Berkeley, New South Wales

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Berkeley
Wollongong,  New South Wales
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Berkeley
Coordinates 34°28′50″S150°50′46″E / 34.48056°S 150.84611°E / -34.48056; 150.84611
Population7,798 (2021 census) [1]
Postcode(s) 2506 [2]
Elevation8 m (26 ft)
Location
LGA(s) City of Wollongong
State electorate(s) Wollongong [3]
Federal division(s) Whitlam [4]
Suburbs around Berkeley:
Unanderra Mount Saint Thomas Port Kembla
Kembla Grange Berkeley Cringila
Kanahooka Lake Illawarra Lake Heights

Berkeley is a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales. The suburb is located in Wollongong's southern suburbs, on the northern shore of Lake Illawarra, and is one of the city's most populous suburbs. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 7,798. [1]

Contents

History

Historically a farming community situated between the hills and Lake Illawarra, Berkeley became one of the Illawarra's solutions to a public housing shortage in the early years. Subsequently, several public housing developments were established and most of these are still in existence today in certain parts of the suburb. To date approximately close to one in four dwellings consist of public housing owned by Housing NSW. [5] The suburb has however enjoyed significant growth in the last two decades, with younger working families moving into the district in search of new homes. Berkeley's distance from Wollongong and vast space at the time identified it as an attractive option to new families and today much of the farmland is occupied by housing estates marketed as Regency Heights. The Berkeley of today houses a rich mix of Wollongong's community, different from that typically associated with the area in the 1980s.

Notable people

Vincent Massey (1926–2002), biochemist and enzymologist, was born in Berkeley.

Overview

The suburb is home to a small shopping precinct that contains a supermarket, petrol station, pub, post office, community swimming pool, medical centre and other specialty stores/services. A Community Centre provides a meeting place for local residents. By the lake there are stretches of parkland and several jetties which provide locals with lakeside recreation options. The Easts Group owns and operates the local Berkeley Sports and Social Club located just outside the shopping precinct. Fred Finch Park is home to baseball fields and both indoor and outdoor basketball courts, acting as a hub for sports in the local area.

Several of the early streets in Berkeley are named after the original farm owners of the district.

Nan Tien Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere, is located in the suburb.

There are currently two primary schools in the area, the Berkeley Public School and Berkeley West Public School. Berkeley South Public School was closed at the end of the 2009 school year due to low attendance and students were reassigned between the other two primary schools. Berkeley is also home to a public high school, the Illawarra Sports High School. Originally known as Berkeley High School, the school changed its name in 1998 in line with becoming a sports-oriented school.

Public transport is provided by Premier Illawarra, a bus company contracted by the New South Wales Ministry of Transport to provide services to most of the Illawarra region.

Due to a history of drug abuse problems in Berkeley and the surrounding suburbs, the area houses several specialist drug and alcohol treatment centres, which includes the Wollongong Crisis Centre and Kedesh House. The Lake Illawarra Local Area Command provides police response to the suburb with NSW Ambulance Service providing response from its Warrawong Station.

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References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Berkeley (State Suburb)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 July 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. ↑ Australia Post. "Postcode Search: Berkeley". Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  3. ↑ New South Wales Electoral Commission (29 January 2015). "Wollongong" . Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  4. ↑ Australian Electoral Commission (19 October 2007). "Localities: Federal Electorate Search: Berkeley". Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  5. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "2011 Community Profiles: Berkeley (State Suburb)". 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 24 February 2015. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
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