Mount Keira - Place names

Mount Keira

Parish of Wollongong County of Cumberland

In 1825 James Stares Spearing was given a promise of grant for two properties of 1000 acres each, on the slopes of Mount Keira. These properties were called Paulsgrove. In 1835 the Spearings sold Paulsgrove to Colonel John Leahy and Leahy changed the name to Mount Keira Estate. According to Henderson, Colonel Leahy "renamed Paulsgrove after the nearby 'Mt Keera'." The grants were finally issued in 1841 to Robert and Charles Campbell. Keira is an aboriginal name meaning large lagoon or high mountain. The aborigines called the mountain "Djera" meaning wild turkey.

Location

Mount Keira is located approximately 10 kilometres west of Wollongong Central Business District. It is bounded by Byarong Creek in the south and by the suburbs of Keiraville, Mount Ousley and Mount Pleasant in the east. Mount Keira is 469 metres above sea level, and it is characterised by the Illawarra Escarpment landscape. Mount Keira is the site of the first coal mine in the Illawarra.