Cardiff, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Cardiff is a suburb of Newcastle
, New South Wales
, Australia
, located 13 kilometres (8 mi) west-southwest of Newcastle's central business district
. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area
.
Cardiff is an irregularly shaped suburb. In the 2001 Census Cardiff had 5,039 inhabitants. Including the associated suburbs of Cardiff South and Cardiff Heights, the population was 9,500 persons. Cardiff contains 3 government primary schools, a Catholic primary school, an Independent school and a government high school. Like most major suburbs in Lake Macquarie, it has its own commercial centre with a post office, pub (hotel), real estate agencies, take-away shops, a video store, tattoo studio, four opportunity stores, hairdressers and a supermarket.
Cardiff has sporting clubs for the following sports: Cricket (Warners Bay-Cardiff Junior Cricket Club, Cardiff-Boolaroo District Cricket Club), Rugby League (Cardiff Cougars, Cardiff Cobras), Football (soccer)(Cardiff JSFC), Lawn Bowls (Cardiff Bowling Club) and Netball (Cardiff Netball Club).
The local police station no longer provides counter services, having been converted into a centre for Highway Patrol officers in around 1998.
Other selections were taken up by individual settlers from 1862 to the east of the Weller grant. The locality became known as Winding Creek after the stream which wound its way from south-east to north-west across the central valley of the area.
In the latter part of the 19th Century two factors attracted people to the Winding Creek area.
One was coal mining
, with the Lymington (1882) and South Wallsend (1884, later renamed Cardiff) collieries both starting production in the vicinity of the current Cardiff South.
The other was the decision to construct the Sydney to Newcastle railway, which led to a navvies camp being established at Winding Creek in 1883, and work continuing through most of the rest of the decade.
The line originally ran close to current Myall Rd, however the gradient from Cardiff up to Tickhole Tunnel proved too steep for the trains of the period, and the line was relocated to the present position a few years after it was opened.
For a short period in the 1880s Lymington became the popular name for the whole Cardiff area, supplanting Winding Creek, however it fell foul of the postal authorities, because of its similarity to another, established locality name. There were a number of Welsh settlers living in the area, and on the suggestion of one of them, James Edwards, the name Cardiff was chosen after the capital of Wales. It was officially adopted in 1889.
data from the 2001 census
records the population of Cardiff as 5,039 residents, with a gender mix of 49% males and 51% females in line with the rest of the Australian population. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002)
store opened in November 2008. The ALDI store is located in a building on Harrison Street, which was renovated after being flooded during the June 2007 storms.
Cardiff previously had a Food For Less Woolworths
supermarket, located just south of Main Road, but it burned down in late 2004. During demolition following the fire, the building was found to be contaminated with asbestos and the ground underneath it was found to be contaminated with heavy metals. The rubble was removed and the ground was covered with a concrete slab during remediation. In March 2007, that remediation was completed and the concrete cover was removed. Lake Macquarie City Council approved construction of a new shopping centre on the site, incorporating a Woolworths supermarket and specialist shops on one level, with a carpark underneath. Construction commenced in early 2009 and was surrounded by controversy due to the closure of public toilets and a former council carpark. The carpark was subsequently partially reopened as construction continued. The centre opened in May 2010 after weather related delays.
dealership, a multi-brand dealership selling Toyota, Subaru
, Mazda
and Kia
, an ex-fleet vehicle dealer and several used car dealers.
Around half of that industrial estate is accessible only via one section of Munibung Road, a 2-lane road between two T-intersections (Torrens Avenue and Mitchell Road) which experience frequent crashes. The intersection of Munibung Road with Macquarie Road and Myall Road is the main access point for the entire industrial estate and suffers from some of the most severe congestion in the Hunter Valley
.
A proposal exists for the extension of Pennant Street over the railway line to a roundabout connecting to Main Road near Glendale Drive and to the end of Stockland Drive inside the Stockland Glendale
shopping centre. The proposal also includes the construction of a new railway station (to be named Glendale
) for access to the industrial estate and the Glendale shopping centre. The proposal is ready to proceed but has been awaiting state government funding for several years.
A further proposal exists for the extension of Munibung Road through the redeveloped former Pasminco Sulphide
site, connecting through the new light industrial development there to end of Lake Road near Boolaroo
. It is hoped that the developer will fund that road as part of that development.
passes through Cardiff to the north of the industrial estate and commercial centre. Cardiff railway station
is located on Main Road up a steep hill from the commercial centre.
