Clifton - Timeline
| 1797 | Coal discovered at Clifton by survivors of the shipwreck "Sydney Cove" |
| 1878 | Coal Cliff Mine opened |
| 1879 | The first school and school residence built |
| 1879 | Daily mail service by horseback established between Clifton and Bulli |
| 1880 | School of Arts established |
| 1884 | 150 miners employed at the mine producing 51,500 tons of coal annually |
| 1884 | Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches built |
| 1885 | Public Hall built on land donated by the Colliery Manager |
| 1886 | Court of Petty Sessions first held at Clifton |
| 1886 | Rail completed to Waterfall from Sydney. Horse Coast Depot established by Matthew Bloomfield to connect Clifton to Waterfall Railway Station |
| 1887 | Clifton to Wollongong Railway opened |
| 1887 | Scarborough Hotel opened |
| 1888 | Trains commence to Coal Cliff from Clifton through tunnel |
| 1890 | Coal Cliff Coal and Land Company Ltd take over the colliery |
| 1891 | Illawarra Coal Company opened a mine at South Clifton |
| 1893 | Clifton School opened |
| 1898 | A full Post Office opened at South Clifton (now Scarborough) located at the Railway Station until 1908 |
| 1903 | South Clifton renamed as Scarborough to eliminate the confusion between the two railway stations, Clifton and South Clifton |
| 1911 | Laying of foundation stone for a new Clifton School of Arts |
| 1913 | Foundation of new "Central Public School" for Clifton-Scarborough being dug |
| 1914 | New school building at Clifton - Scarborough opened by Minister for Education |
| 1915 | From 1 January, Clifton Public School to be known as Scarborough Public School and the new station between Clifton and Scarborough to be named Scarborough |
| 1919 | Additions to the Catholic Church at Clifton opened and blessed by Archbishop Kelly on 1 March 1919 |
| 1921 | Old South Clifton Mine closed |
| 1954 | Mechanical pillar extraction of coal to commence at South Clifton, Bulli & Mt Keira |
| 1963 | Clifton/Scarborough Public School Jubilee celebrated |
| 1970 | Deputy Lord Mayor Rube Hargrave sells Imperial Hotel to Mr Alec McKenzie. |
| 1972 | Mine owners Clutha close down South Clifton colliery. |
| 1973 | New owners, Mining and Metals Corporation of Australia, re-open the South Clifton colliery. |
| 1983 | South Clifton colliery closes permanently. |
| 1998 | Work commences on the refurbishment of the Clifton School of Arts after community fundraising and input from the Joint Coal Board and the Heritage commission. |
| 2001 | The refurbished Clifton School of Arts school re-opens. |
| 2003 | Geotechnical investigations of Lawrence Hargrave Drive between Clifton and Coalcliff find the road to be unsafe. The road is closed pending tenders for a permanent solution. |
| 2003 | The historic Imperial Hotel at Clifton closes down. |
| 2004 | RTA releases for public comment the preferred option for Lawrence Hargrave Drive. |
| 2005 | The new Seacliff Bridge is opened after major construction works totalling approximately $50 Million. Elevated boardwalk and pathways are constructed to connect Clifton village to the new bridge. |
Last Modified: 6/08/2008
Return to Top
See also
Community atlasCommunity profile
Illawarra Images
Illawarra index
Museums & Heritage Wollongong
Population forecasts
Tourism Wollongong
Weblinks - Local
Contact us
Local History Librarian
Phone:
4227 7418
Email:
Fax:
4227 7553
Visit us:
Level 1, 41 Burelli Street, Wollongong
Mail:
Locked Bag 8821, Wollongong, NSW 2500