Wollongong

Wollongong, Australia

The Flagstaff Hill lighthouse and old iron guns stand on the headland above Wollongong Harbour as the sun rises over the Pacific.

Wollongong packs surf beaches, a working harbour, a rainforest escarpment and a Buddhist temple into one easy coastal day trip south of Sydney.

The place

Wollongong is a coastal city in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, home to about 280,000 people. It sits roughly 85 kilometres south of Sydney on a narrow shelf of land, with surf beaches on one side and a steep, rainforest-covered escarpment on the other. The city centre stands only about five metres above sea level, yet the wall of the escarpment rises close behind it. That squeeze shapes everything: roads hug the cliffs, suburbs string out along the shore, and the lookouts on the ridge show the whole arrangement at a glance. The name comes from the Dharawal word Woolyungah. Wollongong has long been a working place. Coal came out of the mountainside, a steelworks and a busy port grew along the shore, and heavy industry is still part of the view when seen from the heights. Alongside that sit a university, two cathedrals, churches of many denominations and a large Buddhist temple, which gives the city a more mixed character than a first glance at the smokestacks suggests. It also belongs to Sydney's commuter belt, so weekday afternoons bring slow traffic on the roads north. Visitors tend to come for the beaches, the harbour, the drive along the coast and the walks up the escarpment, then drift on south. It suits an easy few days rather than a checklist.

Its story

Wollongong's recorded history begins with the Dharawal people, who lived on this coast long before any European ship appeared. The explorers George Bass and Matthew Flinders came ashore at Lake Illawarra in 1796, and cedar cutters followed early in the nineteenth century, stripping the forested slopes of valuable timber. Graziers arrived soon after, and a stockman's hut went up in the district. In 1823 Charles Throsby Smith and his wife Sarah Broughton Smith settled where the city now stands, and Charles is remembered as a founding figure. A military barracks near the harbour drew more people, and in 1834 the settlement was formally gazetted as a town on land the Smiths held, with a first court house raised soon after. Getting down from the escarpment was the great practical problem. Convicts built the Bulli Pass road in the mid-1830s, and other passes were cut over later decades. Transport and industry grew together: in 1858 a horse-drawn tramway carried coal from Mount Keira down to the harbour, and a few years later a telegraph line tied the town to Bellambi up the coast. That pairing of coal and harbour set the pattern for the next century, turning a small court-house village into an industrial port that the university and the tourist trade have since softened.

What to see

Culture

Wollongong's cultural life is regional but lively, shaped by a university, a port workforce and a mix of communities that shows up in its restaurants and places of worship. Music has a firm base here: the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music teaches classical, jazz and contemporary styles from Gleniffer Brae, an old manor house in the Botanic Gardens. Theatre centres on the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, home of Merrigong Theatre Company, which also runs the Town Hall as a civic and community venue. Smaller groups such as the Arcadians, the Phoenix Theatre and Wollongong Workshop Theatre fill out the calendar. Yours and Owls, the city's big annual music festival, pulls in large crowds and overseas acts, and is the date that younger locals mark first. Beach and surf culture runs underneath everything, from early swimmers at the harbour to weekend crowds along the northern beaches. The Dharawal name Woolyungah is a reminder that the coast had a long human history before the town was gazetted. Religion is visible too, with a Catholic cathedral in the centre and the Buddhist Nan Tien Temple to the south. At Nan Tien Temple, dress modestly, keep your voice low and ask before photographing nuns or people at worship.

What to wear

Wollongong has no single traditional costume today, but the Dharawal people and neighbouring groups of the south-eastern coast historically wore cloaks of animal skin, notably possum, for warmth, and such cloaks are still being made and shown in cultural programmes. Settler-era dress was ordinary British working clothes, and the coalfields added hard-wearing moleskin and boots. What people wear now is thoroughly coastal and relaxed: shorts, T-shirts, board shorts, sundresses, flip-flops and sunglasses, with university students and office workers dressing much as they would in Sydney. Surf-brand logos are everywhere, and a hoodie or light jacket comes out for breezy evenings. Hard hats and high-visibility vests remain a familiar sight around the port and industrial areas. For visitors, the sun is the main consideration. Bring a wide-brimmed hat, sunscreen and sunglasses, and expect to be in swimwear or light clothes in summer. Pack a warm layer and a rain jacket for the cooler months and for the ridge lookouts, which can be windy. Sturdy shoes suit the escarpment tracks, as paths can be steep and damp. At Nan Tien Temple, cover shoulders and knees out of respect, and wear shoes that are easy to slip off.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. March–April and October–November, when beach weather is pleasant and the summer crowds have not yet arrived or have thinned. Summer is warm and busy at the beaches, and winter is cooler, though still fine for walks and lookouts.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly to Sydney Airport, then take a train or drive south to Wollongong; check timetables with the state transport operator. By car, the motorway south from Sydney reaches the city, or the Grand Pacific Drive via Stanwell Park and the Sea Cliff Bridge adds a scenic coastal route.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources