Albion Park is a suburb situated in the Macquarie Valley in the

City of Shellharbour The City of Shellharbour is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The city is located about south of Sydney and covers the southern suburbs of the Wollongong urban area centred on Shellharbour and ...

, which is in turn one of the three local government areas that comprise the Wollongong Metropolitan Area, New South Wales, Australia. Although it is surrounded by a 'green belt' of farms, Albion Park had a population of 13,316 at the . The Illawarra escarpment is to the west, Dapto is to the north, Jamberoo is to the south and

Shellharbour Shellharbour (also known as Shellharbour Village) is a suburb located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the local government area, City of Shellharbour, and its central business district, Shell ...

is to the east.

History

On 9 January 1821, the area around Albion Park was part of a grant of land of over 2000 acres given to Samuel Terry, a former convict who became one of the richest men in New South Wales. Terry owned and operated the Terry's Meadows Estate, which operated as a cattle stud. In 1834, Terry suffered from a stroke and died in 1838. The land was inherited by Samuel Terry's nephew, John Terry Hughes. Hughes renamed the site to Albion Park. The township began to grow around the centre of the estate. For European settlers, this had been a natural meeting place as it was where the road from Wollongong in the north crossed the road from the timber industry in Calderwood and Tongarra in the west as it ran out towards the port at Shellharbour. The arrival of the railway line in 1887, and the completion of the road through Macquarie Pass to the Southern Highlands, hastened the town's growth.

Heritage listings

Albion Park has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Tullimbar Road: Toongla

Etymology

The term "

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

", is an ancient name of Great Britain.Albion – Online Etymology Dictionary
/ref> The name was given to the area by John Terry Hughes after originally being known as the Terry's Meadow Estate.

Population

According to the 2021 census of Population, there were 13,826 people in Albion Park. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.5% of the population. * 84.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.2%, New Zealand 0.8%, Scotland 0.6% and Germany 0.6%. * 90.4% of people only spoke English at home. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 39.0%, Catholic 24.3%, and Anglican 17.2%.

Infrastructure

Trains

In order to avoid the highest parts of the ridge between Albion Park and Minnamurra, the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

needed to keep closer to the shore of

Lake Illawarra Lake Illawarra ( Aboriginal Tharawal language: various adaptions of ''Elouera'', ''Eloura'', or ''Allowrie''; ''Illa'', ''Wurra'', or ''Warra'' meaning pleasant place near the sea, or, high place near the sea, or, white clay mountain), is an op ...

. After the opening of Albion Park railway station two km to the east in 1887, a new town began to develop next to it, now known as

Albion Park Rail Albion Park Rail is a suburb of Shellharbour, Australia situated in the Macquarie Valley (Shellharbour). The South Coast railway line was opened to the railway station and Bombo in 1887. At the time the nearest town was Albion Park, sever ...

Roads

The Illawarra Highway runs through Albion Park and joins 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 and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hi ...

just north of the suburb. This road brings many people through the region. Albion Park is also on the most direct link between Jamberoo Action Park and Sydney via the Princes Motorway and thus is directly on the route for those travelling south.

Education

There are currently 4 Primary Schools and 3 High Schools in Albion Park:
Albion Park Public School

Albion Park High School

Mount Terry Public School

St. Joseph's Catholic School, Albion Park

St. Paul's Catholic Primary School, Albion Park

Illawarra Christian School
(Tongarra Campus)
Tullimbar Primary school

Recreation

Albion Park is home to the Shellharbour Regional Sporting Complex, which consists of two all-weather hockey fields, several football (rugby league) fields, a multi-purpose indoor basketball stadium, a turf cricket / AFL field, an athletics field, a BMX track, a remote control car racing track, and several tennis courts. A cycleway also courses its way through the Sporting Complex and links it to a polo field and a complex of soccer fields. Albion Park is also home to a Shellharbour Council Swimming Pool, which is open during the summer months and now costs a fee of $2.00 entry, to a pool paid for by the members of the town.

Clubs and pubs

Albion Park is home to three clubs where people go to eat and drink. They include:
Albion Park Hotel

Albion Park RSL

Albion Park Bowls and Recreation Club

Sport

Albion Park is also home to various sporting teams such as: * Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles
Albion Park Hockey Club
* Albion Park Bowls and Recreation Club * Albion Park Cows Football Club * Albion Park Cricket Club * Albion Park White Eagles
Albion Park Crows Junior AFL Club

Museums

Albion Park has the Tongarra Museum, which showcases the history of the region, and the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society Museum located at the Illawarra Regional Airport.

Commercial area

There is a small Vicinity Centres shopping complex in Albion Park. In 2009, the local Council started a program to revitalize the town centre and it has attracted more tourists to the town. The town is often referred to as Boganville by its community . The community wanted a big Ugg boot in the middle of the town .

References

External links

{{Wollongong suburbs City of Shellharbour Suburbs of Wollongong