| Coalcliff Wollongong, New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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 Paterson Road in Coalcliff | |||||||||||||||
  Coalcliff | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°14′38″S150°58′25″E / 34.24389°S 150.97361°E [1] | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 189 (2016 census) [2] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2508 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 75 m (246 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | City of Wollongong | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Heathcote | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Cunningham | ||||||||||||||
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Coalcliff is a town on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, between Sydney and Wollongong.
In 1796 William Clark and others trekking north to Port Jackson from the wrecked ship Sydney Cove noticed coal exposed at the cliffs there and made a fire from it, attracting rescuers, giving the area its name. [3] George Bass was despatched to report on it and traced the deposit along the shore and inland. [4] There was nowhere for ships to safely land though, so it was not until 1850 that it began to be excavated.
The Coalcliff Colliery, opened in 1878, was originally developed as a jetty mine. The mine entrance was an adit driven into six-foot thick coal seam that was exposed in face of the sea-cliff, less than forty feet above sea level. Coal from the mine, after screening, was brought directly onto the jetty. This arrangement made working the mine difficult, as there was limited storage for mined coal and only coal that could be shipped promptly could be mined. [5] [6]
Storms in 1878, [7] 1881 and 1904 caused considerable damage to the jetty, further restricting shipping operations while damage was repaired and the jetty design modified.
The jetty at Coalcliff was the smallest of the ocean jetties of the southern coalfield. It was very exposed to ocean swell, and shifting sand shoals added to the danger by changing the depth of water near the jetty. [8] The jetty was used only by the colliery's own 'sixty-milers' and then only in favourable weather. Those ships were designed to have a shallow draft and self-trimming hatches, to minimise the chance of touching bottom during loading and to allow quick departures to be made. [9] Difficulties with loading exacerbated the problems of operating the jetty mine and limited the amount of coal that could be sold.
After the South Coast railway line opened in 1888, there was increased competition from mines that delivered coal by rail or used the railway to access more reliable and larger ports such as Port Kembla, Bulli or Bellambi. The jetty mine operation became financially precarious [10] and operated only intermittently. [5] In 1910, a shaft was opened that allowed coal from the mine to be transported by rail. After 1910, very little coal was loaded at the jetty and the jetty closed by 1912. [11]
The Coalcliff Mine went on to become one of the largest underground and longest-lived mines. It remained in production for 114 years. Around the time that it closed in 1992, the mined coal emerging at Coalcliff was coming underground from as far away as near Darkes Forest. [10]
In 1888 the Coalcliff General Store opened at 28 Paterson Road (once referred to as the 'main street') by Mr John Earle Gibbons and his wife, son and daughter-in-law of Matthew John Gibbons who arrived in Australia in 1790 as a convict on the Second Fleet, and was one of Coalcliff's earliest residents. Architecturally the store was of plain colonial style, constructed of local wood with a sandstone foundation. It sold, amongst other household items, milk, bread, butter, drinks, meat, stationery, cigarettes and other tobacco paraphernalia, jams, preserves, poultry and bakery products. The shop was the major lifeforce behind the township until closure in 1907. The same year the shop was burned to the ground via unknown causes and remained a vacant lot until 1910 when another store was erected and opened by a Mr. L. Jameson. This is the building that still stands today at the corner on Paterson Road, which has been a private residential property since 1961.
The Jameson Store was the last running commercial outlet in Coalcliff, which ceased operation in May 1960 due to excessive running costs and a severe lack of customers, with many of the towns-people opting to shop at nearby Stanwell Park, Helensburgh or south to Bulli and Wollongong. At the height of its popularity it served as a milkbar, fish and chip shop, general store, tobacconist and bottle shop. Its unsurpassable views meant it was a popular place for holidayers passing by.
The only evidence of this once thriving store are the fading advertisements painted to its side and roof.
The Sea Cliff Bridge was opened on 11 December 2005 and offers a spectacular walkway and cycleway above the ocean and along the escarpment. There are splendid views offered towards Wollongong and Port Kembla in the south and Bald Hill and the Royal National Park in the north.
This also forms part of The Grand Pacific Walk which is currently being constructed through Coalcliff.
The Wodi Wodi Track can be accessed on Lawrence Hargrave Drive at the northern end of Coalcliff.
Coalcliff beach offers great surfing conditions and an ocean pool. Access to the pool from Lawrence Hargrave Drive is through Leeder Park, named after Noel Leeder who was a Manager at the Coalcliff Cokeworks in the 1960s and ensured the park be established.
There are public toilets and showers in Leeder Park and at the surf club.
Coalcliff hosts its own Surf Life Saving Club with events like Nippers in summertime and assuring beach safety. The Sea Eels winter swimming club takes place in the ocean pool and is co-organised with the Helensburgh-Stanwell Park Surf Life Saving Club such as the yearly 2.4 km Ocean Challenge swim between the two clubs in early April.
Coalcliff hosted the Illawarra Coke Company (ICC) until it was shutdown in recent years. The Cokeworks here and at Corrimal produced approximately 250,000 tonnes of coke per annum using non-recovery technology.
Wollongong, colloquially referred to as The Gong, 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.
Mount Kembla is a suburb and a 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.
Otford is a village in the Otford Valley located 55 km south of the Sydney and 30 km north of the Wollongong CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Otford is within the local government area of the City of Wollongong.
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.
Bald Hill is a hill on the Illawarra Range, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. With an elevation of approximately 180 metres (590 ft) AMSL, Bald Hill is one of the best known and most popular lookouts in the Illawarra region providing panoramic vistas across the Illawarra escarpment and over the Illawarra plain and the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean.
Coalcliff railway station is located on the South Coast railway line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the seaside village of Coalcliff opening in August 1920. A yard exists south of the station for the Illawarra Coke Company's Coalcliff Cokeworks. Although rail transport had ceased some time prior, the cokeworks remained open until mid-2013. A passing loop to the east of the station remains in use. South of the station the double line becomes single to pass through Coalcliff Tunnel.
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 encloses the Illawarra region which stretches from Stanwell Park in the north to Kiama, Gerringong and the Shoalhaven River in the south.
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. It reopened on 1934-07-04 and closed for the last time on 1983-11-27, at the time of double tracking and electrification.
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.
The city of Wollongong has a distinct geography. It lies on a narrow coastal plain flanked by the Pacific Ocean to the east and a steep sandstone precipice known as the Illawarra Escarpment to the west, most notably Mount Keira, joined to the escarpment by a high saddle.
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.
Sixty-miler (60-miler) is the colloquial name for the ships that were used in the coastal coal trade of New South Wales, Australia. The sixty-milers delivered coal to Sydney from ports and ocean jetties to the north and south. The name refers to the approximate distance by sea—actually 64 nautical miles—from the Hunter River mouth at Nobbys Head to the North Head of Sydney Harbour.
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.
Media related to Coalcliff, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons