Clifton, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Clifton is a village on the coast of New South Wales
, Australia
, between Sydney
and Wollongong. Along with nearby Coalcliff, the village began life as a coal
-mining centre. It is situated on a narrow area between the sea and the Illawarra escarpment
. The electrified South Coast railway line passes through, but the station at Clifton was closed in 1915 .
The Sea Cliff Bridge
, opened in 2005, restored the connection between Clifton and Coalcliff, broken by frequent rock falls onto this section of the Lawrence Hargrave Drive
. The bridge
lies parallel to the former "coal cliffs" and offers scenic views of the cliffs, the sea, and surrounding coastline.
s with galvanised iron
roofs had been built. The mine officially opened in 1878. In 1880 the School of Arts was established. Thomas Hale, the first mine manager, constructed a 500 feet (152.4 m) jetty out to sea and a slide down the 120 feet (36.6 m) cliff. This took coal to Hilda and Herga, two steam colliers built in Glasgow
. Hilda struck a reef near Port Hacking in 1893. In 1878 the mine employed 73 men. By 1884 there were 150 miners, and coal production was 51,500 tons annually. Most of the miners lived, with ther families, in Clifton. There was a post/telegraph office, school, (opened 1879), and James Farraher's Clifton Inn and in 1884 the press reported near 1000 residents, a large proportion of which worked at the mines. In 1879 a mail service to Bulli was established. The mine closed after storms destroyed the jetty and job losses crippled the village. In 1887 the railway line had reached Clifton from Wollongong. Before this time four-horse coaches would travel between Wollongong and Clifton, starting from Wollongong at 5 am. In 1884 an Anglican and a Roman Catholic Church were built. A public hall was built in 1885. In 1887 the railway between Wollongong and Clifton was opened. In 1890 the Coal Cliff Coal and Land Company Ltd take over the colliery. In 1893 the Clifton School was opened. In 1910 the miners at the Coal Cliff Colliery went on strike for ten months. Also in 1910 the school of arts building was built. The strikers supplied some of the required labour for this project. In 1919 additions were made to the Catholic church and it was blessed in a ceremony
on the first of March.
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...
, between Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Wollongong. Along with nearby Coalcliff, the village began life as a coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
-mining centre. It is situated on a narrow area between the sea and the Illawarra escarpment
Illawarra escarpment
The Illawarra Escarpment is the fold created cliffs and plateau eroded outcrop mountain range west of the Illawarra coastal plain south of Sydney, Australia, enclosing the region known as the Illawarra which stretches from Stanwell Park in the north to Kiama, Gerringong and the Shoalhaven river in...
. The electrified South Coast railway line passes through, but the station at Clifton was closed in 1915 .
The Sea Cliff Bridge
Sea Cliff Bridge
The Sea Cliff Bridge is a balanced cantilever bridge located in the northern Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The $52 million bridge links the coastal villages of Coalcliff and Clifton...
, opened in 2005, restored the connection between Clifton and Coalcliff, broken by frequent rock falls onto this section of the Lawrence Hargrave Drive
Lawrence Hargrave Drive
Lawrence Hargrave Drive is a scenic coastal road and popular tourist drive connecting the northernmost suburbs of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia to both Wollongong and Sydney....
. The bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
lies parallel to the former "coal cliffs" and offers scenic views of the cliffs, the sea, and surrounding coastline.
History
In 1797, survivors of the Sydney Cove discovered coal in the 'Coal Cliffs'. Clifton was created with the construction of the Coal Cliff Colliery in 1877. It was situated on the southern end of the Stanwell Park Estate owned by surveyor Sir Thomas Mitchell. A number of weatherboard cottageCottage
__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
s with galvanised iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
roofs had been built. The mine officially opened in 1878. In 1880 the School of Arts was established. Thomas Hale, the first mine manager, constructed a 500 feet (152.4 m) jetty out to sea and a slide down the 120 feet (36.6 m) cliff. This took coal to Hilda and Herga, two steam colliers built in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. Hilda struck a reef near Port Hacking in 1893. In 1878 the mine employed 73 men. By 1884 there were 150 miners, and coal production was 51,500 tons annually. Most of the miners lived, with ther families, in Clifton. There was a post/telegraph office, school, (opened 1879), and James Farraher's Clifton Inn and in 1884 the press reported near 1000 residents, a large proportion of which worked at the mines. In 1879 a mail service to Bulli was established. The mine closed after storms destroyed the jetty and job losses crippled the village. In 1887 the railway line had reached Clifton from Wollongong. Before this time four-horse coaches would travel between Wollongong and Clifton, starting from Wollongong at 5 am. In 1884 an Anglican and a Roman Catholic Church were built. A public hall was built in 1885. In 1887 the railway between Wollongong and Clifton was opened. In 1890 the Coal Cliff Coal and Land Company Ltd take over the colliery. In 1893 the Clifton School was opened. In 1910 the miners at the Coal Cliff Colliery went on strike for ten months. Also in 1910 the school of arts building was built. The strikers supplied some of the required labour for this project. In 1919 additions were made to the Catholic church and it was blessed in a ceremony
Ceremony
A ceremony is an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin.-Ceremonial occasions:A ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a human life, marking the significance of, for example:* birth...
on the first of March.