Cronulla is a

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 separ ...

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 Mounta ...

, in the state 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 country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often referr ...

, in 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 ...

of the Sutherland Shire. Cronulla is located on a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

framed by

Botany Bay Botany Bay ( Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

to the north,

Bate Bay Bate Bay is a bay in southern Sydney, Australia. The bay is south of the Kurnell peninsula and its foreshore makes up the beaches of Cronulla. The beaches of Cronulla from north to south are: Wanda Beach Wanda Beach or ''Wanda'' is the ...

to the east,

Port Hacking Port Hacking Estuary ( Aboriginal Tharawal language: ''Deeban''), an open youthful tide dominated, drowned valley estuary, is located in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia approximately south of Sydney central business district. Po ...

to the south, and Gunnamatta Bay to the west. The neighbouring suburb of

Woolooware Woolooware is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woolooware is located south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire. It shares the 2230 postcode with Cronulla. Woolooware stretches ...

lies to the west of Cronulla, and Burraneer lies to the southwest. The

Kurnell Kurnell is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire along the east coast. Cronulla and Woolooware are the o ...

, the site of the first landfall on the eastern coastline made by Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

in 1770, is reached by driving northeast out of Cronulla on Captain Cook Drive.

History

Cronulla is derived from the Aboriginal word , meaning ‘'place of the small pink seashell'’ in the dialect of the area's Indigenous inhabitants, the

Gweagal The Gweagal (also spelt Gwiyagal) are a clan of the Dharawal people of Aboriginal Australians. Their descendants are traditional custodians of the southern geographic areas of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Country The Gweagal lived on t ...

, who were a clan of the Tharawal (or

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, ...

) tribe. They inhabited the southern geographic areas of Sydney. The beaches were named by Surveyor Robert Dixon who surveyed here in 1827-28 and, by 1840, the main beach was still known as Karranulla. In July 1852 the schooner Venus was wrecked on the beach, which was referred to in newspaper reports as Cooranulla.

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to ut ...

and

George Bass George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia. Early years Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George ...

explored and mapped the coastline and Port Hacking estuary in 1796 and the southernmost point of Cronulla is named Bass and Flinders Point in their honour. John Connell received a grant of in 1835. Thomas Holt (1811–88) owned most of the land that stretched from Sutherland to Cronulla in the 1860s. Holt built Sutherland House on the foreshore of Gwawley Bay in 1818, on the eastern side of Sylvania. In 1888 master mariner Captain Joseph Henry Rounce Spingall became the pioneering resident of Cronulla when, with his family, he constructed the two-storey 'Oriental Guest House' on land above where today's North Cronulla Hotel sits. The Depression of 1890 and a lack of reliable transport access from Sutherland saw "The Captain's" pub sold. The Cronulla area was subdivided in 1895 and land was offered for sale at 10 pounds per acre. In 1899, the government named the area , which means ''sandy hills''. On 26 February 1908, it was officially changed to Cronulla and Gunnamatta was used for the name of the bay, on the western side. Northies cronulla

After the Illawarra railway line was built to Sutherland in 1885, the area became popular for picnics and swimming. Steam trams operated between Cronulla and Sutherland from 1911. Many regulars rented beach houses at Cronulla every year for school holidays. The Oriental Hotel was built by Captain Spingall in 1888, on the present site of apartments behind the North Cronulla Hotel. The Cecil Hotel was located on the foreshore of South Cronulla and the Ritz Café was popular with holiday-makers. The Cecil Apartments were built on the former site of this hotel. The steam trams were replaced by the Cronulla branch of the Illawarra railway line when it opened in 1939. The post office opened in January 1891, known as Cronulla Beach, but closed in 1893. It reopened in 1907 and the name was officially changed to Cronulla in 1929. The Cronulla School of Arts was established in 1904. The original wooden building was demolished and replaced by the current School of Arts building in November 1912 and is now one of the oldest buildings in Cronulla. The first public school opened in 1910. In 1955, Cronulla Library opened. From the 1950s, many of the guest houses began being replaced by high rise flats. Even though it developed as a residential area, Cronulla remained popular with beachgoers and tourists. Several hotels, motels and serviced apartments operate today. The Cronulla Bicentennial Plaza opened in February 1989. In 2005 the beachfront at Cronulla was the scene of widely publicised mob disturbances and violent confrontations. These incidents continued over a number of days and also spread to other areas in Sydney.

