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Gosford | |||||||||||||
Elevation: | 20 m (66 ft) | ||||||||||||
Time zone:
• Summer (DST) |
AEST (UTC+10)
AEST (UTC+11) | ||||||||||||
Location: | 86 km (53 mi) from Sydney | ||||||||||||
LGA: | City of Gosford | ||||||||||||
State District: | Gosford | ||||||||||||
Federal Division: | Robertson | ||||||||||||
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Gosford is a city located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, approximately 76 km north of the Sydney central business district. The city is situated at the northern extremity of Brisbane Water, an extensive northern branch of the Hawkesbury River estuary and Broken Bay.
The city is the administrative centre of the Central Coast region,[1] which is the third largest urban area in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle. Gosford is considered a major commercial centre of the Sydney Metropolitan Area, and has been designated as an important growth centre under the NSW Metropolitan Strategy.[2] The city's population was 155,271 in the 2006 census.[3]
Gosford is considered an exurb of the Sydney metropolitan area, with a significant proportion of the population commuting for work or study. This can be attributed to a lower cost of living, lack of employment and educational opportunities in the area, lifestyle factors and the development of strong transport links like the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and Cityrail's Newcastle and Central Coast railway line. These factors have caused Gosford, and the wider Central Coast's population to grow rapidly in recent years.
History
Until European settlement, the area around Gosford was occupied by the Guringai peoples, with the Guringai being principally coastal-dwellers.[4] Along with the other land around the Hawkesbury River estuary, the Brisbane Water district was explored during the early stages of the settlement of Sydney. In the early 19th century some pioneering European settlers began occupying the land, for timber-cutting (mainly ironbark and Australian red cedar), lime production and grazing.
Gosford itself was explored by Governor Phillip between 1788 and 1789. The area was of difficult access and settlement did not start before 1823. By the late 19th century the agriculture in the region was diversifying, with market gardens and citrus orchards occupying the rich soil left after the timber harvest. The first road between Hawkesbury, (near Pittwater) to Brisbane Water was only a cart wheel track even in 1850.[5]
Convicts once lived and worked in the Gosford area. In 1825, Gosford's population reached 100, of which 50% were convicts.
East Gosford was the first centre of settlement. Gosford was named in 1839 after Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford – a friend of the then Governor George Gipps.
In 1887, the rail link to Sydney was completed, requiring a bridge over the Hawkesbury River and a tunnel through the sandstone ridge west of Woy Woy. The introduction of this transport link, and then the Pacific Highway in 1930 accelerated the development of the region.
Gosford became a town in 1885 and was declared a municipality in 1886.[6]
Radio
2GGO - part of Southern Cross Austereo
Climate
Gosford has a humid subtropical climate, with warm summers and mild winters. In summer, temperatures generally range from about 27–28 °C in the day with high humidity and about 17–18 °C at night. Winters are mild with cool overnight temperatures and mild to occasionally warm daytime temperatures with lower humidity. Average rainfall is 1333.0 mm, a lot of which falls in the late summer and autumn. Records range from a maximum of 43.8 °C on 1 January 2006 to a low of −4.2 °C on 16 July 1970.
Climate data for Gosford | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °C (°F) | 27.6 (81.7) |
27.2 (81.0) |
25.9 (78.6) |
23.5 (74.3) |
20.4 (68.7) |
18.0 (64.4) |
17.6 (63.7) |
19.1 (66.4) |
21.5 (70.7) |
23.7 (74.7) |
25.0 (77.0) |
26.8 (80.2) |
23.0 (73.4) |
Average low °C (°F) | 16.9 (62.4) |
17.1 (62.8) |
15.3 (59.5) |
11.9 (53.4) |
8.3 (46.9) |
6.6 (43.9) |
4.8 (40.6) |
5.5 (41.9) |
7.9 (46.2) |
10.8 (51.4) |
13.3 (55.9) |
15.4 (59.7) |
11.1 (52.0) |
Precipitation mm (inches) | 115.6 (4.551) |
185.6 (7.307) |
140.2 (5.52) |
154.6 (6.087) |
119.7 (4.713) |
113.6 (4.472) |
74.3 (2.925) |
72.8 (2.866) |
64.8 (2.551) |
90.8 (3.575) |
95.5 (3.76) |
109.2 (4.299) |
1,333.0 (52.48) |
Source: [7] |
The highest rainfall on record in gosford was about 1000 ml in 1 night.
