Central Coast (New South Wales)
The Central Coast is a peri-urban region lying on the Pacific Ocean in northern New South Wales, Australia, just north of Sydney. The area is the third-largest urban area in New South Wales and the ninth-largest urban area in the country.
The Central Coast is generally considered to include the region bounded by the Hawkesbury River in the south, the Watagan Mountains in the west and Lake Macquarie, lying on the Sydney basin. The region is filled with subtropical national parks, forests and also encompasses the major coastal waterways of Brisbane Water, Tuggerah Lakes and southern Lake Macquarie. The region's hinterland has fertile valleys, rural farmland and wineries, and also includes the Watagan Mountains.
Gosford is the main commercial hub and gateway. The region is known for coastal towns like Woy Woy, Terrigal, The Entrance, Ettalong Beach, Budgewoi and Bateau Bay. They feature resorts, holiday parks and many expansive beaches and lagoons with surfing and coastal tracks, as well as scenic views.
History
The region has been inhabited for thousands of years by Aboriginal people. The local Kuringgai people were the first Aboriginal people to come in contact with British settlers. An Aboriginal man from the region named Bungaree became one of the most prominent people of the early settlement of New South Wales. He was one of the first Aboriginal people to learn English and befriended the early governors Phillip, King and Macquarie. He accompanied explorer Matthew Flinders in circumnavigating Australia. Macquarie later declared Bungaree "The King of the Broken Bay Tribes".In addition to Kuringgai-speaking people, Awabakal lived around Lake Macquarie, and Darkinyung people lived inland, to the west of the Mooney Mooney Creek. The Kuringgai, Awaba and Darkinyung languages are related to each other, but are distinct from the Dharrug and Sydney languages that were spoken south of the Central Coast. Post-settlement disease, disruption and war greatly reduced the numbers of Aboriginal people.
In 1811, the Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, gave the first land grant in the region to William Nash, a former marine of the First Fleet. No further grants were made in the area until 1821.
Geography
The region is a network of towns that have been linked in recent years by expanding suburban development. The main urban cluster of the region surrounds the northern shore of Brisbane Water and includes the Coast's largest population centre, Gosford, stretching east to the retail centre of Erina. Other major commercial "centres" on the Coast are Wyong, Tuggerah, Lakehaven, The Entrance, Terrigal, Bateau Bay and Woy Woy.On 2 December 2005, the Central Coast was officially recognised as a stand-alone region rather than an extension of Greater Sydney or the Hunter Valley. The New South Wales government reclassified the area as Regional, rather than its previous status as part of the Greater Sydney metropolitan area.
Climate
The Central Coast has a humid subtropical climate, with warm humid summers and mild winters. Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year, but is slightly more frequent during autumn. Winter is the driest time, with often minimal to no rain.Population
The Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes population census data and regular population estimates on the Central Coast under a Significant Urban Area. In 2021, the estimated population of this region was 343,180, with population forecasts projecting it will grow by more than 20 per cent to 415,050 by 2035.The median age was 43, with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of 4.9%. The main countries of birth were Australia, United Kingdom, and New Zealand. ABS currently includes the Central Coast region population wholly within Greater Sydney which results in Greater Sydney's population being larger than that of Greater Melbourne.
Education
The Central Coast has two campuses of the University of Newcastle located at Ourimbah and Gosford Hospital.There are three campuses of the Hunter Institute of TAFE located at Gosford, Wyong and Ourimbah along with multiple private colleges.
The Central Coast has a large number of primary and secondary school institutions.
Culture
Media
Television
The Central Coast has four broadcast translators across the region, located at Bouddi, Gosford and Wyong, and Mount Sugarloaf. Due to the Central Coast being split between the Sydney and Northern NSW licence areas, these translators carry stations from both areas.In total eight television stations service the Central Coast:
- ABC New South Wales
- SBS New South Wales
- Seven Sydney
- Nine Sydney
- 10 Sydney
- Seven Northern NSW
- Nine Northern NSW
- 10 Northern NSW – Network 10 owned and operated station
Radio
The Central Coast has a number of local radio stations. The three largest commercial stations are Triple M Central Coast, Star 104.5, Hit101.3 Central Coast, all being part of national networks.The ABC Local Radio station, ABC Central Coast broadcasts on 92.5 FM operates a locally produced breakfast show from 6am to 9am weekdays from its studio in Gosford. A 24-hour Country music station TodayCountry94one is based in Gosford and broadcasts online and in syndication across the country. It also has a Christian radio station Rhema FM on 94.9 MHz. As at January 2021, The Central Coast has a locally based internet Radio Station providing locals with a radio station being broadcast by local presenters from their place of business/home.
In most locations on the Central Coast, Sydney and Newcastle radio stations can be received at reasonable levels particularly on the AM band.