The railway station has a single island platform
, which is located between the two tracks. Access to the platform is only available via a staircase that is exposed to the weather and difficult for elderly residents to negotiate. There have been calls for the station to be upgraded to provide access for disabled and infirm people but government funding has not yet been allocated. Concern has been raised by local residents that Cardiff station may not be upgraded if the proposed Glendale station goes ahead.
Two carparks are provided on the southern side of the railway station. A small carpark is located directly alongside the southbound track, while a larger carpark is located down another steep staircase.
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, located 13 kilometres (8 mi) west-southwest of Newcastle's central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area
Local Government Areas of New South Wales
The local government areas of New South Wales, Australia have been subject to periodic bouts of restructuring and rationalisation by the State Government, involving voluntary and involuntary amalgamation of areas...
.
Cardiff is an irregularly shaped suburb. In the 2001 Census Cardiff had 5,039 inhabitants. Including the associated suburbs of Cardiff South and Cardiff Heights, the population was 9,500 persons. Cardiff contains 3 government primary schools, a Catholic primary school, an Independent school and a government high school. Like most major suburbs in Lake Macquarie, it has its own commercial centre with a post office, pub (hotel), real estate agencies, take-away shops, a video store, tattoo studio, four opportunity stores, hairdressers and a supermarket.
Cardiff has sporting clubs for the following sports: Cricket (Warners Bay-Cardiff Junior Cricket Club, Cardiff-Boolaroo District Cricket Club), Rugby League (Cardiff Cougars, Cardiff Cobras), Football (soccer)(Cardiff JSFC), Lawn Bowls (Cardiff Bowling Club) and Netball (Cardiff Netball Club).
The local police station no longer provides counter services, having been converted into a centre for Highway Patrol officers in around 1998.
History
The first grant to a white settler in the Cardiff area was a parcel of 2560 acres (10.4 km²) to George Weller in 1833, stretching west of the current Macquarie Road to Argenton and Cockle Creek.Other selections were taken up by individual settlers from 1862 to the east of the Weller grant. The locality became known as Winding Creek after the stream which wound its way from south-east to north-west across the central valley of the area.
In the latter part of the 19th Century two factors attracted people to the Winding Creek area.
One was coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, with the Lymington (1882) and South Wallsend (1884, later renamed Cardiff) collieries both starting production in the vicinity of the current Cardiff South.
The other was the decision to construct the Sydney to Newcastle railway, which led to a navvies camp being established at Winding Creek in 1883, and work continuing through most of the rest of the decade.
The line originally ran close to current Myall Rd, however the gradient from Cardiff up to Tickhole Tunnel proved too steep for the trains of the period, and the line was relocated to the present position a few years after it was opened.
For a short period in the 1880s Lymington became the popular name for the whole Cardiff area, supplanting Winding Creek, however it fell foul of the postal authorities, because of its similarity to another, established locality name. There were a number of Welsh settlers living in the area, and on the suggestion of one of them, James Edwards, the name Cardiff was chosen after the capital of Wales. It was officially adopted in 1889.
Population statistics
Australian Bureau of StatisticsAustralian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
data from the 2001 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
records the population of Cardiff as 5,039 residents, with a gender mix of 49% males and 51% females in line with the rest of the Australian population. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002)
Place of birth
- AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(84.8%) - EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(2.4%) - New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(0.9%) - GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(0.9%) - ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
(0.6%) - ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(0.6%)
Main language spoken at home
- EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
only (92.2%) - ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
(0.6%) - PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
(0.5%) - GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(0.4%) - TagalogTagalog languageTagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
(0.3%) - GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
(0.2%)
Religion
- AnglicanAnglicanismAnglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
(28.1%) - CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
(26.1%) - No Religion (11.0%)
- Presbyterian & Reformed (4.1%)
Supermarkets
Cardiff has three supermarkets including a Bi-Lo Store located in Kelton Street. The parent company of Bi-Lo, Coles Group announced in mid 2006 that all Bi-Lo stores would be converted to Coles Supermarkets. However, this plan was dumped and the Cardiff store will remain a Bi-Lo supermarket until further notice. An ALDIALDI
ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...
store opened in November 2008. The ALDI store is located in a building on Harrison Street, which was renovated after being flooded during the June 2007 storms.