Heritage listings

Cronulla has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Captain Cook Drive:

Cronulla sand dunes The Cronulla sand dunes, also known officially as the Cronulla Sand Dune and Wanda Beach Coastal Landscape, are an open space, heritage-listed nature conservation, and visitor attraction located on the Kurnell Peninsula at Lindum Road, Kurnel ...

*Cronulla School of Arts 1912: * Cronulla railway:

Cronulla railway station Cronulla railway station is the heritage-listed terminus railway station on the Cronulla line in Cronulla in the Sutherland Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and built by the NSW Department of Railway ...

*41 Cronulla Street: Cronulla Post Office * 202 Nicholson Parade: Cronulla Fisheries Centre

Beaches

Sand Dunes in the Sutherland Shire, Sydney 3

Cronulla is a popular tourist attraction and attracts many beachgoers from all over Sydney. Cronulla Beach features a long stretch of sand that runs from Boat Harbour to North Cronulla, followed by rock pools and another sandy beach at South Cronulla. The beaches of Cronulla from north to south are: Boat Harbour, Greenhills Beach, Wanda Beach, Elouera Beach, North Cronulla Beach,

Cronulla Beach Cronulla Beach (sometimes referred to as ''South Cronulla Beach''), is a patrolled beach on Bate Bay, in Cronulla, New South Wales, Australia. The Cronulla Pavilion and the Cronulla Lifesaving Club are two prominent buildings located close to th ...

, Blackwoods Beach, Shelly Beach and Oak Park. Local names also apply to various parts of the beach, such as ''The Alley'', between Cronulla Beach and North Cronulla, ''The Wall'', between North Cronulla and Elouera, ''Midway'', between Elouera and Wanda,''Sandshoes'', near the mouth of the

estuary, ''Voodoo Reef'' and ''The Point''. The beaches are popular recreational areas for

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

, bodyboarding,

bodysurfing Bodysurfing is the art and sport of riding a wave without the assistance of any buoyant device such as a surfboard or bodyboard. Bodysurfers often equip themselves with a pair of swimfins that aid propulsion and help the bodysurfer catch, ride an ...

and other water sports. Shark Island, just off Cronulla Beach, is a famous

and bodyboarding spot, and the site of the annual

Shark Island Challenge The Shark Island Challenge (SIC), held near Cronulla, New South Wales, Australia, is the most celebrated World Tour event in bodyboarding since the elimination of the Teahupoo Challenge (Teahupoo) from the world bodyboarding tour. History The ...

bodyboarding contest. Gunnamatta Bay provides protected

at the baths off Gunnamatta Park. Port Hacking is a popular location for such water sports as waterskiing and

wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...

Parks

* Bass & Flinders Point is the southernmost part of Cronulla and features a monument to explorers

and

, who explored the

estuary. * Darook Park, Gunnamatta Park and Tonkin Park are all located on Gunnamatta Bay. Cronulla - panoramio (60)

* Cronulla Park is located behind the beach at South Cronulla. * Dunningham Park sits behind the beach at North Cronulla, shaded by large

Norfolk Island pine ''Araucaria heterophylla'' (synonym ''A. excelsa'') is a species of conifer. As its vernacular name Norfolk Island pine (or Norfolk pine) implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific ...

s. It features a children's playground, picnic tables and a kiosk. * Monro Park, featuring the Cronulla War Memorial, is located opposite Cronulla railway station. * Don Lucas Reserve is located beside the car park at Wanda Beach, popular for sport and recreational activities such as flying

kites A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face ...

. * Shelly Park sits behind Shelley Beach. * Oak Park * Hungry Point Reserve at the end of Nicholson Parade.

Commercial area

The main shopping strip runs along Cronulla Street, which has been partly converted into a pedestrian mall known as Cronulla Plaza. It also extends along the Kingsway, Gerrale Street and other surrounding streets. Cronulla has developed a café culture, with some cafés and restaurants located along the North Cronulla foreshore and Cronulla Plaza. The suburb boasts a Rydges high-rise hotel, although tourists can choose from a variety of hotels, motels and serviced apartments. Cronulla has many restaurants, nightclubs, pubs and bars, as well as a brand-new

Hoyts The Hoyts Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes Hoyts Cinemas and Val Morgan. Hoyts operates more than 450 cinema screens and 55,000 seats, making it Australia's second largest movie exhibitor after Event Hospita ...

cinema that opened late-2020.

