Dapto, New South Wales
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Dapto is a suburb 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 ...
in the
Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...
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, located on the western side of
Lake Illawarra Lake Illawarra (Australian Aboriginal languages, Aboriginal Tharawal language: various adaptions of ''Elouera'', ''Eloura'', or ''Allowrie''; ''Illa'', ''Wurra'', or ''Warra'' meaning pleasant place near the sea, or, high place near the sea, or, ...
and covering . As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,954.


History

The name Dapto is said to be an Aboriginal word either from ''Dabpeto'' meaning "water plenty", or from ''tap-toe'' which described the way a lame Aboriginal elder walked. The suburb was officially founded in 1834, when George Brown transferred the Ship Inn from Wollongong to Mullet Creek Farm, in an area now named in his honour as Brownsville. After an unsuccessful attempt at wheat growing in the 1850s, Dapto embraced the dairy industry. In 1887, the railway opened, and a butter factory was established. This began a transformation of Dapto and the town centre shifted south to where the new station was located. The Australian Smelting Company's works were established on Kanahooka Road and employed over 500 men. A railway, operated by the Illawarra Harbour and Land Corporation Limited, connected the smelter with the Government railway at Dapto. By 1903 the Commissioner for Railways declared that Dapto was the most valuable
station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
on the Illawarra line, its traffic being double that of Wollongong. The books ''John Brown of Brownsville'' (2012), ''Gooseberry and Hooka'' (2012) and ''Lake Illawarra: an ongoing history'' (2005) – all written by Joseph Davis and published by the Lake Illawarra Authority – contain much detail about Dapto's history.


Population

According to the 2021 census, there were 10,954 people in Dapto. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.9% of the population. * 81.0% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
5.3%,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
1.0%,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
0.8%,
the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...
0.7% and
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
0.5%. * 89.6% of people spoke only
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
at home; the next most common languages spoken at home were
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...
0.7%,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
0.6%,
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
0.4%,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
0.4% and
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...
0.4%. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 40.6%,
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
21.8% and
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
17.3%; a further 4.6% elected not to disclose their religion.


Land use

On Koonawarra Point is Mount Brown Reserve, a hill protected by a nature reserve for its important habitat. The eastern side and summit is owned by
Tallawarra Power Station Tallawarra Power Station is a combined cycle natural gas turbine generator and a further 320 MW open cycle gas turbine in Yallah, New South Wales, Australia. Owned and operated by EnergyAustralia, the station is the first of its type in New So ...
. Dapto used to be home to a smelting industry, but this has now closed. Most of the town is residential, with several commercial areas. The main one includes Dapto Mall, which is on 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 ...
. A small area of the escarpment west of Dapto is protected as part of the Illawarra Escapment State Recreation Area, though not accessible to the public. The escarpment west of Dapto includes Mount Bong Bong, the site of an aeroplane crash when the controllers mistook Lake Illawarra for
Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal language, Dharawal: ''Kamay'') is an open oceanic embayment, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point a ...
. A plaque commemorates this event in Dapto. Much of the land to the west is still used as farmland, though other ventures such as the shooting grounds exist. The land to the west is noticeably more hilly than the plain to the north of Wollongong. The area of Dapto west of the rail line, formerly pastoral land, has undergone significant expansion over the past 20 years. This area has become the fastest growing part of the greater Wollongong region and consists of a sprawling, medium-density suburbia known as Horsley, now officially a suburb in its own right.


Transport

The
South Coast line The South Coast Line (SCO) is an Regional rail, intercity rail service that services the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The service runs from , and runs the entire length of the eponymous South Coast railway line, New South W ...
electric rail service terminated in Dapto prior to electrification being extended to
Kiama Kiama may refer to: * Electoral district of Kiama, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Kiama, New South Wales, a town * Kiama (spider), a genus of spiders *Municipality of Kiama The Municipality of Kiama is a local government ar ...
in 2001.


