Wollongong, New South Wales
Wollongong is the third largest city in the state of New South Wales, Australia, after Sydney and Newcastle. It is also a Local Government Area administered by the Wollongong City Council.
It is located on the eastern coast of Australia, 82 kilometres (52 mi) south of Sydney in an area known as the Illawarra and has a metropolitan population of 274,072 (2004). Wollongong is connected to Sydney through a scenic road and rail route which takes between 90 and 120 minutes and via main roads, taking between 70 and 90 minutes.
The name Wollongong, (IPA: [‘wʊlɒŋgɒŋ]), is generally said to mean "sound of the sea" in the local Aboriginal language, although other explanations have been offered, such as "great feast of fish".[1] Known affectionately as "the Gong", Wollongong is a town with a long history of mining and industry, having coal mines, steelworks and an industrial port.
The city is also a regional centre for the South Coast fishing industry. It has a university, the University of Wollongong, which attracts a great number of international students each year. It has two Regional Cathedrals, and numerous churches of many denominations including the well-known land-mark, the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple, the largest in the Southern hemisphere.
The City of Wollongong has a distinct geography. It lies on a narrow coastal plain flanked by the Pacific Ocean 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.
To the north of Wollongong it 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 Illawarra Railway 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 the coastal plain at Gwynneville, just north of Wollongong's city centre.
Sydney ,referred by the local Aborigines as "Warrane",has been inhabited for at least 50,000 years.50,000 year old grindstones been found in the area recently, predating any previous finds worldwide...read more
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