Transport

Trains terminate at

on the Cronulla branch of the Illawarra line, on the

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban-suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...

network. Cronulla Tunnel Gallery is just north of the station, linking Cronulla Street to Tonkin Street. Cronulla and National Park Ferry Cruises runs passenger services around

and a regular route between Cronulla and Bundeena, on the edge of the

Royal National Park The Royal National Park is a protected national park that is located in Sutherland Shire in the Australian state of New South Wales, just south of Sydney. The national park is about south of the Sydney central business district near the loca ...

. The Cronulla Ferry wharf sits on Gunnamatta Bay, beside Tonkin Park. Transdev NSW operates several bus routes that stop at Cronulla Railway Station. For full details of all bus services see Cronulla Station.

Sport and recreation

* The local

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

football club is the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...

. The Cronulla-Sutherland League's Club and home ground,

Endeavour Field Endeavour Field (also known by its commercial name PointsBet Stadium and colloquially as Shark Park during Cronulla Sharks matches) is a rugby league stadium in the southern Sydney suburb of Woolooware, New South Wales, Australia. It is the ...

, are located on Captain Cook Drive at

. * Cronulla-Sutherland Junior Baseball Little League represented

in the 2015 Little League World Series where they had a record of one win and two losses. *

Surf lifesaving Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, inc ...

clubs are located along the beach at Wanda, Elouera, North Cronulla and South Cronulla. * Many soccer clubs are located in the Cronulla district, the most prominent being Cronulla Seagulls FC and the Cronulla RSL clubs. * Surfing plays a major role in Cronulla. Famous professional surfer and 1999 world champion

Mark Occhilupo Marco Jay Luciano "Mark" Occhilupo (born 16 June 1966) is an Australian surfer and winner of the 1999 ASP World title. Occhilupo, also known as "Occy", began his professional career in the World Championship Tour (WCT) at the age of 17. In S ...

('Occy') grew up surfing in Cronulla. Many surfboard shapers hand craft their surfboards in Cronulla and the Sutherland Shire and

holds the Australian Boardriders Battle on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

. *The annual

bodyboarding contest and the annual

Shark Island Swim Challenge The Cronulla Shark Island Swim Challenge is an annual event of , held at Cronulla Beach in Sydney, Australia. History The first Cronulla Shark Island Swim Challenge was held in October 1987. There was a medium swell and the water was choppy. There ...

are held at

. * The Cronulla International Cycling Grand Prix has been held in Cronulla since 2006. In 2009 it was also the

Australian National Criterium Championships The Australian National Criterium Championships cover several different categories of Australian road bicycle racing events, normally held annually. The elite event is normally held in the December the preceding year, for example the 2009 champi ...

. * The Bate Bay Body Bashers are a

Bodysurfing Bodysurfing is the art and sport of riding a wave without the assistance of any buoyant device such as a surfboard or bodyboard. Bodysurfers often equip themselves with a pair of swimfins that aid propulsion and help the bodysurfer catch, ride an ...

club based in Cronulla. They compete in team bodysurfing competitions against other Australian clubs including the East Sydney Bodysurfers and the Northern Beaches Wompers. They were Australian Champions in 2017. * The Cronulla Polar Bears Winter Swimming Club compete against Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club, South Maroubra Dolphins Winter Swimming Club, Clovelly Eskimos Winter Swimming Club, Maroubra Seals Winter Swimming Club, Coolangatta Surf Life Saving Club, Coogee Penguins Winter Swimming Club, Bronte Splashers, Wollongong Whales and Cottesloe Crabs in the Winter Swimming Association of Australia Championships * The Sutherland Shire is also home to a number of Rugby Union Clubs led by Southern Districts Rebels, who participate in the Shute Shield competition. It also has a number of junior teams competing in Sydney Juniors Union and many senior clubs who play in the NSW Suburban Rugby Union competition.

Events

* Cronulla Spring Festival is held every year on the second weekend of September. It includes free entertainment, food and many variety stalls. * Opera on the Beach is an event commonly held at Cronulla as part of the nation's

celebrations.

