Coledale is a costal village in the Illawarra 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 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 ...

, approximately north of

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') 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 water' or 'sound ...

and south of the

Sydney Central Business District The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, 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 ...

. It is located along the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

and the South Coast railway line. Coledale is part of the City of Wollongong and lies between the villages of

Wombarra Wombarra () is a northern seaside suburb of Wollongong, on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. Its main street is Lawrence Hargrave Drive. is a Dharawal language, Dharawal term meaning . Wombarra has a cemetery, lawn bowling club, C ...

and Austinmer. Coledale hosts several businesses along

Lawrence Hargrave Drive Lawrence Hargrave Drive, part of the Grand Pacific Drive, is a scenic coastal road and popular tourist drive connecting the northernmost suburbs of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, to Wollongong, in the south, and Sydney, in the nort ...

as well as a Returned and Services League (RSL) club, public hall, fire station, and public hospital. Coledale's shops include a

newsagent A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...

and cafe, gift store, and homeware items shop. Other businesses include a beauty salon, hair dresser, fish & chip shop, bottle shop, and other cafes. Coledale also has a small public school. Coledale also has a playing field for soccer, cricket and netball: St. James Park is the home ground for the Coledale Waves (formerly known as the Coledale Rosebuds) soccer teams, and was where Australian athlete

Kerryn McCann Kerryn McCann ( Hindmarsh; 2 May 1967 – 7 December 2008) was an Australian athlete. She was best known for winning the marathon at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games. Personal life McCann was born Kerryn Hindmarsh in Bulli, New South Wales ...

trained.

History

View at Coledale from The Powerhouse Museum

The early development of Coledale and the surrounding areas of the Illawarra was largely due to the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

industry. The first mine in the area opened in 1889, but closed due to issues with groundwater. It was redeveloped in 1902 as the North Bulli Colliery, which closed in 1926. The mine employed around 100 workers.

Population

In the , there were 1,372 people in Coledale. 81.4% of people were born in Australia and 90.0% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion (53.4%), Catholic (17.9%) and Anglican (11.2%).

Recreation

Coledale has two sandy beaches, Coledale Beach and Sharkey's Beach. Coledale Beach is located to the north of the village and is patrolled during the summer months by the local surf life saving club (SLSC). Sharkey's Beach (also Sharky Beach or Sharkies Beach) is a smaller, unpatrolled beach located to the south of the village. It is a popular area for surfing and fishing, and also hosts local markets every four weeks. The SLSC operates a nearby campground to receive funding.

Infrastructure

Transport

Rail transport was first established in 1887, running between Coledale and Clifton, from which many colliery workers commuted by foot or horse before the opening of the railway. Services extended to Sydney and Wollongong in 1889.. Coledale railway station is located halfway up Cater Street, off

. The station is operated by

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...

. It is located on the South Coast railway line and receives South Coast (SCO) services from Central and Wollongong.

Hospital

Coledale Hospital opened in 1917, after construction began in 1915. It was originally named the Illawarra Cottage Hospital or Miner's Hospital and dealt with injuries from the nearby coal mines. The hospital, which initially had only 15 beds, was funded by both the government and fundraising efforts by local residents.

References

External links

An interactive 360° panorama of the main street
{{Wollongong suburbs Suburbs of Wollongong