The City of Lake Macquarie is a

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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

(LGA) in the Hunter Region in

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. It was proclaimed a city on 7 September 1984. It is adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is part of the Greater Newcastle area. The city is approximately north of

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 ...

. One of its major tourist attractions is its lake, also named Lake Macquarie. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the city is

Councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

Adam Shultz, a member of the Labor Party. The

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

ship was granted the Right of Freedom of Entry to the city on 9 August 1991.

History

The Shire of Lake Macquarie was proclaimed on 6 March 1906. It became a municipality on 1 March 1977, and a city on 7 September 1984.

Suburbs, towns and villages

Lake Macquarie is home to several prominent coastal suburbs such as Catherine Hill Bay, Caves Beach, Blacksmiths and Redhead. Retail and commercial centres include Belmont,

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Charlestown Glendale,

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and Morisset. The towns and villages in the city are split into three wards – East, North and West. These include: ;East Ward * Belmont * Belmont North * Belmont South * Bennetts Green * Blacksmiths * Cams Wharf * Catherine Hill Bay * Caves Beach * CharlestownShared with North Ward * Crangan BayShared with Central Coast Council * Croudace Bay * Eleebana * Floraville *

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

* Jewells * Little Pelican * Marks Point * MooneeShared with Central Coast Council * Mount Hutton * Murrays Beach * Nords Wharf *

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

* Pinny Beach * Redhead *

* Swansea Heads * Tingira Heights * Valentine * Warners BayShared with North Ward * Windale ;North Ward * Adamstown HeightsShared with City of Newcastle * Boolaroo * Cameron Park *

* Cardiff Heights * Cardiff South * CharlestownShared with East Ward *

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

* Edgeworth * Elermore ValeShared with City of Newcastle * Garden Suburb * Glendale * Highfields * Hillsborough * Kahibah * Kotara SouthShared with City of Newcastle * Lakelands * Macquarie Hills * New Lambton HeightsShared with City of Newcastle * Rankin ParkShared with City of Newcastle * Seahampton * Speers Point * Warners BayShared with East Ward * West Wallsend * Whitebridge ;West Ward * Arcadia Vale * Argenton * Awaba * Balcolyn * Balmoral *

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

* Blackalls Park * Bolton Point * Bonnells Bay * Booragul * Brightwaters * Buttaba * Carey Bay * Coal Point * Cooranbong * Dora Creek * Eraring * Fassifern * Fennell Bay * Fishing Point * Freemans Waterhole * Holmesville * Kilaben Bay * Killingworth * Mandalong * Marmong Point * Martinsville * Mirrabooka * Morisset * Morisset Park * Myuna Bay * Rathmines * Ryhope * Silverwater * Sunshine * Teralba *

* Wakefield * Wangi Wangi * Windermere Park * Woodrising * Wyee * Wyee Point * Yarrawonga Park The

Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...

classifies various towns and suburbs in the LGA as being part of the Greater Newcastle Statistical District. The City of Lake Macquarie has its own independent local government (Lake Macquarie City Council). The largest commercial centre in the area is Charlestown.

Demographics

The area is a set of contiguous towns that surround a coastal saltwater lake. These towns merge with the suburbs of Newcastle to the north. Some suburbs, such as Adamstown Heights are partly in the City of Newcastle and partly within the City of Lake Macquarie. There are 92 identified settlements ranging from small rural style communities through to larger and higher density areas such as Toronto, Warners Bay, Belmont, Charlestown and Morisset. At the , there were 189,006 people in the Lake Macquarie local government area, of these 48.8% were male and 51.2% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.0% of the population, which was higher than the national and state averages. The

median The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...

age of people in the City of Lake Macquarie was 41 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.6% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 51.0% were married and 12.2% were either divorced or separated. Population growth in the City of Lake Macquarie between the and the was 3.36%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 3.20%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Lake Macquarie local government area was approximately half the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Lake Macquarie was marginally below the national average. At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Lake Macquarie local government area who stated their

ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...

as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 81% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 58% of all residents in the City of Lake Macquarie nominated a

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

affiliation with

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

at the 2011 census, which was slightly higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Lake Macquarie local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (5.4%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a significantly higher proportion (93.0%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%). Croudace Bay NSW

Economics

Lake Macquarie has a significant

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

mining industry and smaller agriculture and manufacturing industries. Eraring power station, a 1980s-era coal-fired power station, supplies 25% of

' power. Lake Macquarie has a number o
Constructed Wetlands
with the council placing an emphasis on the environment.

Council

Current composition and election method

Lake Macquarie City Council is composed of thirteen

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s, including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the twelve other Councillors are elected proportionally as three separate wards, each electing four Councillors. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election by ward, is:

Election results

2024

2021

Shopping

Major shopping centres include: * Charlestown Square * Stockland Glendale * Lake Macquarie Square

Arts and culture

Lake Macquarie has a number of cultural and artistic locations: * Dobell House – last residence of William Dobell, Wangi Wangi * Finite Gallery, Caves Beach Fine Arts and Crafts * Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, Booragul * South Sea Islands Museum and Sunnyside Historic Home, Cooranbong * The Friends of Rathmines Incorporated, Rathmines Park

Sister cities

The City of Lake Macquarie has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

relations with the following cities: *

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

, Hokkaidō, Japan * Tanagura, Fukushima, Japan *

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

, New Zealand *

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city stra ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States of America

Notes

References

External links

Lake Macquarie City Council

Lake Macquarie Business Directory

Lake Macquarie City

Clickable map of New South Wales LGAs
(NSW Dept. of Local Government)
Rathmines Community Website and Forum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Macquarie Coastal cities in Australia