Cessnock () is a city in the Hunter Valley 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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, about by road west of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. It is the administrative centre of the City of Cessnock

LGA LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. Covering , the facility wa ...

and was named after an 1826 grant of land called Cessnock Estate, which was owned by John Campbell. The local area was once known as "The Coalfields", and it is the gateway city to the vineyards of the Hunter Valley, which includes Pokolbin, Mount View, Lovedale, Broke, Rothbury, and Branxton.

History

The Wonnarua people are the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

of the Cessnock area. Many were killed or died as a result of European diseases after colonisation. Others were forced onto neighbouring tribal territory and killed. The city of Cessnock features many Indigenous place names including Congewai,

Kurri Kurri Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the , its population was 6,174. Kurri Kurri is the largest town in a group of towns and hamlets, including Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, We ...

, Laguna, Nulkaba and Wollombi. Lying between Australia's earliest European settlements –

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

and

, pastoralists commenced settlement of the land in the 1820s. Cessnock was named by Scottish settler John Campbell, after his grandfather's baronial Cessnock Castle in Galston, East Ayrshire, to reflect the aristocratic heritage and ambitions for this estate. The township of Cessnock developed from 1850, as a service centre at the junction of the Great North Road from Sydney to the Hunter Valley, with branches to Maitland and Singleton. The establishment of the

South Maitland coalfields The South Maitland coalfields was the most extensive coalfield in New South Wales until the great coal mining slump of the 1960s. It was discovered by Lieutenant-Colonel William Paterson (explorer), William Paterson's party when they were engaged i ...

generated extensive land settlement between 1903 and 1923. The current pattern of urban development, transport routes and industrial landscape was laid at this time. The surveying of the Greta coal seam by Professor Edgeworth David around 1888 became the impetus for considerable social and economic change in the area with the development of the coal mining industry.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, there were 63,632 people in the Cessnock LGA. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 10.2% of the population. * 87.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 1.9%, New Zealand 1.0% and Philippines 0.5%. * 90.1% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 41.1%, Anglican 19.2% and Catholic 17.7%.

Economy

The decline of mining on the South Maitland Coalfields has been paralleled by growth in the wine industry and better access to other employment centres. The Hunter Valley wine-growing area near Cessnock is Australia's oldest wine region and one of the most famous, with around under vine. The vineyards of Pokolbin, Mount View and Allandale, with their rich volcanic soils tended by entrepreneurial vignerons, are also the focus of a thriving and growing tourism industry. The extension and eventual completion of the F3 Freeway, created a property and tourism boom during the 1990s. Cessnock has begun to develop other tourist ventures beyond the wine industry such as championship golf courses, hot air ballooning, sky-diving, and guest house accommodation. The city council has actively pursued a policy of urban renewal in the city centre since 2001. The local council was one of the first to introduce a recycling program for waste disposal in the state. Most employment comes from the local port city of Newcastle, the nearby major centres of Maitland and Singleton and in service industries in the local council area, which comprises many small towns, such as Kurri Kurri,

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

, Abernethy, Kearsley and Pokolbin.

Geography

The town is located in the rich alluvial and volcanic soils of the Hunter Valley. Rich coal seams underlie much of the area. The Brokenback Range (part of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

) rises to the west of the city. The Hunter River flows down the Hunter Valley approximately to the north. Cessnock lies within the Hunter Valley Important Bird Area.

Climate

Cessnock has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool winters, similar to Penrith, a suburb in

Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions with ...

to the south. Summers may be dry due to their inland location, but humid days are not uncommon. Winters are usually dry with cold nights, which may be

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

Education

;Primary schools * St Philip's Christian College * Cessnock Public School * Nulkaba Public School * Cessnock East Public School * Bellbird Public School * Cessnock West Public School * Kearsley Public School * St Patricks Primary School ;High schools * Cessnock High School * Mount View High School * St Phillips Christian College ;Tertiary facilities * Hunter Institute of TAFE Cessnock Campus

Media

Cessnock is serviced by a number of regional newspapers, radio stations and television stations.

Print

*''The Cessnock Advertiser''; an adjunct to the ''Mercury'' and is published every Wednesday. With a circulation of approximately 17,000 *'' Maitland Mercury'' *'' Newcastle Herald''

Radio

AM stations

* 2HD (commercial) * ABC Newcastle * 2HRN (off band commercial) * Sky Sports Radio (as part of statewide network)

FM stations

* KOFM 102.9 FM (commercial) * Hit106.9 Newcastle 106.9 FM (commercial) * New FM 105.3 FM (commercial) * 2NUR 103.7 FM (community) * 2CHR (Central Hunter Radio) 96.5 FM – (community) * Rhema FM Newcastle 99.7FM (Christian)

Television

All major digital-only television channels are available in Cessnock. The networks and the channels they broadcast are listed as follows: * Seven (formerly

Prime7 Prime7, formerly Prime Television and other names, was an Australian Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as ''CBN (Australian TV station), CBN-8'' in Orange, New South Wales, Ora ...

and Prime Television), 7two, 7mate,

7Bravo 7Bravo is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network under license from NBCUniversal International Networks on 15 January 2023. The channel contains programming from NBCUniversal's Americ ...

, 7flix.

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

owned and operated channels. *

Nine 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

( NBN),

9Go! 9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, anima ...

