Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle or Greater Newcastle, locally nicknamed Newy,[3] (locally /ˈnuːkæsəl/ NEW-kass-əl; Awabakal: Mulubinba)[4] is a regional metropolitan area and the second-most-populated district in New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie;[5] it is the hub of the Lower Hunter region, which includes most parts of the local government areas of City of Newcastle, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Maitland, City of Cessnock, and Port Stephens Council.[6][7]
This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. For the local government area serving the city proper, see City of Newcastle. For other places called Newcastle, in Australia and elsewhere, see Newcastle.
Newcastle
MulubinbaNew South Wales
348,359 (Greater Newcastle) (2021 census)[1][2]
1,233/km2 (3,190/sq mi)
1804
9 m (30 ft)
261.8 km2 (101.1 sq mi)
Located at the mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle is the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting 143 million tonnes of coal in 2022.[8] Beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits. Geologically, the area is located in the central-eastern part of the Sydney Basin.[9]
History[edit]
Aboriginal history[edit]
Newcastle and the lower Hunter Region were traditionally occupied by the Awabakal and Worimi Aboriginal people,[10] who called the area Malubimba.[11]
Based on Aboriginal-language references documented in maps, sketches and geological descriptions, eight landmarks have been officially dual-named by the NSW Geographic Names Board with their traditional Aboriginal names.[12] They include Nobbys Head also known as Whibayganba; Flagstaff Hill also known as Tahlbihn; Pirate Point also known as Burrabihngarn; Port Hunter also known as Yohaaba; Hunter River (South Channel) also known as Coquun;
Shepherds Hill also known as Khanterin; Ironbark Creek also known as Toohrnbing and Hexham Swamp also known as Burraghihnbihng.[12]
Sport[edit]
Rugby league[edit]
Rugby league is the most popular sport in Newcastle, with the Newcastle Knights representing the city in the National Rugby League. The Knights play at the 33,000-capacity McDonald Jones Stadium, situated in the suburb of New Lambton.
The Newcastle Rugby League holds local club competition and has done so since the early 1900s. Touring domestic and international teams would play against Newcastle's representative team which was made up of players from this league. The Newcastle & Hunter Rugby League is a community competition also based in the region which was created from a merger in 2007 of leagues which ran under various names since the mid-20th century, and is the largest community rugby league competition anywhere in the world. It generally features smaller teams compared to the Newcastle Rugby League.
McDonald Jones Stadium hosted the 2016 Anzac Test between Australia and New Zealand.[76]
Newcastle is served by a daily tabloid, The Herald (formerly The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate and then The Newcastle Herald), several weeklies including the Newcastle Star, The Post and the bi-monthly The Hunter Advocate.
Other alternative media in the city include the university's student publications Opus and Yak magazine,[88] Newcastle Mirage (a local arts and culture zine)[89] and Urchin (a zine published by the media and arts organisation Octapod).
The city is also served by several local radio stations, including those owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and SBS.
Newcastle is also served by five television networks, three commercial and two national services:
Nine airs NBN News live from their Honeysuckle studios each night at six. The bulletin is a mix of its own locally produced stories mixed in with national and international stories sourced from the Nine Network. Local news updates are aired by the Seven, Nine (as NBN News) and WIN Television throughout the day to fulfil local content quotas.
Newcastle has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
