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Boolaroo is a suburb and former town of Greater Newcastle, city of Lake Macquarie, in New South Wales, Australia.
| Boolaroo Newcastle, New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  Boolaroo | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 32°57′30″S 151°37′30″E / 32.95833°S 151.62500°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 1,636 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 399/km2 (1,033/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2284 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 4.1 km2 (1.6 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | City of Lake Macquarie | ||||||||||||||
| Parish | Kahibah | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Lake Macquarie | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Shortland | ||||||||||||||
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Geography
editThe suburb is located 166 kilometres (103 mi) from Sydney and is 18 kilometres (11 mi) southwest of Newcastle's central business district in Lake Macquarie's West Ward.[2]
Boolaroo borders a number of well-known towns and suburbs within the Lake Macquarie Region, including Warners Bay and Speers Point, and, for a small strip of land, fronts onto Lake Macquarie itself.
History
editThe Aboriginal people, in this area, the Awabakal, were the first people of this land.[3]
The Aboriginal meaning of Boolaroo is 'place of many flies'[2][4] or 'place of may flies.'[4]
It was founded as a village in 1829 and proclaimed a town in 1896.[2]
The Boolaroo Jockey Club ran race meetings in the town from 1907 to 1931.[2]
It was the epicentre of the 1989 Newcastle earthquake.
The suburb's boundaries were defined on 31 May 1991, and amended on 10 September 2001.[4]
It is unclear when Boolaroo was redesignated from a town to a suburb.
Demographics
editIn the 2016 census, Boolaroo recorded a population of 1,039 people, 50.5% female and 49.5% male. The median age of the Boolaroo population was 42 years, 4 years above the national median of 38, with 88.0% of people living in Boolaroo were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 1.9%, New Zealand 1.7%, Philippines 1.0%, Scotland 0.4% and Wales 0.4%. 94.0% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.1% Tagalog, 0.4% Mandarin, 0.3% French, 0.3% Italian and 0.3% Serbo-Croatian/Yugoslavian, so described.[5]
In the 2021 census, Boolaroo recorded a population of 1,636 people, 52.0% female and 48.0% male. The median age of the Boolaroo population was 39 years, 1 year above the national median of 38, with 85.6% of people living in Boolaroo were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 2.4%, New Zealand 1.3%, South Africa 0.7%, India 0.6%, and Scotland 0.4%. 90.5% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.6% German, 0.6% Afrikaans, 0.4% Hindi, 0.3% Arabic, and 0.3% Gujarati.[6]
Amenities
editBoolaroo previously housed a lead/zinc smelter, owned by the former Pasminco (now Zinifex) however the site has been cleared since the smelter ceased operations on 12 September 2003.[7]
Boolaroo is home to several churches, of various denominations, as well as Boolaroo Public School, a library, a cinema (which was partially destroyed in the 1989 Newcastle earthquake) and a number of shops, including a small supermarket and a military disposal store.
Transport
editWithin Boolaroo is the Cockle Creek railway station, a small station on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Boolaroo". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d Boon, Robert (1991). The Concise Encyclopedia of Australia and New Zealand. Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Sydney: Horwitz Grahame Pty Limited. pp. 213–214. ISBN 0 7255 2236 4.
- ^ "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people". Lake Macquarie City. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ a b c "NSW Place and Road Naming Proposals System". proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Boolaroo (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Boolaroo (Suburb and Locality)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ Dalton, C.; Bates, L. (2005). "Impact of closure of a large lead-zinc smelter on elevated blood lead levels of children in adjacent suburbs, Boolaroo, Australia" (PDF). WIT Press. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
External links
edit- History of Boolaroo (Lake Macquarie City Library)