Newcastle City Council is a Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Newcastle is at the mouth of the Hunter River, approximately 150 km north of Sydney in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. The second largest city in the state of NSW and sixth largest of Australia, Newcastle had an population of 137,000, The city is the focal point for a diverse district that encompasses beaches and mountains, restaurants and wineries.
Newcastle is Australia’s oldest sea port, currently the second most important in the country in terms of overall tonnage. It is also the world’s largest coal export port. Since the closure of the BHP steelworks, Hunter New England Health and The University of Newcastle have become the city’s primary employers.
Newcastle is located on the southern bank of the Hunter River at its mouth. The northern side is dominated by sand dunes, swamps and multiple river channels. A ‘green belt’ protecting plant and wildlife flanks the city from the west (Watagan mountains) around to the north where it meets the coast just north of Stockton.
Because of this, urban development is mainly restricted to the hilly southern bank. The small town of Stockton sits opposite central Newcastle at the river mouth and is linked by ferry. Much of the city is undercut by the coal measures of the Sydney sedimentary basin, and what were once numerous coal-mining villages located in the hills and valleys around the port have merged into a single urban area extending southwards to Lake Macquarie.
Many novocastrians take an avid interest in sports, as participants, spectators or both. The local NRL Rugby League team, the Newcastle Knights are widely followed. Newcastle also hosts soccer, baseball, ice hockey, netball and various other sporting teams.
Newcastle is located at the mouth of the Hunter River approximately 150km North of Sydney and lies in a region known as the Hunter Valley. Newcastle has a population of about 300,000 people with a further 100,000 people in the Hunter and Port Stephens area.
Newcastle is a 2hr drive north of Sydney on the F3 freeway which starts at Wahroonga (close to Hornsby) on the North Shore. The freeway is in excellent condition and driving is normally not difficult. However, as a large number of people commute to Sydney daily from the Central Coast and even Newcastle, travellers driving north during the evening peak (5pm to 7pm) will encounter heavy traffic between Wahroonga and the Central Coast with traffic easing off as you travel north the same applies to south bound traffic during the morning commute.
The F3 is located on the Western side of Lake Macquarie. If you want to travel up the Eastern side of Lake Macquarie (which travels through Swansea) then take the “Charlestown” exit on the F3. This route is more scenic, more hilly, and less congested (though it takes a few minutes longer).
If you follow this route you will eventually come to the “Charlestown Bypass” at Bennett’s Green which you can take if you wish to head north-west (towards Lambton). Otherwise keep following the main road until you reach Charlestown and then follow the signs to the city.
Traffic during holiday periods and long weekends is also affected with heavy northbound traffic at the beggining of the period as Sydneysiders flee the city for the weekend and finally heavy southbound traffic as they return.
Sydney’s Central, Strathfield, Epping and Hornsby stations have hourly Cityrail trains to Newcastle Station via the Central Coast. Travelling time is about 2.5-3 hours, and there is at least one train per hour for most of the day.
Several Countrylink services pass through Newcastle’s Broadmeadow station (approximately 5 kms from the CBD) daily from Sydney and the Central Coast to the south and from the North Coast and New England. These trains are a lot more expensive than Cityrail services and tickets must be booked in advance, but they are somewhat more comfortable and are also faster. Occasionally Countrylink discount tickets by up to 50% if booking tickets within 24 hours of travel, so it may be worth checking their fare.
October 10th, 2008 at 2:37 am
These photos are of Newcastle Australia.