Clifton Wollongong, New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 34°15′34″S150°58′09″E / 34.25944°S 150.96917°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 35 (2021 census) [1] | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 2515 | ||||||||||||||
Elevation | 80 m (262 ft) | ||||||||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | City of Wollongong | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Heathcote | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Cunningham | ||||||||||||||
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Clifton is a village on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, between Sydney and Wollongong. Along with nearby Coalcliff, the village began life as a coal-mining centre. It is situated on a narrow area between the sea and the Illawarra escarpment. The electrified South Coast railway line passes through, but the station at Clifton was closed in 1915. [2] It reopened on 4 July 1934 and closed for the last time on 27 November 1983, [3] at the time of double tracking and electrification.
The Sea Cliff Bridge, opened in 2005, restored the connection between Clifton and Coalcliff, broken by frequent rock falls onto this section of the Lawrence Hargrave Drive. The bridge lies parallel to the former "coal cliffs" and offers scenic views of the cliffs, the sea, and surrounding coastline.
In 1797, survivors of the Sydney Cove discovered coal in the 'Coal Cliffs'. Clifton was created with the construction of the Coal Cliff Colliery in 1877. It was situated on the southern end of the Stanwell Park Estate owned by surveyor Sir Thomas Mitchell. A number of weatherboard cottages with galvanised iron roofs had been built. The mine officially opened in 1878. In 1880, the School of Arts was established. Thomas Hale, the first mine manager, constructed a 500-foot (150 m) jetty out to sea and a slide down the 120-foot (37 m) cliff. This took coal to Hilda and Herga, two steam colliers built in Glasgow. Hilda struck a reef near Port Hacking in 1893. In 1878 the mine employed 73 men. By 1884 there were 150 miners, and coal production was 51,500 tons annually. Most of the miners lived, with their families, in Clifton. There was a post/telegraph office, school, (opened 1879), and James Farraher's Clifton Inn and in 1884 the press reported near 1000 residents, a large proportion of which worked at the mines. In 1879 a mail service to Bulli was established.
The mine closed after storms destroyed the jetty and job losses crippled the village. In 1887 the railway line had reached Clifton from Wollongong. Before this time four-horse coaches would travel between Wollongong and Clifton, starting from Wollongong at 5 am. In 1884 an Anglican and a Roman Catholic Church were built. A public hall was built in 1885. In 1887 the railway between Wollongong and Clifton was opened. In 1890 the Coal Cliff Coal and Land Company Ltd took over the colliery. In 1893 the Clifton School was opened. In 1910 the miners at the Coal Cliff Colliery went on strike for ten months. Also in 1910 the school of arts building was built. The strikers supplied some of the required labour for this project. In 1919 additions were made to the Catholic Church and it was blessed in a ceremony on the first of March.
From 8 to 10 May 1972, about sixty miners took over the mine at South Clifton in protest of its closure on May 5, ensuring the mine was reopened for a further period; all workers were returned to the payroll and promised work at other mines after the closure. [4]
The Imperial Hotel was established 1884 by Allan Broadhead as a miners Pub. [5] It closed in November 2002 after the collapse of Lawrence Hargrave Drive (now replaced by the Sea Cliff Bridge). It has now been purchased and restored by Shellharbour Workers Club. [6]
Wollongong 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 of the sea'. Wollongong lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 85 kilometres south of central Sydney. Wollongong had an estimated urban population of 302,739 at June 2018, making it the third-largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle and the tenth-largest city in Australia by population. The city's current Lord Mayor is Gordon Bradbery AM who was elected in 2021.
Bulli is a northern suburb of Wollongong situated on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia.
The Illawarra is a coastal region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour and the coastal town of Kiama. Wollongong is the largest city of the Illawarra with a population of 240,000, then Shellharbour with a population of 70,000 and Kiama with a population of 10,000. These three cities have their own suburbs. Wollongong stretches from Otford in the north to Windang in the south, with Maddens Plains and Cordeaux in the west.
Mount Keira is a suburb and mountain in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia.