Cardiff previously had a Food For Less Woolworths
Woolworths (supermarkets)
Woolworths is the largest supermarket chain in Australia, owned by Woolworths Limited.-History:Woolworths Limited was founded in 1924, with the first store opening up in Sydney's Imperial Arcade.-2008 rebranding:...
supermarket, located just south of Main Road, but it burned down in late 2004. During demolition following the fire, the building was found to be contaminated with asbestos and the ground underneath it was found to be contaminated with heavy metals. The rubble was removed and the ground was covered with a concrete slab during remediation. In March 2007, that remediation was completed and the concrete cover was removed. Lake Macquarie City Council approved construction of a new shopping centre on the site, incorporating a Woolworths supermarket and specialist shops on one level, with a carpark underneath. Construction commenced in early 2009 and was surrounded by controversy due to the closure of public toilets and a former council carpark. The carpark was subsequently partially reopened as construction continued. The centre opened in May 2010 after weather related delays.
Car Sales
The suburb is home to a large number of car dealerships, including a Ford dealership, a HoldenHolden
GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
dealership, a multi-brand dealership selling Toyota, Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
, Mazda
Mazda
is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...
and Kia
Kia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
, an ex-fleet vehicle dealer and several used car dealers.
Industrial Estate
Cardiff is a major employment area thanks to the Cardiff Industrial Estate, which is the highest employing area in the Hunter region.Around half of that industrial estate is accessible only via one section of Munibung Road, a 2-lane road between two T-intersections (Torrens Avenue and Mitchell Road) which experience frequent crashes. The intersection of Munibung Road with Macquarie Road and Myall Road is the main access point for the entire industrial estate and suffers from some of the most severe congestion in the Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
.
A proposal exists for the extension of Pennant Street over the railway line to a roundabout connecting to Main Road near Glendale Drive and to the end of Stockland Drive inside the Stockland Glendale
Stockland Glendale
Stockland Glendale is a major shopping centre located in Glendale, a suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia.It is located on Lake Road, Glendale, on a parcel of land, and primarily serves the Lake Macquarie region to the southwest of Newcastle.-History and...
shopping centre. The proposal also includes the construction of a new railway station (to be named Glendale
Glendale, New South Wales
Glendale is a suburb of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, located west of Newcastle's central business district at the northern tip of Lake Macquarie...
) for access to the industrial estate and the Glendale shopping centre. The proposal is ready to proceed but has been awaiting state government funding for several years.
A further proposal exists for the extension of Munibung Road through the redeveloped former Pasminco Sulphide
Cockle Creek Smelter
Cockle Creek Smelter was a zinc and lead smelter located at the northern end of Lake Macquarie near Boolaroo New South Wales.The smelter was built in by Sulphide Corporation Limited in 1896 and the first attempts to refine zinc using the Ashcroft Process began in 1897 and was abandoned shortly...
site, connecting through the new light industrial development there to end of Lake Road near Boolaroo
Boolaroo, New South Wales
Boolaroo is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located west of Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area.It was at the epicenter of the 1989 Newcastle earthquake...
. It is hoped that the developer will fund that road as part of that development.
Railway
The main northern railway lineMain North railway line, New South Wales
The Main North Line is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and the New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisbane, however this required a change of gauge at Wallangarra...
passes through Cardiff to the north of the industrial estate and commercial centre. Cardiff railway station
Cardiff railway station, New South Wales
-Transport links:Newcastle Buses runs three routes via Cardiff railway station:*Route 334 - Between Glendale and Newcastle Station.*Route 339 - Between Glendale and Charlestown.*Route 363 - Between Warners Bay and Newcastle Station....
is located on Main Road up a steep hill from the commercial centre.
The railway station has a single island platform
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
, which is located between the two tracks. Access to the platform is only available via a staircase that is exposed to the weather and difficult for elderly residents to negotiate. There have been calls for the station to be upgraded to provide access for disabled and infirm people but government funding has not yet been allocated. Concern has been raised by local residents that Cardiff station may not be upgraded if the proposed Glendale station goes ahead.
Two carparks are provided on the southern side of the railway station. A small carpark is located directly alongside the southbound track, while a larger carpark is located down another steep staircase.