Gosford
| Gosford New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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| Population | 180,000 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2250 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 20 m (66 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10) | ||||||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | AEST (UTC+11) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 76 km (47 mi) from Sydney | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Central Coast Council | ||||||||||||||
| County | Northumberland | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Gosford | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Robertson | ||||||||||||||
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Gosford is a city located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 76 km north of the Sydney central business district. The city is situated at the northern extremity of Brisbane Water, an extensive northern branch of the Hawkesbury River estuary and Broken Bay.
The city is the administrative centre of the Central Coast region, which is the third largest urban area in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle. Gosford has been designated as an important growth centre under the NSW Metropolitan Strategy.[1] The suburb's population was 3,392 in the 2011 census.[2]
History
Until white settlement, the area around Gosford was inhabited by the Guringai peoples, who were principally coastal-dwellers,[3] and the Darginüng people that inhabited the hinterland. Along with the other land around the Hawkesbury River estuary, the Brisbane Water district was explored during the early stages of the settlement of New South Wales. In the early 19th century some pioneering European settlers began occupying the land, for timber-cutting (mainly ironbark and Australian red cedar), lime production and grazing. [citation needed]
Gosford itself was explored by Governor Phillip between 1788 and 1789. The area was difficult to access and settlement did not start before 1823. By the late 19th century the agriculture in the region was diversifying, with market gardens and citrus orchards occupying the rich soil left after the timber harvest. The road between Hawkesbury (near Pittwater) and Brisbane Water was a cart wheel track even in 1850.[4]
Convicts once lived and worked in the Gosford area. In 1825, Gosford's population reached 100, of whom 50% were convicts.
East Gosford was the first centre of settlement. Gosford was named in 1839 after Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford – a friend of the then Governor of New South Wales George Gipps.[5] Acheson's title derives its name from Gosford, a townland (sub-division) of Markethill in County Armagh in Northern Ireland.
In 1887, the rail link to Sydney was completed, requiring a bridge over the Hawkesbury River and a tunnel through the sandstone ridge west of Woy Woy. The introduction of this transport link and then the Pacific Highway in 1930 accelerated the development of the region.
Gosford became a town in 1885 and was declared a municipality in 1886.[6]
Demographics
In the 2011 Census, the most common countries of birth of people in Gosford were Australia 63.6%, England 4.4%, Mainland China 2.4%, India 1.9%, New Zealand 1.9% and South Korea 1.1%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 24.3%, Catholic 21.6%, Anglican 18.0%, Buddhism 3.4% and Uniting Church 2.8%.[7]
Newspapers
Gosford Community News[8] has been published fortnightly by Ducks Crossing Publications since 2010.
Express Advocate: News Limited publish a free weekly suburban style newspaper in the News Local group.
Radio
- 2GO - part of Southern Cross Austereo
- Sea FM
- ABC 92.5
- CoastFM 96.3
- StarFM 104.5
- EVT FM - Chinese radio network
Climate
Gosford has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa)[9] with warm summers and mild winters. In summer, temperatures average about 27-28 °C in the day with high humidity and about 17-18 °C at night. Winters are mild with cool overnight temperatures and mild to occasionally warm daytime temperatures with lower humidity. Average rainfall is 1333mm, much of which falls in the late summer and autumn. Records range from a maximum of 44.8 °C (113 °F) on 18 January 2013, to a low of −4.2 °C (24 °F) on 16 July 1970.
| Climate data for Gosford | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 44.8 (112.6) |
43.0 (109.4) |
40.1 (104.2) |
32.9 (91.2) |
28.8 (83.8) |
25.0 (77.0) |
25.5 (77.9) |
29.9 (85.8) |
36.1 (97.0) |
38.0 (100.4) |
41.8 (107.2) |
43.0 (109.4) |
44.8 (112.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.2 (82.8) |
27.4 (81.3) |
26.0 (78.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
20.6 (69.1) |
18.4 (65.1) |
17.7 (63.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
22.2 (72.0) |
24.0 (75.2) |
25.0 (77.0) |
26.9 (80.4) |
23.3 (73.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 17.2 (63.0) |
17.2 (63.0) |
15.4 (59.7) |
12.1 (53.8) |
8.8 (47.8) |
6.7 (44.1) |
5.4 (41.7) |
5.6 (42.1) |
8.3 (46.9) |
10.9 (51.6) |
13.7 (56.7) |
15.7 (60.3) |
11.4 (52.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 7.5 (45.5) |
9.7 (49.5) |
5.8 (42.4) |
1.5 (34.7) |
0.1 (32.2) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
1.1 (34.0) |
3.9 (39.0) |
6.0 (42.8) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 115.6 (4.55) |
185.6 (7.31) |
140.2 (5.52) |
154.6 (6.09) |
119.7 (4.71) |
113.6 (4.47) |
74.3 (2.93) |
72.8 (2.87) |
64.8 (2.55) |
90.8 (3.57) |
95.5 (3.76) |
109.2 (4.30) |
1,333 (52.48) |
| Average precipitation days | 11.3 | 11.1 | 11.5 | 11.4 | 10.5 | 10.4 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 9.4 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 122.0 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 59 | 63 | 62 | 61 | 61 | 62 | 55 | 48 | 51 | 54 | 59 | 59 | 58 |
| Source: [10] | |||||||||||||
City centre
Gosford proper is located in a valley with President's Hill on the city's western border, Rumbalara Reserve on its eastern border, and Brisbane water to the city's south. Mann Street, Gosford's main street and part of the Pacific Highway, runs north-south and contains the frontage for much of the commercial district. The Central Coast Highway runs past Gosford's waterfront area, while its predecessor the Pacific Highway takes on several names through the CBD itself. Mann Street contains the main public transport links for Gosford, including Gosford railway station and the termini for several bus routes.