Stanwell Park is a coastal village and northern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is the northernmost point of the Illawarra coastal strip and lies south of Sydney's Royal National Park. It is situated in a small valley between Bald Hill to the north, Stanwell Tops to the west and Mount Mitchell to the south. It has two lagoons from the village's two creeks, Stanwell and Hargrave Creeks and a beach running between headlands. Stanwell Park and the surrounding suburbs are colloquially referred to by its postcode 2508.
Thirroul is a northern seaside suburb of the city of Wollongong, Australia. Situated between Austinmer and Bulli, it is approximately 13 kilometres north of Wollongong, and 73 km south of Sydney. It lies between the Pacific Ocean and a section of the Illawarra escarpment known as Lady Fuller Park, adjacent to Bulli Pass Scenic Reserve.
The South Coast Railway is a commuter and goods railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry in New South Wales, Australia. Beginning at the Illawarra Junction, the line services the Illawarra and South Coast regions of New South Wales.
The South Coast Line (SCO) is an intercity rail service operated by NSW TrainLink that services the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The service runs from Central, and runs the entire length of the eponymous South Coast railway line to Bomaderry. The service also runs along the Eastern Suburbs railway line at peak hours and the Port Kembla railway line to Port Kembla. It is operated with NSW TrainLink H sets and Sydney Trains T sets, with Endeavour railcars operating the service on the non-electrified line between Kiama and Bomaderry.
Unanderra railway station is located on the South Coast railway line in the Wollongong suburb of Unanderra, New South Wales, Australia.
The Sea Cliff Bridge, together with the adjoining Lawrence Hargrave Drive Bridge, are two road bridges that carry the scenic Lawrence Hargrave Drive across the rockface on the Illawarra escarpment, located in the northern Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The balanced cantilever and incremental launching girder bridges link the coastal villages of Coalcliff and Clifton and carry two lanes of traffic, and a pedestrian walkway.
Lawrence Hargrave Drive, part of the Grand Pacific Drive, is a scenic coastal road and popular tourist drive connecting the northernmost suburbs of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, to Wollongong, in the south, and Sydney, in the north across the scenic Sea Cliff Bridges. It was named after Lawrence Hargrave, an Australian aviation pioneer who lived nearby.
Agecroft Colliery was a coal mine on the Manchester Coalfield that opened in 1844 in the Agecroft district of Pendlebury, Lancashire, England. It exploited the coal seams of the Middle Coal Measures of the Lancashire Coalfield. The colliery had two spells of use; the first between 1844 and 1932, when the most accessible coal seams were exploited, and a second lease of life after extensive development in the late 1950s to access the deepest seams.
Coalcliff is a town on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, between Sydney and Wollongong.
Austinmer is a northern village of Wollongong on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. It sits in the northern Illawarra region, south of Stanwell Park and immediately north of Thirroul.
Scarborough is a small northern seaside suburb of Wollongong on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. It sits in the northern Illawarra region on a narrow stretch between the Illawarra escarpment and sea cliffs.
Bellambi is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It has a railway station on the NSW TrainLink South Coast Line.
Whitburn Colliery was a coal mine located about three miles south of South Shields, North East England, located on the North Sea coast.
Port Kembla is a man-made cargo port or artificial harbour, with an outer harbour protected by breakwaters and an inner harbour constructed by dredging, located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia.
The coastal coal-carrying trade of New South Wales involved the shipping of coal—mainly for local consumption but also for export or coal bunkering—by sea to Sydney from the northern and southern coal fields of New South Wales. It took place in the 19th and 20th centuries. It should not be confused with the export coal trade, which still exists today. There was also an interstate trade, carrying coal and coke to other Australian states that did not have local sources of black coal.
Wollongong Harbour Precinct is a heritage-listed shipping harbour at Cliff Road and Endeavour Drive, in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1837. The historic precinct includes Belmore Basin, Government Dam, Government Basin, Stockade Point, Flagstaff Hill, Signal Hill, Brighton Beach, Boat Harbour and Fortress Hill. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 5 May 2010.