Forresters Beach is a coastal

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 ...

of the Central Coast 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 between

Terrigal Terrigal is a coastal town on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located east of Gosford on the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the local government area. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of . History Terrigal was fi ...

and

Bateau Bay Bateau Bay is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. "Bateau" is French for "boat." Geography Bateau Bay is about 6 km south of the town of The Entrance and 17 km northeast of Gosford's central busines ...

. It forms part of 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 ...

. Forresters Beach's reef breaks are well known to surfers. Its name comes from Robert Forrester who purchased of land in 1861.

Population

In the 2016 Census 2,900 people resided in Forresters Beach. 82.5% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 4.8%. 92.1% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 30.8%, Catholic 25.0% and Anglican 20.7%.

Retirement Village

The Glen Group sought to purchase land in 2004 to build a large Retirement Village at Forresters Beach. Local residents, who felt that the new village would increase population density and the "isolation" of the area would become endangered, opposed the sale. Local residents went to the local council in an attempt to block the development; however, the attempt failed and the village was built. In 2006 the village became open for retirees to move in. The Village took the place of Forresters Beach Fun Park which throughout the years had been home to Forresters Beach Bowling Alley, Waterslides, Maze, Bungey Jumping, Go-Karts and home of the Forresters Beach Markets, which were popular in the 1990s. The Putt Putt and Swingers 9 Hole golf course no longer remain in the area.

Wyrrabalong National Park

The park covers 597 ha but is divided into two separate areas. Wyrrabalong, meaning 'headland looking over the sea' is a word of the Darkinjung people who once occupied the narrow strip of coastline between Forresters Beach and Bateau Bay, which now constitutes the southern section of the park (140 ha). The southern section is characterised by high, exposed coastal cliffs of sandstone and shale and extensive rock platforms at either end that are ideal for fishing and exploring at low tide. There are woodlands of blackbutt, spotted gum and bloodwood along the plateau, with shrubs and heath (mostly coastal banksia and she-oak) on the gentler slopes to the west. Marine and bird life are abundant in the area. Fauna includes goannas, bandicoots, fantails and the tawny frogmouth. Wyrrabalong Lookout is located on Cromarty Hill. There is a car park and an adjacent concrete platform with views to the south and west. This site is also the major TV tower translator for the Wyong area, broadcasting as far as Yarramalong. A short path leads to Wyrrabalong Lookout on the cliff's edge, 132 m above sea-level, from where there are views south to The Skillion. A 1.6 km walking track leads along the cliffs through the attractive woodland to the other viewing platform, Crackneck Lookout (95 m high) where there is a large clearing and car park with information boards and a picnic-barbecue area.

References

{{Suburbs of Central Coast (New South Wales) Suburbs of the Central Coast (New South Wales)