre. The community centre is housed in the former Central Illawarra Municipal Council Chambers, opened in 1901. This operated until the merging of the North Illawarra and Central Illawarra chambers to create the City of Greater Wollongong in 1947. The Unanderra Branch Library opened in 1955 within the centre and was enlarged in 1960. The suburb lies on the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

coastal plain, with its west border in the lower foothills of

. From the highway it is possible to see Mount Kembla and it has a distinctly different shape compared to other views of it.

History

At the time of its founding it was known as Charcoal or Charcoal Creek, the name of a prominent waterway through the area. From the late 19th century Unanderra served as a gateway to the Sydney Municipal markets for produce (apples, beans, peas, milk) from the surrounding area as well as South Kembla, Cordeaux Valley and as far away as Goondarrin. On 20 August 1932, Unanderra became the junction for the scenic and heavily-graded railway to Moss Vale.Quinlan, H and Newland, J R, Australian Railway Routes 1854–2000, Sydney, Australian Railway Historical Society, NSW Division, 2000 The Unanderra Hotel was built in 1956 and has since undergone a refurbishment to be one of the area's most-visited attractions.

References

{{Wollongong suburbs Suburbs of Wollongong