Wollongong Hotels
Hotels in Wollongong are often needed by tourists who require short term accommodation. Some may want to stay at high quality hotels in the city. Some may want to stay at large or small hotels in the city. Some may want to stay at hotels thaty have accessto culture and to entertainment. Some may want to stay at hotels that are well known and have access to scenery. Some may want to stay at hotels that are well known. Some may want to stay at hotels thaty have impressive reviews. Some may want to stay at hotels that have access to scenery.
Wollongong, Australia is a place where many tourists would like to visit. Some may want to stay at high quality hotels.
Wollongong is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney.
Wollongong is the 3rd largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle, and the 9th largest city in Australia. The metropolitan area extends from Helensburgh in the north to Gerroa in the south, and is administered by the Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama councils.
Known affectionately as the Gong, Wollongong is a city with a long history of mining and industry, having coal mines, a steelworks and an industrial port. The city also attracts numerous tourists each year, and is a regional centre for the South Coast fishing industry.
The city of Wollongong has a distinct geography. It lies on a narrow coastal plain flanked by the Pacific Ocean (or Tasman Sea) to the east and a steep sandstone precipice known as the Illawarra Escarpment to the west. The coastal plain is widest in the south and narrowest in the north, with the city centre located about midway.
The escarpment ranges between 150 and 750 metres above sea level, with locally famous mountains such as Mount Keira (464m), Mount Kembla (534m), Broker's Nose (440m) and Mount Murray (768m) to the south. It contains strata of coal measures, and the adit entrances to many coal mines have been established along the slopes of the escarpment throughout Wollongong. Suburbia encroaches on the escarpment’s lower slopes in some areas, but the majority remains in a relatively natural state forested with dry sclerophyll and pockets of temperate rainforest. The escarpment is largely protected by a State Conservation Area and local council zoning, and provides a scenic backdrop to the city.
In the north the coastal plain becomes so narrow that the coastal road Lawrence Hargrave Drive once precariously hugged the cliffline until rock falls forced its closure. It was replaced in 2005 by the Sea Cliff Bridge. The bridge carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic just off the coast, crossing the submerged rock shelf. The South Coast railway line must go through several tunnels to reach the Sydney metropolitan area. The Southern Freeway and Old Princes Highway provide alternative inland routes, descending the escarpment further south at Bulli Pass or at Mount Ousley, entering just north of Wollongong's city centre.
To
the south the plain reaches its maximum extent around Albion Park where it incorporates
a large coastal saltwater lagoon called Lake Illawarra, separated from the Pacific
Ocean by a long sandy spit.
The coastal strip consists of highly fertile alluvium, which made Wollongong so attractive to agriculturists in the nineteenth century. It contains many hills including the foothills of the escarpment’s lower slopes, and while these generally do not exceed one hundred metres in height they give much of the city an undulating character. The coastal strip is traversed by several short but flood-prone and fast-flowing streams and creeks such as Para Creek, Allans Creek, Mullet Creek and Macquarie Rivulet.
The coastline consists of many beaches characterised by fine pale gold-coloured sands; however, these beaches are sometimes interrupted by prominent and rocky headlands jutting into the sea. In places these headlands have been excavated or extended to create artificial harbours at Wollongong, Port Kembla, Shellharbour and Kiama. Just off the coast south of Wollongong centre, near Port Kembla, lies a group of five islands known collectively as The Five Islands. The islands are a wildlife refuge.
The inner city area includes the suburbs of Wollongong and North Wollongong, extending from Para Creek in the north, west to include the Wollongong Hospital, and south to the Greenhouse Park.
The CBD is a major commercial hub containing many department stores and specialty shops, offices and entertainment venues. It is centred around the Crown Street Mall, and approximates the area bounded by Market Street, Corrimal Street, Burelli Street and the railway line. Surrounding the CBD lies a mixture of parks, reserves, light commercial property, houses and multi-story residential units. Multi-story housing is evident particularly on Smith’s Hill north-east of the CBD, reflecting the popularity of combining inner-city living, coastal views and a beachside lifestyle.
To the east of the city lies Flagstaff Point, a rocky headland with eroded low cliffs topped by a grassy hill. The northern side of the point was excavated by convict labour to form Belmore Basin, and later extended with the northern breakwater to create Wollongong Harbour. The area is the site of a historic fort, several restored canons and two lighthouses, a feature peculiar to the east coast of Australia. The older Wollongong Breakwater Lighthouse located at the harbour entrance was made of wrought iron plates in 1871 and has become an icon of the city. The newer Wollongong Head Lighthouse was constructed in 1936 atop the Flagstaff Hill and is still in use today. Belmore Basin houses the commercial fishing fleet and Fisherman’s Co-op, while the main harbour shelters private vessels.
The main beaches of central Wollongong are North Wollongong (or simply North) Beach extending from the harbour up to the Para Creek logoon and Puckeys Estate Reserve, and Wollongong City Beach extending south from Flagstaff Point and into Coniston Beach.
The area was originally inhabited by the Dharwal (or Turuwal) Indigenous Australians. The first Europeans to visit the area were the navigators George Bass and Matthew Flinders who landed in Lake Illawarra in 1796. The first settlers in the region were cedar cutters in the early nineteenth century, followed by graziers in 1812. Charles Throsby established a stockman's hut in the area in 1815. The first land grants were made in 1816. In 1830 a military barracks was constructed near the harbour. Further settlers arrived and in 1834 a town was planned. On the 26th of November, 1834, the town was first gazetted and George Brown erected the first courthouse. The now main road down the Escarpment through Bulli Pass was built by convict labour in 1835-6, though other passes were built during the 1800s as well such as O'Brien's Road and Rixon's Pass. By 1856 Wollongong had a population of 864. In 1858 the court house was built. In 1861 a horsedrawn tramway from Mount Keira to the harbour was completed. In 1862 a telegraph line was opened between Wollongong and Bellambi. In 1865 the first gas supply in Wollongong was provided from a gas plant in Corrimal Street. In 1868 the extensions to the harbour were opened by Lady Belmore and named Belmore Basin. Patrick Lahiff established a coke works at Wollongong Harbour in the 1870s. He erected two beehive coke ovens between the northeastern end of the basin and Pulpit Rock. The ovens were demolished in 1892. The remains of the coke ovens were uncovered and recovered and are now preserved beneath the hill, a plaque explaining their history. In 1871 the old lighthouse was completed. In 1880 steam locomotives were introduced to haul coal loads from Mount Keira mine to the harbour. In 1883 gas street lighting was introduced. In 1885 a new court house was erected in Market Street. In 1886 the first town hall was erected. The Illawarra Railway to Wollongong was completed in 1887, and now continues as far south as the town of Bomaderry on the Shoalhaven River. Heavy industry was attracted to the region by the ready availability of coal. In 1928 Hoskins, later Australian Iron & Steel, started a steelworks at Port Kembla, a few kilometres south of Wollongong.
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Wollongong Hotels
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