Recreation

The Dapto Greyhound Racing Track, locally known as the 'Dapto Greyhounds', runs races every Thursday evening. The
Dapto Canaries The Dapto Canaries are an Australian rugby league football team based in the Wollongong suburb of Dapto. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and have competed in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership since its inception in 1911. Histo ...
compete in the local
Illawarra Rugby League The Illawarra Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Wollongong, NSW. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1911 with five clubs (Dapto, Helensburgh, Mount Keira, Unanderra and Wollongong). The area p ...
. The Groundz Precinct, also known as The Groundz or Dapto Showground, is home of the famous Dapto Greyhounds every Thursday night. South Coast Greyhounds (Dapto Greyhound Racing Club) started racing in 1937 on the current site and is set to move to a new site at 34 Bong Bong Road, Dapto in 2025.


Facilities


Dapto Mall

Dapto Mall Dapto Mall is a shopping centre in the suburb of Dapto, a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region, New South Wales, Australia. History Dapto Mall opened in the 1980s and featured 30 stores. In 2003, the centre expanded to the old Dapto L ...
is fourth-largest
shopping centre A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...
in the
Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...
region, after competitors
Wollongong Central Wollongong Central is a large shopping centre in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. History Whilst Wollongong Central today is one complete shopping centre, it was originally two separate and distinct shopping centres. Crown Central shoppi ...
,
Stockland Shellharbour Stockland Shellharbour (previously known as Shellharbour Square) is a large indoor/outdoor Shopping center, shopping centre in the Shellharbour City Centre, New South Wales, Shellharbour City Centre of the Illawarra region. Transport Stocklan ...
and
Warrawong Plaza Warrawong Plaza (formerly Westfield Warrawong) is a major shopping centre located in Warrawong, a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. With a retail floor area of , it is currently the third largest shopping centre in the Illawarr ...
. Dapto Mall features
Big W Big W (stylised as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of the Woolworths Group and as of 2024 operated 179 stores, with around 18,000 emp ...
, Woolworths and Coles and around 66 stores.


Dapto Ribbonwood Centre

The centre was Dapto's new community centre after relocating in 2001, it is named so after the species of tree that is planted in front. The local library is located on topmost floor of Level 1. It also hosts several conference rooms that can be hired out for a variety of events, ranging from private, small gatherings, to large social events, such as entertainment. The Ribbonwood Centre is also the home of CPSA Dapto Seniors a 'not for profit' community organisation and the largest senior citizen group in the Illawarra, its fortnightly meetings and many weekly activities take place in Heininger House. Heininger House was incorporated in the Ribbonwood Centre when the community centre was constructed in 2001. File:Dapto_Ribbonwood_centre_north_facade.jpg, The northern façade File:Dapto_ribbonwood_centre_interior.jpg, The view from the interior of the library on Level 1


Education

The original Dapto Public School opened in August 1875, and was operated out of a local church hall. A permanent and more central location was opened on the corner of Byamee and Moombara Streets in 1928, which remained the schools' location until 2004. It was not accessible during the last few years. Due to large expansion of the Horsley area, the school relocated to Sierra Drive, Horsley, opening in 2004. The suburb has one high school, Dapto High School.


Dapto in Popular Culture

Dapto was mentioned in ''
The Aunty Jack Show ''The Aunty Jack Show'' is a Logie Award-winning Australian television comedy series that ran from 1972 to 1973. Produced by and broadcast on ABC-TV, the series attained an instant cult status that persists to the present day. The lead chara ...
'', as a parody of the lyrics of the Lucky Starr song "
I've Been Everywhere Ive or IVE may refer to: Music * Ive (group), a South Korean girl group * I've Sound (aka "I've"), a Japanese musical group People * Ive (given name), a Croatian and Slovenian given name * Bert Ive (1875–1939), British-born Australian cinema ...
" were changed so that, instead of listing a wide range of Australian towns, the song said "I've been to Wollongong, Wollongong, Wollongong, Wollongong,... Wollongong, Wollongong, Dapto, Wollongong". In a bizarre alternate universe, Dapto is the main setting for the adult animated television series ''
Koala Man ''Koala Man'' is a superhero animated sitcom created by Michael Cusack for Hulu. Developed by Cusack, Dan Hernandez, and Benji Samit, the series premiered on January 9, 2023 on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ in Australia. the series ...
'' that premiered on
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in the US and
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
in Australia on 9 January 2023. The series takes place in an alternate universe where the
sinking of the Titanic Titanic, RMS ''Titanic'' sank on 15 April 1912 in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, ''Titanic'' was four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, USA with ...
was averted, indirectly resulting in the United States of America being destroyed (except
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
becoming an island), Australia becoming the world’s superpower, and
Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...
becoming its Queen.


