Stanwell Tops is an

exurban An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing-density, and relatively hi ...

locality between the cities of

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 ...

and

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 ...

on the

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 ...

coastline. It lies northwest of Stanwell Park and southwest of

Otford Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies on the River Darent, north of Sevenoaks. Otford's four churches are the Anglican Church of St Bartholomew in the village centre, the Otford Methodist C ...

Demography

With a population of 517 residents Stanwell Tops is almost entirely residential. In 1996

Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...

data reported Stanwell Tops as having the fourth-highest proportion of males in the state at 59.4%, however by 2011 Stanwell Tops had lost its

outlier In statistics, an outlier is a data point that differs significantly from other observations. An outlier may be due to a variability in the measurement, an indication of novel data, or it may be the result of experimental error; the latter are ...

status with that percentage figure dropping to 51.8%. The population of Stanwell Tops decreased from 545 to 471 between 1996 and 2011, indicating a loss of 13.6% of its residents. In the 2021 Census, 86.3% of people were born in Australia and 94.4% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 37.7%, Catholic 20.3% and Anglican 16.2%. Stanwell park had a few close shops to Stanwell Tops.

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

is the main town out of

Coalcliff Coalcliff is a town on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, between Sydney and Wollongong. History In 1796 William Clark and others trekking north to Port Jackson from the wrecked ship ''Sydney Cove'' noticed coal exposed at the cliffs t ...

, Stanwell Park, and Stanwell Tops because they have the same post code as the main town, Helensburgh.

Economy

There are no retail stores or industrial facilities in Stanwell Tops. Groceries, liquor, public hotels and some restaurants can be found in the surrounding towns and villages less than 10 minutes drive away. The majority of residents work either in the

Greater Sydney Greater Sydney is the most populous metropolitan area in Australia and Oceania. Located in the state of New South Wales, it encompasses the City of Sydney (the state capital), its neighbouring local government areas and surrounding regions. I ...

area or in the Wollongong metropolitan area, and the proportion of households whose income is above A$3000 per week is more than double the Australian national average. Businesses that operate in Stanwell Tops are the 'Tumbling Waters Retreat', 'The Tops Conference Centre' (formerly known as the Christian Conference Centre, a wholly owned subsidiary of Churches of Christ Community Care), 'Stanwell Tops Technical Services' and several hobby farms – some with farmstay options. At least one

hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sports, air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium al ...

businesses operates from

Bald Hill Bald Hill may refer to: * Bald Hill, Texas, unincorporated community in Texas, US * Bald Hill, Limestone County, Texas, ghost town in Texas, US; named for summit in Texas, US * Bald Hill (Australia), a popular lookout in Illawarra, New South Wales, ...

, which is technically a part of Stanwell Tops.

Geography

Stanwell Tops rests on the

Illawarra escarpment The Illawarra escarpment, or officially the Illawarra Range, is the fold-created cliffs and plateau-eroded outcrop mountain range west of the Illawarra coastal plain south of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The range enclose ...

, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the neighbouring village of Stanwell Park. It is bounded on all sides by state-forest reserves and other forested crown lands, which are contiguous with the

Royal National Park The Royal National Park is a state park, protected national park that is located in the Sutherland Shire local government area in Southern Sydney and in the City of Wollongong local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Au ...

and the

Garawarra State Conservation Area The Garawarra State Conservation Area is a protected conservation area that is located on the southern suburban fringe of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The reserve abuts the Royal National Park and is ...

History

Stanwell Tops has its origins as a private parcel of land owned by property developer Henry Ferdinand Halloran. Since the 1930s, the area had been host to health retreats, recreational facilities, and popular bushwalking tracks. The Stanwell Tops Pleasure Park complex operated during the 1930s and 1940s and evolved into a caravan park, until it was shut down in 1951 due to stagnating business. At the same time, the majority of the site was subdivided and sold, creating the permanent community that exists today. The site of the dance hall, the only remaining building of the former Pleasure Park, remained unused until it was sold in 1970 to a private owner who renamed the property and the accompanying mineral pools as the 'Garden of Peace', a meditation retreat and de facto community centre. At the turn of the century, the site was sold again and in 2003 opened as the boutique hotel and function centre 'Tumbling Waters Retreat'. At the same time as the original Pleasure Park, the Princess Marina Cliff Walk was established; also by Henry Halloran. The walk extended throughout the surrounding bushlands and is still largely intact. Another walking track, the Wodi Wodi trail, links Stanwell Tops with Stanwell Park railway station.

Indigenous history

Stanwell Tops is a part of the Aboriginal land formerly occupied by the

Tharawal people The Tharawal people and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Yuin language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, scattered along the coasta ...

, specifically the

Wodi Wodi WODI (1230 AM) was a sports talk formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Brookneal, Virginia, serving Brookneal and Altavista in Virginia. WODI was last owned and operated by JKC Media Ventures LLC. In September 2013, it was reported t ...

clan.

Recent history

Black Christmas 2001

On 25 December 2001, Stanwell Tops and

were the sites of the most dangerous bushfire to reach the area in living memory. The fire affected the entire population of both localities, with 12 homes and two businesses destroyed and more damaged.

residents were issued with a general evacuation order. The immediate fire danger lasted from midday on 25 December until midnight.

was still closed for the next three days due to the health hazard associated with a malfunctioning electricity grid, and sewage and water systems, which were also damaged in the fire. Local community groups remarked on the solidarity of residents during the crisis, particularly in helping to preserve property; however opinions of the actions of authorities were mixed. An official inquiry found that fire originated from powerlines operated by

Integral Energy Integral energy is the amount of energy required to remove water from soil with an initial water content \theta_i to water content of \theta_f (where \theta_i > \theta_f). It is calculated by integrating the water retention curve, soil water pote ...

, and that the company was liable for compensation claims made by residents of affected homes and businesses. In 2008, five

firefighters who responded to the

Black Christmas bushfires In Australia, during winter and spring 2001, low rainfall across combined with a hot, dry December created ideal conditions for bushfires. On the day of Christmas Eve, firefighters from the Grose Vale Rural Fire Service (RFS) brigade attended ...

were awarded bravery medals and meritorious conduct awards by the

NSW Fire Brigades Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) previously known as NSW Fire Brigades (NSWFB), is a government agency, agency of the New South Wales Government, Australia. FRNSW is responsible for firefighting, rescue and hazardous material, HAZMAT services in the ...

, as well as a Commissioner's Commendation for their courageous efforts during both the

and the

Waterfall rail accident The Waterfall rail accident was a train accident that occurred on 31 January 2003 near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia. The train derailed, killing seven people aboard, including the train driver, and injuring 40. The accident is famous ...

Development controversies

The nearby town of

has been the subject of numerous proposals, beginning in the early 1970s, for expanded urban development. Since then, various additions to the township have moved its effective boundary closer to Stanwell Tops, however development that would increase the urban footprint of Stanwell Tops itself has not been approved. More recent proposals that included plans for expanding Stanwell Tops as well as

and

were submitted to

Wollongong City Council The City of Wollongong is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the Tasman Sea, the Princes Motorway and the Illawarra railway line. Located south of Sydney, the City of ...

from 2004 onwards. Proposals to rezone Environmentally Protected '7(d)' zones in 2010 and 2011 were met with large-scale community opposition.

References

External links

* {{Coord, -34.2199, 150.99181, format=dms, type:city_region:AU-NSW, display=title Suburbs of Wollongong