9Gem 9Gem is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, launched by the Nine Network in September 2010. The channel provides general entertainment and movie programming, from which the original name "GEM" is derived. History The la ...

and

9Life 9Life is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Nine Entertainment. The channel airs mostly foreign lifestyle and reality programs, with the channel having a licensing agreement with Discovery Inc. (previously Scr ...

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

owned and operated channels. * 10, 10 Bold Drama and 10 Peach Comedy.

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

affiliated channels. * ABC,

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

, ABC Kids, ABC Entertains and

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

, part of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

. * SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS WorldWatch,

SBS Food SBS Food (formerly Food Network) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world. History SBS first ...

and

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...

, part of the

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...

. Of the three main commercial networks: *The

airs a half-hour local Seven News bulletin for the Hunter Region at 6 pm each weeknight. It is broadcast from studios in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

with reporters based at a local newsroom in the city. *

airs ''NBN News'', a regional hour-long program including opt-outs for the Mid North Coast, every night at 6 pm. It is broadcast from studios in

with reporters based at a local newsroom in the city.

Digital Media

Cessnock was featured in national tech news in 2020 with the release of a video game called Cessnock.Life, which is a fictional simulation game based in Cessnock.

Performance Arts Culture Cessnock (PACC)

The PACC is a Local Government owned theatre that holds concerts, plays and community events. Originally opened in 2008 and known as the Cessnock Performing Arts Centre it frequently has acts shows such as comedians, tribute bands and musicals, as well as other events such as drama lessons.

Sport

The city has many sporting facilities. The city competes in several regional sporting competitions, particularly the Cessnock Goannas competing in Newcastle-based rugby league competition. Some very successful sporting players can trace their roots to the local district, including

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission Limited (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League Limited known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australi ...

representative players and brothers

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

and Matthew Johns. World-renowned golfer and TV commentator Jack Newton is also from Cessnock. His annual Sub-Juniors Golf Tournament has unearthed some talented young golfers and is held on the local championship courses of Pokolbin. Cessnock was the base camp for the

Japan national football team The , also known by the nickname , represents Japan in men's international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan. Prior to the late 1980s, Japan's nat ...

during the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Transport

For a century Cessnock was served by the South Maitland Railway network, originally constructed for the coal industry, but which at one time had considerable passenger services terminating at Cessnock railway station, including a direct train to

known as the ''Cessnock Flyer''. The Sydney–Newcastle Freeway's Cessnock exit at Freemans Waterhole provides one of the main road connections from Sydney to Cessnock via The Gap, a pass through the Watagan Mountains range just north of Mount Heaton. Until the Hunter Expressway opened in 2014, linking the

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, Queensland, Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland, at its northern end to Hexham, New South Wales, Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, ...

at Branxton and the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway at West Wallsend, through traffic passed through Cessnock. The local airport is placed just to the north of the city, at the entrance to the Vineyard District. It has a small public passenger terminal and also serves as the base for aviation training organisations such as Avondale College's school of Aviation and Hunter Valley Aviation. The airport is not served by RPT flights. Access by air to the region is by Newcastle Airport at Williamtown, away. The local bus service is run by Rover Coaches which provide services to Maitland, Newcastle and

Morisset Morisset ( ;) is a commercial centre and suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area in the Hunter Region, Hunter region in New South Wales, Australia. Morisset is a part of the Greater Newcastle area, it is located west of the l ...

and school bus services.

Notable people

* Douglas N. Daft, businessman; CEO of

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

(2000–2004), and Corporate Director of

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

* Joel Edwards, rugby league player * Andrew Johns, rugby league player * Matthew Johns, rugby league player * Gavin King, journalist; newspaper columnist * Bruce Litchfield, architect * Kenneth Neate, opera singer * Jack Newton, professional golfer * Bill Peden, rugby league player * Frank Rickwood, President of BP Alaska, Chairman of Oil Search * Don Schofield, Rugby League Player *

Simon Whitlock Simon Whitlock (born 3 March 1969) is an Australian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, having previously competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Nicknamed "The Wizard", he won th ...

, Professional Darts Player * Rod McCormack, Multi Time National Guitar and Banjo Champion, Australian Musician of the Year, * Jeff McCormack, Multi Golden Guitar winner, Australian Musician of the Year

National Estate

Greater Cessnock contains a number of buildings and sites that are on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

. * Court House, Branxton * Police Station and Residence, Branxton * Former Court House, Greta * Kurri Kurri Hotel, Lang and Hampden Streets, Kurri Kurri * Richmond Main Colliery, Mulbring Rd, Pelaw Main * Laguna House, Laguna * Post Office, Wollombi * Endeavour Museum (former Court House), Wollombi * Public School, Wollombi * St Michael's Catholic Church, Wollombi * St John the Evangelist Anglican Church, Wollombi * Stanford Main No.2 Colliery Pit Head Building, Brick Cottages * Aboriginal Rock Carvings Site, popularly known as Baiame Cave, Milbrodale Area

Crime

In 2021, Cessnock had an amphetamine use/possession rate of 137.1 per 100,000, which is significantly higher than the NSW state average of '90.0 per 100,000. The suburb of Cessnock had an assault incidents crime rate of 1264.6 per 100,000 people in 2019, which is significantly higher than the NSW state average of 822.3 during the same period.

References

External links

*
Visitor's Guide to Cessnock – Visit NSW
{{authority control Cities in New South Wales Suburbs of City of Cessnock Towns in the Hunter Region Mining towns in New South Wales