Bulli, New South Wales
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Bulli ( ) is a northern 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 ...
situated on the south 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 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 ...
.


History

Bulli is possibly derived from an Aboriginal word signifying "double or two mountains", but other derivations have been suggested. Originally inhabited by
Dharawal The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...
Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
, European wood cutters worked in the area from about 1815. The area was once abundant in Red Cedars, these are now still seen but thinly. The first permanent European settler was Cornelius O'Brien, who established a farm in 1823 and whose name was given in the pass at O'Briens Road south at Figtree. Bulli soil is also the primary source of soil and foundation of
Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
, which makes the SCG being seen traditionally as one of the most spin-friendly international cricket grounds in Australia.


Coal

The Bulli Coal Company opened a
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...
in 1862 on the
escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
and built cottages to house miners and their families. Coal was transported by rail from the mine to Bulli Jetty at Sandon Point where it was loaded onto ships. The miners were paid in accordance with production, they were not paid a set wage. The first trade union in the Illawarra region was formed by miners at Bulli in 1879. Management retaliated by firing and evicting union miners and hiring
non-union Nonunion is permanent failure of healing following a broken bone unless intervention (such as surgery) is performed. A fracture with nonunion generally forms a structural resemblance to a fibrous joint, and is therefore often called a "false jo ...
labour. On 23 March 1887, a
gas explosion A gas explosion is an explosion resulting from mixing a gas, typically from a gas leak, with air in the presence of an ignition source. In household accidents, the principal explosive gases are those used for heating or cooking purposes such as nat ...
in the mine killed 81 men and boys, leaving 50 women widows and 150 children without fathers. There was one survivor, a 17-year-old boy who became known as "Boy Cope". A memorial obelisk listing the names of those who perished is situated in Park Road, Bulli, adjacent to the railway line. The mine reopened later in the year. The Bulli Mine Disaster was the worst in Australia's history until surpassed in 1902 by
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 Aborig ...
. The disaster was first examined by a coroner's inquest. The verdict was delivered by the jury as: "Yes the Jury are of the opinion that William Wade and others came to their death in the Bulli Coalmine on 23rd or March 1887 by a gas explosion". The jury then added a rider: "which was brought about by the disregard of the Bulli Colliery Special Rules and Coal Mines Act, in allowing men to work when gas existed". Following the coroner's inquest a royal commission was established under the chairmanship of Dr. James R. M. Robertson to inquire into the accident. Air entering the mine was divided into two. One part went to the western district, the other continued down the main tunnel and supplied the Hill End district which was where the explosion occurred. Within the Hill End District the air passed through each of six headings in turn before being ejected by a furnace at the foot of an upcast shaft. Clearly this meant that any
firedamp Firedamp is any flammable gas found in coal mines, typically coalbed methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata and when they are penetrated the releas ...
(usually
methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...
) released by the earlier headings was drawn across the later headings where the men were working. Along each heading were the areas where men extracted the coal. They were known as ''bords''. When a bord had been worked out it was simply sealed off, but this meant that any firedamp accumulating there was not promptly removed. Each tunnel was used for three purposes: as a travelling road (for access to parts of the mine), as a haulage road (for bringing coal out) and as a ventilation passage. To control the ventilation ''doors'' were used, but they had to be opened for the passage of trains of skips. Each opening disrupted the air currents throughout that section of the mine. The mine has since long been leveled, with only concrete foundations revealing the location of the old office area and other buildings. Hidden along the cliff behind said foundations can be found the old mine entrances. These have been sealed with up to 12 feet of concrete, with a drainage line set in the concrete. To the east is the remnants of the sorting site, a few scattered foundations and a tar patch. The old railway line from the mine to the coast has mostly been removed, but as you drive south into Bulli you will see the bridge it was set in, now used as a walkway over the highway after a fatal car accident involving a school child saw it restored. This bridge now features a welcome sign for the historic 'black diamond' district.


