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
City of Maitland
The City of Maitland is a local government area in the lower Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Hunter railway line.
The mayor of the City of Maitland is Cr. Philip ...
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 ...
in the
Hunter Region
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...
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 from the Maitland CBD. Prior to 1967, the village was named East Greta however this was changed to honour former Maitland mayor and member of the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...
John Gillies following a poll of residents. At the 2021 census, Gillieston Heights had a population of 4,796.
History
The
traditional owners
Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
and custodians of the Maitland area are the Wonnarua people.
Following the discovery of high quality coal by prospector T.W. Edgeworth David in 1888, a group of local businessmen purchased of land surrounding present-day Gillieston Heights and were within weeks able to produce coal which was transported by dray to Maitland for sale. To capitalise on this success, the East Greta Coal Mining Company was established in 1891. The company constructed a railway line from West Maitland to the East Greta colliery, completed in 1893. Orders to supply coal for power companies in
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 ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and
Bundaberg
Bundaberg () is the major regional city in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the List of cities in Australia by population, ninth largest city in the state. The Bundaberg central business district is situa ...
saw the company declare a dividend in 1896 and expand its operations, sinking a second mine shaft the same year.
As the coal mining activities in the area were expanded, the railway line from Maitland was extended further to the south, and a station platform was opened at East Greta in 1902, with passenger services to Stanford Merthyr near the town of
Kurri Kurri
Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the , its population was 6,174. Kurri Kurri is the largest town in a group of towns and hamlets, including Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, We ...
. Initially, passengers had to walk to Maitland railway station to connect with trains operated by
New South Wales Government Railways
New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in the colony, and then the state, of New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932.
History
The NSWGR built ...
, but in 1903 this service was extended to Maitland, and a year later to Cessnock on the newly extended South Maitland Railway. Mining operations at the East Greta colliery ceased following a miners strike in 1929 and subsidence caused by floods in 1930s damaged the workings. After closure the plant & rail sidings at the 2 collieries were soon removed. The village consisting of permanent dwellings which had been erected to house miners remained. After the closure of the mine, the town continued to be served by passenger trains until 1967 when the privately run passenger service over the line between Cessnock and Maitland ended. Coal traffic over the line to services to collieries in the Cessnock area continued.
Since 2005, Gillieston Heights has experienced rapid population growth, with large residential developments approved as part of the Maitland City Council's urban settlement strategy. The population doubled between 2005 and 2011, with the rapid growth placing pressure on Gillieston Public School, leading to the acquisition of more land for future expansion.
Population
According to the 2021 census, there were 4,796 people in Gillieston Heights.
* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 7.9% of the population.
* 87.7% of people were born in Australia and 90.1% of people spoke only English at home.
* The most common responses for religion were No Religion 45.6%, Catholic 20.0% and Anglican 16.2%.
Transport
Gillieston Heights is served by Rover Coaches route 164 to Cessnock and Maitland. The rapid population growth in the suburb and other former mining villages in the area has led to calls by Maitland and Cessnock councils to reinstate passenger services on the South Maitland Railway, connecting to
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
to ease congestion on regional roads. A new station at Gillieston Heights has been identified as a priority.