Norah Head (originally known as Bungaree's Norah after the early colonial Indigenous explorer named

Bungaree Bungaree, or Boongaree ( – 24 November 1830), was an Indigenous Australian man from the Broken Bay region north of Sydney, who was known as an explorer, entertainer, and Aboriginal community leader.Barani (2013)Significant Aboriginal People ...

), is a headland and a coastal village in the Central Coast Council local government area on the Central Coast 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. Norah Head is known for its great surfing and clear beaches like Soldiers Beach near

Wyrrabalong National Park The Wyrrabalong National Park is a coastal national park that is located on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park consists of two sections; the northern section consists ...

and Pebbly Beach with Norah Head Rock Pool. The town is home to Norah Head Lighthouse with scenic views along the coast.

Lighthouse

The Norah Head Lighthouse was the last significant

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

built in New South Wales, a tower, completed in 1903 with monetary assistance from the Hargraves family of Noraville after considerable numbers of ships foundered on the coast near the headland. Originally it was powered by a

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

concentric wick lamp and still today it features a second order bivalve

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

prism floating on a mercury bath. At first, the

prism PRISM is a code name for a program under which the United States National Security Agency (NSA) collects internet communications from various U.S. internet companies. The program is also known by the SIGAD . PRISM collects stored internet ...

was rotated by descending weights, but the light was electrified in 1961 and fully automated in 1995. The light flashes once in 15 seconds, and is visible to , the

focal plane In Gaussian optics, the cardinal points consist of three pairs of points located on the optical axis of a rotationally symmetric, focal, optical system. These are the '' focal points'', the principal points, and the nodal points; there are two ...

is located at . For coastal shipping, two additional light signals are shown: a red light in the northeast sector, emitted from above the sea and a green one towards southwest, emitted from ; both are continuous. Norah Head Lighthouse is considered to be a popular venue for weddings. The former lighthouse keepers cottage (Head Keeper's separate cottage and two assistants semi-detached quarters) are maintained, and two of these are available for rent.

Heritage listings

Norah Head has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Bush Street: Norah Head Lightstation Precinct

World War II

Near the head, sea battles between the Japanese Navy and Merchant navy ships took place in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

: Three ships were sunk, ''Nimbin'', at , by a mine on 5 December 1940 and the fishing trawler ''Millimumul'' sank with the loss of seven men on 26 March 1941 when it trawled up a German mine laid by the mine ship Pinguin, as well as BHP Shipping's ''Iron Chieftain'', at by a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

on 3 June 1942. The ''Age'', at , was also attacked on the same day.

Demographics

As of the 2021 census, Norah Head had a population of 1,149. The majority of residents (86.6%) were born in Australia, with the next most common countries of birth being England (2.8%), Scotland (1.0%), and New Zealand (0.8%). The most common ancestries were Australian (45.7%), English (43.2%), and Irish (13.2%). English was the primary language spoken at home by 93.0% of the population, while other languages included Greek (0.7%), Spanish (0.6%), and Italian (0.5%). The most common religious affiliations were No Religion (35.2%), Catholic (26.7%), and Anglican (18.1%), with Christianity overall representing 59.7% of the population. Additionally, 5.1% of the population identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

Geology

There are several unique landforms around the head. Immediately in front of the head there is a rock platform which was formed in the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

periods around 180 - 280 million years ago. In the platform there is a volcanic intrusion, a channel of darker rock running from one side of the platform to the other. The intrusion was created by waves quarrying a softer basalt lava flow out of the surrounding granite. The lava came from an ancient volcano, probably Mount Warrawolong to the west.

Climate

Gallery

Image:Norah head lighthouse - wide view.JPG, Panoramic view File:Norah Head wild waves.gif, Wild waves happen often happen at Norah Head. File:Norah Head Merchant navy memorial.JPG, Merchant navy memorial File:NorahHeadNSW20100410-1.JPG, Beach off Norah Head File:NorahHeadNSW20100410-2.JPG, Rock platform off Norah Head File:NorahHeadNSW20100410-3.JPG, Looking back at the lighthouse from the rock platform File:NorahHeadNSW20100410-4.JPG, Fishing off Norah Head is a popular activity File:Norah Head rockpool.JPG, Norah Head rockpool at high tide

References

{{Navboxes , title= Suburbs of Central Coast Council , list = {{Suburbs of Central Coast (New South Wales) Australian Merchant Navy Suburbs of the Central Coast (New South Wales) Headlands of New South Wales