Wyee ( ) is a small town in the

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. ...

local government area of the

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

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 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 ...

. It is near the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

(opened 1892) on

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...

Central Coast & Newcastle Line The Central Coast & Newcastle Line (CCN) is an regional rail, intercity rail service that services the Upper North Shore, Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast and Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle regions. It connects the two large ...

. It had a population of 1,487 in 2001, which significantly increased to 2,588 in 2011, and decreased to 2,406 in 2016, but rose again in 2021 to 2,909. Parts of Wyee, particularly the area known as 'West Wyee', were originally subdivided as agricultural land. Some, including local councillors, have referred to it as a

shanty town A shanty town, squatter area, squatter settlement, or squatter camp is a settlement of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks, typically made of materials such as mud and wood, or from cheap building materials such as corrugated iron s ...

, noting that it has remained largely unchanged since

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 ...

. Wyee is said to be derived from an Awabakal Aboriginal term for "fire" or "place of bushfires". The

Awabakal The Awabakal people , are those Aboriginal Australians who identify with or are descended from the Awabakal tribe and its clans, Indigenous to the coastal area of what is now known as the Hunter Region of New South Wales. Their traditional te ...

are the traditional people of this area. Wyee is part of the

local government area but it lacks a connection to sewer system; there are the Hunter Water Sewage Treatment Plant and the Central Coast Council Treatment Plant in the area, in the neighbouring Central Coast region. Wyee Colliery, when State-owned, operated here 1962–2002. It re-opened in 2004–05 as Mannering Colliery, operated by the Centennial Coal Coy. In a part of the town west of the railway station known as West Wyee, people live in an informal settlement, without water and sewerage services. The area was subdivided in 1914 but not zoned for residential development.

History

Wyee is located in the traditional lands of the

people and is an Aboriginal expression meaning ''place of bushfires''. The town takes its name from the Wyee railway station. It was originally called Norahville, after its nearest coastal village. In 1887, with the breakthrough of the

Main Northern railway line The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia, running from Strathfield railway station, Strathfield in Sydney to Armidale railway station, Armidale. The 1980s saw the line clo ...

it was renamed Wyee. In 1839, philanthropist Thomas Walker granted the Wyee area of 1120 acres (4 km). He never took residence in attempts to make improvements and the grant was reverted to the Morisset Parish. In 2021, a sewer was constructed for the town, and 400 properties were connected. Wastewater was removed by truck from Karagi Street pump station until 2023, when a link to the Dora Creek Wastewater Treatment Works was completed.

References

External links

History of Wyee
(Lake Macquarie City Library) Towns in the Hunter Region Suburbs of Lake Macquarie {{LakeMacquarie-geo-stub