Collaroy 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 ...

in northern

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 ...

, in the state 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 ...

. Collaroy is 22 kilometres north-east 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 ...

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

Northern Beaches Council The Northern Beaches Council is a local government areas of New South Wales, local government area located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 after the a ...

. It is part of the

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the ...

region. Nicknamed "The Roy" by many of the locals.

History

This area was originally part of

Narrabeen Narrabeen is a beachside suburb of northern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres northeast of the business district, shared by the local government area of Northern Beaches Council and the Northern Beaches region. The bay wa ...

but was renamed after the SS ''Collaroy'' ran aground on the beach in 1881. It was refloated and later wrecked on the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

n coast in 1889. Most of Collaroy's development has occurred since the mid twentieth century. An anchor from the S.S. Collaroy has been on display on the grounds of Narrabeen Lakes Public School since 1928. ''Collaroy Beach'' Post Office opened on 12 February 1923. ''Collaroy Plateau'' Post Office opened on 1 April 1949 and closed in 1988. ''Collaroy Plateau West'' Post Office opened on 1 November 1967 and was renamed ''Collaroy Plateau'' in 1996. The beach and housing near the beach on Pittwater Road were badly affected by weather in early June 2016. A strip of houses lost backyards and were left in danger of collapse.

Landmarks

Collaroy's surf beach joins Narrabeen Beach at Wetherill Street making one continuous 3.4 km surf beach. Four Surf Lifesaving Clubs provide swimming supervision/surf rescue services (North Narrabeen SLC, Narrabeen SLC, South Narrabeen SLC, and Collaroy SLC). Collaroy is home to one of the Salvation Army's largest conference and outdoor education centres in the area. The centre caters for many conferences of the Salvation Army as well as other churches, schools, community groups and businesses. It can cater for up to 440 people and has fully catered camp programs.

Demographics

According to the , there were 7,944 residents in Collaroy. The most common ancestries were English 41.8%, Australian 32.0%, Irish 14.3%, Scottish 11.0% and Italian 7.1%. 70.0% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 6.4% and New Zealand 2.2%. 83.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Portuguese 1.9% and Italian 1.7%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 41.0%, Catholic 26.3% and Anglican 14.1%.

Commercial area

Collaroy's shopping precinct is centred along

Pittwater Road Pittwater Road is a major arterial road along the coast of the Northern Beaches suburbs of Sydney, Australia, the majority of which is a constituent part of the A8 route. Route Pittwater Road commences at the intersection with McCarrs Creek ...

, which runs north–south through the suburb. Small retail businesses include cafes, restaurants, a book shop, takeaway bars, a pharmacy, a newsagent/post office, several hairdressers, a day spa, a YHA youth hostel, real estate agents, Collaroy cinema, the Collaroy Services club (also known as "The Beach Club") and "The Collaroy", which was formerly known as the Surf Rock Hotel, re-opened in November 2014.

Transport

Collaroy's public transport consists of buses operated by

Keolis Downer Northern Beaches Keolis Downer Northern Beaches is a bus operator in Sydney, Australia. A subsidiary of Keolis Downer, it operates services in Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts, Sydney Bus Region 8 on the North Shore (Sydney), Lower North Shore and Nort ...

south through to the CBD, Manly,

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

(peak hour services only), and north to the suburbs from

to Palm Beach.

Governance

Collaroy is in the federal seat of Mackellar. The seat is currently held by Independent politician Sophie Scamps, who defeated Jason Falinski of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

at the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 May 2022, to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Morrison government, Liberal–National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, soug ...

. The seat had previously been held continuously by the Liberal Party since its creation in 1949. Collaroy is in the NSW state electorate of Wakehurst, a seat held by Michael Regan.

Wildlife

Collaroy/Narrabeen is frequented by diverse bird and aquatic animal life including Sea Eagles, Pelicans, Terns, Ducks, Yellow-crested Cockatoo. Dolphins and whales can be seen during migrating season. In 2005 a young New Zealand Fur Seal was discovered washed up on the beach. Exhausted but alive, the Seal was nursed back to health by wildlife officers and then released. A similar incident, with another New Zealand fur seal coming ashore, occurred in August 2014.New Zealand fur seal takes a break after stormy weather
/ref>

Schools

* The Pittwater House Schools

Notable people

* Iza Coghlan, doctor * Gabriella Da Silva-Fick, tennis player *

Tim Freedman Timothy James Freedman (25 November 1964) is an Australian musician, best known as the mainstay lead singer and keyboardist of the Australian band The Whitlams formed in 1993. Note: n-lineversion was expanded from the 2002 edition. The song " N ...

, musician * Michael Hooper, rugby union player * Emma Jeffcoat, triathlete * Simon Kennewell, rugby union player * Boyd Killingworth, rugby union player *

Johanna Konta Johanna Konta (born 17 May 1991) is a British-Australian former professional tennis player. Konta won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, along with eleven titles in singles and four in doubles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She was British No. ...

, tennis player *

Nat Young Robert Harold "Nat" Young (born 14 November 1947) is an Australian surfer and author. Surfing career Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Young grew up in the small coastal suburb of Collaroy. In 1964, he was runner-up in the Australian jun ...

, surfer

References

External links

About Narrabeen and Collaroy Beaches
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collaroy, New South Wales Suburbs of Sydney Beaches of New South Wales Northern Beaches Council