In the centre of Gosford is a shopping and community precinct, including Kibble Park, William Street Mall, Gosford City Library, the Imperial Shopping Centre, the Gosford Town Shopping Centre and a full range of shops, cafes, banks and services, especially along William Street Mall.
The Gosford CBD suffered a decline in the 1990s as commercial activity relocated to nearby Erina, particularly Erina Fair.[citation needed] To address this, the city has more recently redeveloped its park in the city centre, including a stream, a restaurant and outdoor performance facilities. This will be the beginning of the redevelopment of the CBD. A small number of high rise developments have also been built in the area to encourage a concentration of residents in a bid to stimulate the economy of local business. More high rise developments are planned.
A renewed period of optimism has followed several infrastructure investment projects including the full fibre optic telecommunications rollout of the National Broadband Network in 2012 in the city's CBD[11] as well as the so-called Kibbleplex project, announced in 2013[12] that plans to house the new regional library, tertiary teaching rooms and associated organisations.
Facilities
Gosford is home to:
- Gosford Hospital – the largest hospital on the Central Coast
- Laycock Street Community Theatre - the only professional, proscenium arch theatre venue on the Central Coast
- The Central Coast Conservatorium (in the original Gosford Courthouse)
- The Central Coast Stadium in Grahame Park, adjacent to the Central Coast Leagues Club. Originally built for the Central Coast Bears team in the NRL rugby league competition (to this day, the seats are arranged to say 'Go Bears'), since 2005 it is the home of the successful Central Coast Mariners A-League soccer / association football team and was the home venue of the Central Coast Rays rugby union Australian Rugby Championship team.
- Central Coast Leagues Club - is the largest community sporting and social club in the region
- Gosford Racecourse
- Gosford showground
- Gosford High School- the only academically selective high school on the Central Coast
- Central Coast Grammar School
- The headquarters of the NSW State Government's workers compensation fund, WorkCover
- Gavenlock Oval – Home ground of the Gosford City Dragons
- St Edward's College, East Gosford- The only all boys private school on the Central Coast.
- Hunter Institute of TAFE.
Notable people
- Anthony Biddle – Paralympian tandem cyclist and athlete[13]
- Alan Davidson – Former Australian cricketer
- David Fairleigh – Former Rugby League forward, 1994 Rothman's Medal winner, NSW & Australian representative player, North Sydney Bears "Team Of The Century" second-rower, current coach of the Central Coast Bears
- Des Hasler – Former Rugby league player, NSW & Australian representative player, 1987 & 1996 Manly Sea Eagles premiership player, 2008 & 2011 Manly Sea Eagles premiership coach
- Matt Orford – Former NRL halfback, 2008 Dally M medal winner, 2008 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles premiership captain
- Brad Porter – Retired Midfielder, played for the Template:ALeague CCM in the Hyundai A-League
- Andrew Redmayne – Goalkeeper for Western Sydney Wanderers in the Hyundai A-League
- Mark Skaife – 5-time Supercars champion and 6-time Bathurst 1000 winner
- Ron Peno – Famous Australian Punk & 1980's Rock musician; Lead Singer of Died Pretty
- Matthew Zions, European PGA professional golfer (2003–present), 2011 Saint-Omer Open winner
- Jamie Pittman ATHENS Olympic boxing captain 2002 Commonwealth Games rep former WBA World title challenger.
Notable residents
- Charlotte Best, Australian actress, known for her role as Annie Campbell on Home and Away
- Martin Lynes, Accomplished actor known for roles on All Saints and Packed to the Rafters.
- Chris Payne, footballer playing for the North Queensland Fury in the A-League
- Peter Sterling, former rugby league player, 4-time premiership player (1981–83 and 1986)
- Craig Anderson, Australian pitcher for Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League was born in Gosford.
- Kasey Chambers, Australian country singer-songwriter.
Sister cities and twin towns
See also
- List of cities in Australia
- Electoral district of Gosford, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
References
- ^ "Cities Taskforce". NSW Government Planning & Infrastructure. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "2011 Census QuickStats". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ Gosford - Central Coast
- ^ History of Gosford
- ^ "Some Significant events in Gosford History". Retrieved 29 June 2014.
- ^ "Gosford – Central Coast Australia". Centralcoastaustralia.com.au. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ "2011 2011 Census Quickstats Gosford". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ http://www.duckscrossing.org/gosnews.html
- ^ http://en.climate-data.org/location/1312/
- ^ "Climate statistics for Australian locations". Retrieved March 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/459837/nbn_services_go_live_gosford/
- ^ http://www.newcastle.edu.au/newsroom/featured-news/gosford-expansion
- ^ "Australians at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics: Athletes". Australian Sports Commission. Archived from the original on 20 January 2000. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
External links
33°25′36″S 151°20′30″E / 33.42667°S 151.34167°E
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