Popular culture

*'' Puberty Blues'' is a book and movie about the surfing culture in the Sutherland Shire. * The '' Australia's Next Top Model'' (Cycle 4) house was situated on Gunnamatta Bay. * '' The Shire'' is a reality TV show with Cronulla as its main setting; its filming commenced in early 2012.

Demographics

According to the 2016 census, there were 18,070 people in Cronulla. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.0% of the population. * The most common ancestries were English 28.5%, Australian 24.5%, Irish 10.9%, Scottish 7.4% and Italian 3.0% * 75.1% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 3.6%, New Zealand 1.8%, Philippines 0.6% and Germany 0.6%. * 82.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 0.9%, Spanish 0.9%, Portuguese 0.7%, Italian 0.7% and German 0.6%. * The most common responses for religion were Catholic 27.5%, No Religion 27.4% and Anglican 18.2%. * The median weekly household income was $1,794, higher than the national median of $1,438. * Real estate costs were correspondingly high; the median mortgage repayments were $2,167 compared to the national median of $1,755. * Of occupied private dwellings in Cronulla, 72.7% were flat or apartments, 20.5% were separate houses and 5.7% were semi-detached.

Notable residents

* Scott Morrison, 30th Prime Minister of Australia * Luke Baines, actor, singer and model * Lara Bingle, model, former partner of cricketer Michael Clarke *

Brendan Cowell Brendan Cowell is an Australian actor, playwright, and director. Early life and education Cowell was born in Sydney and grew up in the beachside suburb of Cronulla. He credits his mother and high school drama teacher with encouraging him to ...

, actor, appeared on ''

Love My Way ''Love My Way'' is an Australian television drama series. It won the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series for each of its three seasons (2004–2007). Premise Set in Sydney, ''Love My Way'' was about a group of 30-somethings dealing wit ...

'' and ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...

'' * Aileen Griffiths OAM, community worker and organiser * Tom Jay Williams, former lead singer of Lynk * Daniel MacPherson, Australian actor, TV presenter, notable for being in ''

City Homicide ''City Homicide'' is an Australian television drama series that aired on the Seven Network between 27 August 2007 and 30 March 2011. The series was set on the Homicide floor of a metropolitan police headquarters in Melbourne. The main characte ...

and

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'' * Chris McCormack, ironman, triathlete * Craig Alexander, ironman, triathlete * Toni Pearen, TV presenter, actress * Ben McNeill, film producer * Myles Pollard, actor, appeared on ''

McLeod's Daughters ''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting eight seasons. It stars Lisa Chappell and Bri ...

'' *

Jason Stevens Jason Anthony Stevens (born 8 January 1973) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is also a writer, screenwriter and actor. An Australia national and New South Wales State of Origin ...

, former

player *

Sharni Vinson Sharni Vinson (born 22 July 1983) is an Australian actress and dancer. She is known for her roles in the television soap opera ''Home and Away'', and in the films ''Bait 3D'', '' Step Up 3D'' and '' You're Next''. Early life Born in Sydney, ...

, actress, appeared on ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a tri ...

'' * Damian Keogh, former Australian basketball captain and CEO of Hoyts cinema group and Val Morgan *

Adam Wilkinson Adam Wilkinson (born September 8,1987) is an Australian Music executive, most notable for discovering and managing Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer. Wilkinson has also managed Australian pop singer, songwriter and social media perso ...

, Australian Entertainment Manager, discovered 5 Seconds of Summer *

Steve Waugh Stephen Rodger Waugh (born 2 June 1965) is an Australian former international cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a medium-pace bowler. As Australian captain from 1997 to 2004, he led Austral ...

- Former Australian Cricket Captain

Schools

Cronulla is home to a number of primary and secondary schools: * Cronulla High School * De La Salle College *Our Lady of Mercy College *Cronulla Public School *South Cronulla Public School *St Francis De Sales *Burraneer Bay Public School *St Aloysius Catholic Primary School

Churches

There are several

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

es in the Cronulla area: *St Andrews Anglican Church
St Aloysius Catholic Church
*Cronulla Baptist Church *Cronulla Uniting Church *Presbyterian War Memorial Church *C3 Church Cronulla *Establish Church

References

External links

Cronulla - Sydney.com
{{Coord, -34.05744, 151.15219, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:AU-NSW Suburbs of Sydney Botany Bay Beaches of New South Wales