Wallsend is a western

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 Newcastle,

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, from Newcastle's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. It is split between the

local government areas 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 state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...

of City of Newcastle and

City of Lake Macquarie The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area (LGA) in the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city on 7 September 1984. It is adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is part of the Greater Newcastle area. ...

History

The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by City of Newcastle as the traditional custodians of the land situated within the Newcastle local government area, including wetlands, rivers, creeks, and coastal environments. It is known that their heritage and cultural ties to Newcastle date back tens of thousands of years. Lieutenant Edward Close, an engineer and founder of Morpeth, recorded that part of the Wallsend area was called Barrahinebin by the Aboriginal custodians. Close reported that Barrahinebin was used to describe the area bounded by the Hunter River, Ironbark Creek and Mount Sugarloaf. Wallsend was named after a North of England coal mining township, initially built at the end of a Roman defensive wall, a town to the east of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. The name was given to the area by Alexander Brown in the 1850s when he purchased land bounded by what are now Newcastle Road, Boundary, and Croudace Streets and beyond Gunambi Road. The company he formed to operate the

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...

which opened in January 1861 was called the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company.Norm Barney, "Growth Driven By Rich Coal Deposit", ''Newcastle Herald'' (supplement) 11 November 1997 page 7. The suburb began as two mining towns, Wallsend and Plattsburg. Wallsend was the more developed and as it grew it linked to Plattsburg via Nelson Street. Wallsend was proclaimed a separate municipality in early 1874, but the two areas had re-joined by 1915. The coal mined at Wallsend was of very good quality and the township prospered, creating the commercial hub it is today.Newcastle City Council, Discover our Suburbs
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Modern day Wallsend

Today Wallsend has outgrown the historic main street and received investment and expansion from local business and national companies. The main street of Wallsend has also experienced a changing face of business with new restaurants and real estate agencies, as well as home building companies occupying previous local businesses that have migrated to the larger Wallsend Village shopping centre (formerly owned by Stockland).

Education

Plattsburg Public School is a government co-educational school located on Ranclaud Street. There is another co-educational government primary school called Wallsend Public School located on 26 Martindale Street. There is also a Catholic co-educational primary school called St Patrick's Primary School located on Macquarie Street. Callaghan College Wallsend Campus is a Years 7–10 co-educational government high school located on Macquarie Street.

Heritage listings

Wallsend has one NSW heritage-listed site: * 76 Cowper Street: Wallsend Railway Goods Shed

Sports

* Wallsend Racecourse * Fletcher Football Club *Wallsend Athletics Club *Wallsend Touch Football Association

Notable people

Alexander Alam Anthony Alexander Alam (23 February 1896 – 9 August 1983) was an Australian businessman, politician and philanthropist. He was one of the longest-serving members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, and a prominent member of the Lebanes ...

(1896-1983), businessman and politician * William Brennan (1863-1937), politician * William Currey (1895-1938), politician and

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipient * Sonia Hornery (born 1961), politician * Jack Hughes, footballer * Clarence Jeffries (1894-1917), soldier and Victoria Cross recipient * John Morris (1936-2013), politician * David Watkins (1865-1935), politician

References

External links

Wallsend Town Committee: www.wallsendtown.com.au
{{City of Newcastle suburbs Suburbs of Newcastle, New South Wales History of Newcastle, New South Wales