Churches


Dapto Anglican Church

The Dapto Anglican Church centre is adjacent to the Dapto Mall and the Dapto Greyhound Racing Club; it has services running from three other sites including the St Aidens building, the hall of Dapto Primary School on a Sunday morning, and the St Lukes Brownsville building (which is historically listed and over 100 years old). There are six services held weekly, as well as children and youth activities on Friday nights, children's programs on a Sunday morning and during the weeks of the school holidays, 'Cafe Church' during the week, and many one-off activities.


Dapto Uniting Church

Dapto Uniting Church is located in the heart of Dapto, next to the Dapto Medical Centre on the Princes Highway. Services are held at 9:30am every Sunday morning and incorporate both contemporary and tradition styles of worship. Children's programs are held during the Sunday service, Sunday's Cool, and there is a youth program, G1Youth of the second and fourth Saturday evening each month during school terms. The Dapto Uniting congregation is a healthy community composed of people of all generations, cultures and backgrounds. The Dapto Uniting Church traces its roots right back to 1841 when Sunday services were first held in a Dapto schoolroom under the leadership of Presbyterian minister Rev. John Tait. With the establishment of the railway network in 1887, the Dapto area experienced a period of continued urban expansion over the ensuing decades. The current red brick building, St Andrews, was officially opened and dedicated on 7 February 1959. Construction work commenced in 1981 to attach new hall facilities to the existing church building. For many years, the Dapto Uniting family has sought to serve the local community, through ministries such as the Op Shop, regular Market Days, Family Fun Days and group Heart & Soul Exercise sessions.


St John's Catholic Church

St John's Church is the public worship centre of Dapto's
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
population, and can be found in Jeramatta Street.


Notable people

* Bill Beach, rower * Michael Cusack, animator, co-creator of ''
Smiling Friends ''Smiling Friends'' is an adult animation, adult animated television series created by Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack (animator), Michael Cusack for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim, which revolves around the surreal misadv ...
'' *
Zac De Jesus Zachary De Jesus (born 4 February 2006) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a right back for Sydney FC. Early life De Jesus was raised in Dapto, New South Wales and began playing junior football at the age of four alongside ...
, soccer player *
Bobby Dimond Robert Henry Dimond (4 Nov 1929 – 30 May 2020) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He was selected to play for Australia and was a member of the 1948 Kangaroo Tour. He played 20 matches on the tour an ...
, rugby league player *
Peter Dimond Peter Dimond (28 November 1938 – 21 April 2021) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played his club rugby league for Western Suburbs. Born in Dapto, New South Wales, he is the younger brother of former Australian test player and Ne ...
, rugby league player *
Brian Johnson Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980 at the age of 32, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. Johnson was one of the founding members of th ...
, rugby league player *
Steve Kilbey Steven John Kilbey (born 13 September 1954) is an English born Australian singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist for the rock band The Church. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter. As of 2020, Kilbey has r ...
, singer-songwriter * John Makin AKA the Hatpin Murderer was a ' baby farmer' convicted for murder in 1892 * Paul McGregor, rugby league player * Fred Moore, activist * Herbert Swan, politician * Shannon Wakeman, rugby league player * Ryan Park, Member for Keira, Minister for Health, Minister for Regional Health, and Minister for the Illawarra and the South Coast


See also

*
Dapto Railway Station Dapto railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the South Coast railway line in the Wollongong suburb of Dapto, New South Wales, Australia. History The railway from Clifton to North Kiama, opened in 1887, continued t ...
* Scrapbooking Delights (art and craft space)


References


External links


Wollongong City Library – Dapto Local Statistics
{{Wollongong suburbs Suburbs of Wollongong City of Wollongong