Wollongong

Sister cities

• Ohrid
• Palm Desert
• Kawasaki

History

The area was originally inhabited by the Dharawal Indigenous Australians. The first Europeans to visit the area were the navigators George Bass and Matthew Flinders, who landed at 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 1823, Charles Throsby Smith and Sarah Broughton Smith became the first settlers in what is now Wollongong. In 1832, a military barracks was constructed near the harbour. Further settlers arrived and in 1834 a town was planned on the Smith property. The surviving part of the Queen of Nations wreck is only about from the shore, in water only deep. From time to time, a violent storm uncovers part of the wreck. After one such storm in 1991, looting resumed, including of the Cognac. The Commonwealth Government quickly issued an order protecting the wreck under the then Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976. Since 2018 the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 has automatically protected the wreck and its contents, as they are more than 75 years old. In 1878 steam locomotives were introduced to haul coal from Mount Keira mine to the harbour. Gas street lighting was introduced in 1883. In 1885 a new court house was erected in Market Street. Like many Australian court houses, it was designed in a Classical Revival style considered appropriate for public buildings. It is now listed on the Register of the National Estate. 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. The navigator George Bass first documented the Illawarra…

Geography

The city of Wollongong has a distinct geography. It lies on a narrow coastal plain flanked by the 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. South of the city centre but within the urban area is Lake Illawarra, a large lagoon. Although Wollongong sits on the immediate coast, it lies on the same longitude as Greater Western Sydney. The escarpment ranges between above sea level, with locally famous mountains such as Mount Keira (), Mount Kembla (), Broker's Nose () and Mount Murray () 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 scenic protection zoning, and provides the visual backdrop to the city. In the north the escarpment meets the coastline, and north of this the coastal road Lawrence Hargrave Drive hugs the cliff line. The unstable geology of the escarpment resulted in rockfalls, forcing the closure of the road. Subsequently, part of Lawrence Hargrave Drive was replaced in 2005 by the Sea Cliff Bridge just off the coast, crossing the submerged rock shelf. The bridge carries both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The Illawarra railway line must go through several tunnels to reach the Sydney metropolitan area. The Southern Freeway and Princes Highway provide alternative inland routes, descending the escarpment…

Most-observed species

• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  14,254
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  13,184
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  12,942
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  11,922
• Australian Raven

  Corvus coronoides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  11,341
• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  9,963
• Gray Butcherbird

  Cracticus torquatus (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  9,307
• Little Wattlebird

  Anthochaera chrysoptera (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  9,197

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2025-05-28
  3 km WNW of Cobbitty, Australia
• M 3.5 — 2024-03-08
  14 km SSW of Woodford, Australia
• M 3 — 2007-08-22
  24 km W of Oakdale, Australia
• M 3.2 — 2007-08-18
  10 km NW of Mittagong, Australia
• M 2.6 — 2007-08-18
  11 km NW of Mittagong, Australia
• M 3.1 — 2007-04-11
  3 km SE of Stanwell Park, Australia