A series of locally owned local papers have grown in popularity over time. Central Coast Community News services the Central Gosford region and the Coast Community Chronicle services the northern part of the region and the Pelican Post services the postcodes of 2256 and 2257. All are published by a local independent publishing house Central Coast Newspapers bucking the trend in declining newspaper sales. The Peninsula News run by a community association services the southern part of the region centred around the Woy Woy area with a fortnightly paper. Previously the major print publication of the region was the weekly Central Coast Express Advocate, published by News Limited's News Local, though that ceased printing in 2019. It is now purely a subscription-based online service.
Theatre
The area has four operating theatres.Laycock Street Community Theatre, opened in 1988 located in Wyoming next to Gosford, has a proscenium arch configuration and seats 396 patrons. The venue also contains a multi-purpose 100 capacity studio space suitable for cabaret performances, solo acts, events, conferences, meetings, other small performance acts. Across its long history of presenting performances on the Central Coast it has supported original work by locals as well as performances by some of Australia's leading theatre companies and commercial producers. The nearby local amateur theatre group, the Gosford Musical Society, currently contribute 5 musicals a year including two specifically for young performers.
The Peninsula Theatre at Woy Woy features a 122-seat raked auditorium, 49m2 stage area and professional standard staging, lighting and sound capabilities. Local performing arts society Woy Woy Little Theatre uses The Peninsula Theatre as their key presenting venue for over 50 performances per year.
The largest theatre on the Central Coast is The Art House, Wyong, which opened in May 2016 and replaced the old Wyong Memorial Hall which was used mainly by Wyong Musical Theatre Company and Wyong Drama Group. The Art House is a multipurpose venue with a 500-seat proscenium arch theatre with a 12m x 9m stage and automated fly tower as well as a 285m2 studio space with retractable tiered seating for 130 people and AV link to the main theatre. The Art House also features a 500m2 space suited to functions and events, as well as an exhibition wall ideal for visual art and photography displays. The opening of this venue saw a sudden growth in arts companies producing theatre in the region including Endless Night Theatre Company, Nate Butler's Studio, Salt House Theatre Company, and the regions only youth theatre body, Jopuka Productions.
In late 2018, the Elderslee Foundation purchased a large building along the Tuggerah Strait close to Wyong which has subsequently been renovated and repurposed into a community facility, including office facilities, hot desks, training rooms, a commercial kitchen and art exhibition space for use by the community and the Red Tree Theatre, a small adaptable space for forums, seminars, concerts, theatre rehearsals and productions. The Red Tree Theatre features a 144-seat ranked auditorium equipped with professional standard lighting and sound.
Sport
represent the Central Coast in the A-League. The Mariners have been A-League premiers twice, and were A-League champions in 2013 as well as in 2023 and again in 2024. The Mariners play out of Central Coast Stadium at Gosford, the largest stadium on the Central Coast with a capacity of 20,059.The Wyong Roos currently play in the Intrust Super Premiership at Morry Breen Oval in Kanwal. They are the feeder team of the Sydney Roosters National Rugby League team, who have developed an agreement to play one regular season fixture per year at Central Coast Stadium for five years, starting in 2015. The South Sydney Rabbitohs also play regular games.
The Central Coast Rhinos played in the Australian Ice Hockey League from 2006 to 2008 and the Australian International Ice Hockey Cup from 2009 to 2012. They played out of Erina Ice Arena at Erina Fair, which is the Central Coast's only ice rink. The Erina Ice Arena has been closed since the 19th of August 2019 for renovations and is looking to reopen on the 2nd of January 2021.
Other teams include the Central Coast Crusaders – the elite senior basketball program of the Central Coast region and the Central Coast Centurions – the Central Coast's junior rugby league representative team who compete in the S.G. Ball Cup and the Harold Matthews Cup.
Several attempts have been made to have teams enter other national competitions. The most notable of these was the attempt to enter the Central Coast Bears as the 16th team into the NRL. This attempt was financed by a consortium led by John Singleton, but the Gold Coast Titans were ultimately successful. The Northern Eagles, a merger of NRL clubs Manly Sea Eagles and North Sydney Bears began their tenure playing half of their games at Gosford; however, within three years the team was solely playing back at Brookvale. South Sydney were also unsuccessfully approached to play out of Gosford, despite the few games that are played on the Central Coast attracting large crowds. The Central Coast Storm rugby league team play in a number of NSWRL lower grade competitions, and the Central Coast Waves rugby union team plays in the Shute Shield. The Central Coast Rays rugby union club who competed in the ill-fated Australian Rugby Championship's only season late in 2007, called Central Coast Stadium home.
The Central Coast has numerous sporting ovals, golf courses, skate parks, tennis courts and swimming pools that are open to the public and one target shooting facility. Attempts are underway to build a series of bicycle paths. A velodrome is also open to the public at West Gosford. National parks on the Central Coast have a large range of walking paths and mountain bike trails. Water sports like sailing, rowing and water skiing are popular activities on the Central Coast lakes. Attempts are being made to attract pro golf tournaments to Magenta Shores. In 2011, the frigate was scuttled off North Avoca Beach as an artificial reef.