Parish: Wollongong
County: Camden
West Wollongong is a mostly residential suburb immediately west of the Wollongong city centre.
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Local communities of Aboriginal people were the original inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of Illawarra Land. Their dialect is a variant of the Dharawal language.
Before European settlement, the Aboriginal people of the region lived in small family groups with complicated social structures and close associations with specific areas.
Suburb boundaries do not reflect the cultural boundaries of the local Aboriginal community.
Traditional Custodians today are descendants of the original inhabitants and have ongoing spiritual and cultural ties to the Land and waterways where their ancestors lived.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1821 | Cornelius O’Brien discovers and develops a track over the escarpment |
| 1828 | James Stares Spearing settled on Paulsgrove Estate, later known as Mt Keera Estate. Mr Spearing had two water mills on the creek that ran through the estate. The creek variously known as Byarong, Byrarong, Millbrook or the Mill Brook |
| 1843 | 'Keera Vale' was built on Bukari Street for His Honor, Judge Therry, Member for Camden. Orginally built with sandstock bricks, the exterior was rendered with cement in the 1930s |
| 1856 | Mr Geard constructs 'Brighton Villa' on 30 acres of land fronting Mount Keira Road |
| 1908 | Rosemont Estate land sale; the estate covers Greenacre Road, Sperry Street, Urunga Parade, Rosemont Street, Hillcrest Street, Matthews Street, Northcote Street and New Dapto Road |
| 1918 | In the Subdivision of Gilmore Estate, the Vendor H.N Collins of Sydney set aside an area of over seven acres as a public park called 'Gilmore Park' |
| 1928 | Gunyah Estate land sale; the estate covers Rosemont Street, Urunga Parade, Dempster Street, Greenacre Road and Gilmore Street |
| 1938 | Wyumba Estate land sale; the estate covers Fisher Street, England Street, Gilmore Street and Reserve Street |
| 1941 | Little Flower Church established as a memorial to late Rev. J. P. Dunne, to be dedicated to the "Little Flower” |
| 1954 | Opening of West Wollongong Primary School by the Minister for Education, Mr. Heffron |
| 1959 | Opening of the Methodist church in Fisher Street; Minister was Rev. C. M. Drury |
| 1959 | Lindsay Park Public School opened |
| 1959 | Opening of the Illawarra Grammar School, a Church of England school for boys, with an enrolment of 32 students |
| 1961 | Opening of £1-million Piccadilly Drive-in Shopping Centre |
| 1962 | The new Christian Brothers college, costing £80,000 and known as Edmund Rice College, was officially opened |
| 1962 | The new brick extension to the Little Flower Parish School (St. Therese Catholic Primary School) was opened by the Catholic Bishop of Wollongong, Dr. T. McCabe |
| 1963 | Opening of the non-official post office on Yellagong Street 'Millbrook' |
| 1963 | Primate of Australia, Archbishop Gough, officially opens the new St Mark's War Memorial Church of England |
| 1963 | Major new housing development is commenced. It will eventually cover 330 acres and take up to 10 years to complete |
| 1964 | Inaugural meeting of the new West Wollongong Rotary Club. It is the ninth club formed by Wollongong Rotary Club, receiving the Charter from District Governor, Mr. Frank Moorhouse, of Nowra |
| 1964 | Construction of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints |
| 1965 | Division of the City of Greater Wollongong into 15 Wards; West Wollongong falls on the boundary of Ward 3 |
| 1969 | The Minister for Health, Mr Jago, officially opened the new $144,000 ambulance station. The station moved from Church Street where it had been since 1933 to Rosemont Street |
| 1975 | Gilmore Estate land sale; the estate covers Fisher Street, England Street, Gilmore Street and Reserve Street. |
Top image: West Wollongong, 1920. See image details on our catalogue