Bateau Bay is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of the Central Coast region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. "Bateau" is French for "boat."

Geography

Bateau Bay is about 6 km south of the town of The Entrance and 17 km northeast of

Gosford Gosford is a waterfront city at the northern end of Brisbane Water on the Central Coast in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Gosford Waterfront is known for its boating and scenic views on the shores of Brisbane Water. Gosford is ...

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. Bateau Bay Beach provides access to Crackneck Point, which is a popular local surfing spot. Crackneck Point Lookout (about 100 metres above sea level) is a short distance from the beach, where there is a large clearing and carpark with information boards and a picnic-barbecue area. It provides views of The Entrance peninsula and north across Tuggerah Lakes.

Wyrrabalong National Park The Wyrrabalong National Park is a coastal national park that is located on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park consists of two sections; the northern section consists ...

Part of Bateau Bay is covered by the southern 140 ha section of

Wyrrabalong National Park The Wyrrabalong National Park is a coastal national park that is located on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park consists of two sections; the northern section consists ...

. A feature of the park's coastal cliffs are extensive rock platforms, which are good bases for rock fishing or low tide exploration.

is a haven for marine, bird, and native wildlife, which include goannas, bandicoots, fantails, and the

tawny frogmouth The tawny frogmouth (''Podargus strigoides'') is a species of frogmouth native to the Australian mainland and Tasmania and found throughout. It is a big-headed, stocky bird often mistaken for an owl due to its nocturnal habits and similar colouri ...

. A 1.6 km walk through Wyrrabalong National Park links Crackneck Point Lookout and Forresters Beach.

History

The settlement was declared a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, under the name "Village of Bateau Bay", by Minister for Lands Ernest Buttenshaw on 13 August 1937. It had previously been called Boat Harbour, and continued to be known as Boat Harbour locally. The name "Boat Harbour" was discontinued by the

Geographical Names Board of New South Wales The Geographical Names Board of New South Wales, a statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or stat ...

on 29 August 1975.

Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 12,146 people in Bateau Bay. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.4% of the population. * 83.1% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 4.3% and New Zealand 1.4%. * 91.1% of people only spoke English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Catholic 27.8%, No Religion 26.1% and Anglican 23.6%.

Sporting facilities and parks

The Entrance District Sporting and Community Centre (EDSACC) is located on The Entrance Road, between Yakalla Street and Eastern Road. The precinct is separated into three areas: EDSACC North Ovals (soccer), EDSACC South Ovals (rugby league), and a Sports Centre that bisects the two. At the very south of the precinct is a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

driving range and a

ten-pin bowling Tenpin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler bowling form, rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned Tetractys, evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The goal is to knock down all ten Bowlin ...

centre. EDSACC is home to the Killarney District Soccer Club and The Entrance Tigers Rugby League Club, as well as EDSACC Croquet Club. There are within the suburb fields that allow for playing of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

EDSACC building has had a number of names in its time and provides

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s, indoor

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor ...

s, and a

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

nasium, and was opened in 1979 by the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, Sir Roden Cutler. It was previously the location of The Entrance Airport. The precinct also has a

driving range, which was formerly a football field, but was deemed unsafe due to its uneven surface. The home side—The Entrance Bateau Bay Blues—was forced to relocate to a field on Mingara's property at

Tumbi Umbi Tumbi Umbi is a mostly semi-rural List of Central Coast suburbs, suburb of the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located northwest of Bateau Bay, New South Wales, Bateau Bay along Wyong Road. It ...

. The Blues have since resettled at Eastern Road Oval in Killarney Vale. Pat Morley Oval, located on Cresthaven Avenue, was until the early 1980s a rubbish tip and nightsoil depot and was used as a football oval in the 1990s. Development of a new oval adjacent to the existing Pat Morley Oval was completed in 2010, and is used for cricket and Australian rules football. The Entrance Bateau Bay Blues AFL Club will relocate there in 2011. Central Coast Softball will also use the new ground in the summer season. The main ground is home to The Entrance Bateau Bay United Football Club, the oldest soccer club on the Central Coast, having been established in 1952. Sir Joseph Banks Oval, located behind Cresthaven Shopping Centre, is used by The Entrance Rams Rugby Union club.