Demographics

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 6,105 people in Bulli. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.2% of the population. * 80.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 4.8%. * 90.3% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 35.4%, Catholic 24.3% and Anglican 17.5%.


Education

There are two public primary schools named: Bulli Public School and Waniora Public School. There is also one private primary school named St Joseph's Catholic Parish Primary and one public high school in Bulli High School.


Landmarks

Bulli Beach (pictured below) is a popular surfing spot. The northern tip (Sandon Point) is a venue for regular surfing competitions. Bulli's main historical feature is the
railway station 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 pre ...
, situated between the escarpment and the surf beaches. The station was the first on the south coast and contains a museum which is open every Sunday. Another historic feature is the Heritage Hotel, which was opened in 1889. This is in the heart of the 'Black Diamond' district. The Illawarra Grevillea Park is an arboretum and botanic garden which opened in 1993. It houses the repository or living collection of the Grevillea Study Group of the
Australian Plants Society The Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) (ANPSA) is a federation of seven state-based member organisations for people interested in Australia's native flora, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation. A national conference is h ...
(previously SGAP). It is a botanic garden containing plants native to Australia – its collections include
grevillea ''Grevillea'', commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the b ...
s,
prostanthera ''Prostanthera'', commonly known as mintbush or mint bush, is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae, and all are endemic to Australia. Plants are usually shrubs, rarely trees with leaves in oppo ...
s and rainforest plants. Staffed and run by volunteers, it is open 6 weekends a year. Behind the Illawarra Grevillea Park is Slacky Flat Park which is home to some reasonably undisturbed remnant
rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
and numerous species of native birds and
marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...
s. The town has a small chain of commerce in its central district west of the station, and includes a newsagent and several specialty stores. The town is home to St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (current principal Mrs Luisa Tobin), Bulli Public School, Waniora Public School and Bulli High School, New South Wales. At Sandon Point and Tramway Creek immediately north of the promontory, there is some remnant bushland including turpentine forest. This is an important migratory bird location and a history walk has been set up along the road were the old railway used to go. This point is also the site of a
midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...
area. For over fifteen years the local community has been campaigning against residential development of this coastal floodplain and wetland. This included over 150 submissions to a Commission of Inquiry which recommended against further major development. Minister for Planning,
Frank Sartor Francesco Ernest "Frank" Sartor AO (born 9 November 1951) is a former Australian politician who served as New South Wales Minister for Climate Change and the Environment and Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer) between 2009 and ...
, however has overridden his COI to give Stockland and the Anglican Village Retirement Trust approval to add over 1000 residential houses and units.


Heritage listings

Bulli has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 240 Princes Highway: Heritage Hotel * Railway Street:
Bulli railway station Bulli railway station is a heritage-listed railway station on the South Coast railway line in New South Wales, Australia, serving the northern Wollongong suburb of Bulli. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 30 Augus ...


Gallery

File:Heritage Hotel, Bulli.jpg, Bulli Family Hotel File:Bulli Railway Station.jpg,
Bulli railway station Bulli railway station is a heritage-listed railway station on the South Coast railway line in New South Wales, Australia, serving the northern Wollongong suburb of Bulli. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 30 Augus ...
File:Bulli Coal Train.jpg, Bulli Coal Train, a remnant of the type of train that transported coal File:Acacia baileyana prostrate IGP email.jpg, Prostrate
Cootamundra Wattle ''Acacia baileyana'' or Cootamundra wattle is a shrub or tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae. The scientific name of the species honours the botanist Frederick Manson Bailey. It is indigenous to a very small area in southern inland New S ...
in Grevillea Park File:BulliRF133 3344.jpg, Slacky Flat Park


External links


"Illawarra Coal"
– An unofficial history of coal mining in the Illawarra
The Illawarra Grevillea Park PageBulli Community Web Portal
*


References

{{Authority control Suburbs of Wollongong Coastline of New South Wales City of Wollongong Mining towns in New South Wales Coal mining disasters in Australia