Shopping

Bateau Bay Square (formerly known as Stockland Bay Village and Bay Village) is a shopping centre which was opened on the 28th of August 1984, a week after the original planned scheduled opening of August 21st, and is operated by Charter Hall. It is mainly tenanted with chain stores and offers few independent retailers. This piece of land is a new addition to the boundary of Bateau Bay — prior to construction, it was included in the boundary of Killarney Vale. It is located next to a Central Coast Shire Council works depot. The centre has removed many retailers and financial services from the existing local areas, creating a questionable positive impact on local shopping. The centre is surrounded by carparks with a limited number of pedestrian access routes. A smaller centre, Cresthaven Shopping Centre, opened in 2003. Several other clusters of shops are located throughout Bateau Bay.

Clubs

Bateau Bay Bowling Club is located on the corner of Pheasant Avenue and Bias Avenue. It has TAB facilities, a bar, and a

bistro A bistro or bistrot (), in its original Parisian form, is a small restaurant serving moderately priced, simple meals in a modest setting. In more recent years, the term has become used by restaurants considered, by some, to be pretentious. Style ...

, as well as an undercover carpark. The club has three

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

s is strong in competitions run statewide. The Entrance Leagues Club is located on The Entrance Road adjacent to Bateau Bay Square. The club was first opened in 1992. It has over 15,000 members. It features a large carpark as well as an auditorium, TAB facilities, bar and bistro, function rooms, and a members courtesy bus. The Entrance Leagues Club is a major sponsor of The Entrance Tigers Rugby League Club. The Bateau Bay Hotel is located on The Entrance Road between Lumby Drive and Cresthaven Avenue. Its approval date for building was 4 February, and the day of opening was 8 September, in 1980.

Notable citizens

Ryan O'Hara Ryan O'Hara (born 18 August 1980) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who played for the Jacksonville Axemen in the USA Rugby League. A New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he previously played in th ...

(born 1980) formerly played for The Entrance Tigers. He has played in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

(NRL) with the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

and

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

. He currently plays for the

Jacksonville Axemen The Jacksonville Axemen are a rugby league team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They currently play in the USA Rugby League (USARL). They play their home games at the North Practice Soccer Fields at the University of North Florida. Together ...

. * Joseph Furst (born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, 1916; died in Bateau Bay, 2005) was an international film and television actor known for his English language roles. He appeared as Professor Zaroff in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' story The Underwater Menace. He also had recurring roles in ''

The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday 8 November 1976 until Wednesday 30 March 1983. The series is primarily s ...

'' and four episodes of ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera/serial which was broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 22 November 1993, and subsequently on Network Ten from 13 April 1994 to 5 November 1994. Altogether, 14 ...

''. * Adam Harvey, an Australian country music singer, lives in Bateau Bay. * Teigan Van Roosmalen, an Australian

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

Schools

There is one school in Bateau Bay: Bateau Bay Public School was established in 1980 and has an enrolment of 620 students in Kindergarten to Year 6. It was originally located in Brooke Avenue (within Killarney Vale) in demountable buildings before relocating. A school remained at Brooke Avenue due to housing development in the period of planning and construction.

Issues

The

is bisected by the Entrance Road, a main Central Coast arterial route. There is no differentiation on either side of the Entrance Road; both areas contain housing stock built in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. Bateau Bay sewerage treatment plant was built in the late 1960s when at the time there was very little nearby development. Treated sewage is discharged into the sea off Bateau Bay at Wonga Point. Some people protest that sewage may end up on the nearby beaches. Although there has been no major sea pollution from the plant, there is a smell though over the eastern side of the suburb. The treatment plant has operated for longer than most people have been resident.

Transportation

Red Bus CDC NSW is the local bus operator and runs several routes through Bateau Bay. The operator's depot is also located at Bateau Bay on Coleridge Road.

References

External links

Bateau Bay Suburb Profilearchive
a
RP Data Property Reports
* {{Authority control Suburbs of the Central Coast (New South Wales) Bays of New South Wales