City centre
Gosford proper is located in a valley with President's Hill on the city's western border and Rumbalara Reserve on its eastern border, and Brisbane water to the city's south. Mann Street, Gosford's main street and part of the Pacific Highway, runs north-south contains the frontage for much of its commercial district. The Central Coast Highway runs past Gosford's waterfront area, while its predecessor the Pacific Highway takes on several names through the CBD itself. Mann Street contains the main public transport links for Gosford, with Gosford railway station (CityRail and CountryLink) and the termini for several bus routes.
In the centre of Gosford is a shopping and community precinct, including Kibble Park, William Street Mall, Gosford City Library, the Imperial Shopping Centre, the Gosford Town Shopping Centre and a full range of shops, cafes, banks and services, especially along William Street Mall.
More recently, the Gosford CBD has suffered a decline as more commercial activity has relocated to nearby Erina, particularly Erina Fair. To address this, there have been proposals to revitalise the city centre by more adequately connecting it to the waterfront, and provide more employment and entertainment areas.
More recently the city has redeveloped its park in the city centre, including a stream, a restaurant and outdoor performance facilities. This will be the beginning of the redevelopment of the CBD.
A small number of high rise developments have been built in the area as well, to encourage a concentration of residence in a bid to stimulate the economy of local business, and the local population, with more high rise developments planned.
Facilities
Gosford is home to:
- Gosford Hospital – the largest hospital on the Central Coast
- Laycock Street Community Theatre - The only professional, proscenium arch theatre venue on the Central Coast
- The Central Coast Conservatorium (in the original Gosford Courthouse)
- The Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium in Grahame Park, adjacent to the Central Coast Leagues Club. Originally built for the Central Coast Bears team in the NRL rugby league competition (to this day, the seats are arranged to say 'Go Bears'), since 2005 it is now the home of the Central Coast Mariners A-League association football team and was the home venue of the Central Coast Rays rugby union Australian Rugby Championship team
- Gosford Racecourse
- Gosford showground
- Gosford High School- The only academically selective high school on the Central Coast.
- Central Coast Grammar School
- The headquarters of the NSW State Government's workers compensation fund, WorkCover.
- Gavenlock Oval – Home ground of the Gosford City Dragons
- St Edward's College, East Gosford- The only all boys private school on the Central Coast.
Notable people
- Anthony Biddle – Paralympian tandem cyclist and athlete[8]
- Alan Davidson – Former Australian cricketer
- David Fairleigh – Former Rugby League forward, 1994 Rothman's Medal winner, NSW & Australian representative player, North Sydney Bears "Team Of The Century" second-rower, current coach of the Central Coast Bears
- Des Hasler – Former Rugby league player, NSW & Australian representative player, 1987 & 1996 Manly Sea Eagles premiership player, 2008 & 2011 Manly Sea Eagles premiership coach
- Matt Orford – Former NRL halfback, 2008 Dally M medal winner, 2008 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles premiership captain
- Brad Porter – Midfielder for the Central Coast Mariners in the Hyundai A-League
- Andrew Redmayne – Goalkeeper for the Brisbane Roar in the Hyundai A-League
- Mark Skaife – 5-time Bathurst 1000 winner
- Ron Peno – Famous Australian Punk & 1980's Rock musician; Lead Singer of Died Pretty
Notable residents
- Charlotte Best, Australian actress, known for her role as Annie Campbell on Home and Away
- Martin Lynes, Accomplished actor known for roles on All Saints and Packed to the Rafters.
- Chris Payne, footballer playing for the North Queensland Fury in the A-League
- Peter Sterling, former rugby league player, 4-time premiership player (1981–83 and 1986)
Sister cities and twin towns
- Edogawa, Tokyo
- Nitra
See also
- List of cities in Australia
- Electoral district of Gosford, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
References
- ^ "Gosford". Central Coast Australia. http://www.centralcoastaustralia.com.au/AreaInfo/towns_Gosford.asp. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Population Growth – Gosford City Council". Gosford.nsw.gov.au. http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/population/popgrowth.html. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ Gosford - Central Coast
- ^ History of Gosford
- ^ "Gosford – Central Coast Australia". Centralcoastaustralia.com.au. http://www.centralcoastaustralia.com.au/AreaInfo/towns_Gosford.asp. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ {{cite web | url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_061087.shtml
- ^ ""Australians at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics: Athletes". Australian Sports Commission. Archived from the original on 20 January 2000. http://pandora.nla.gov.au/nph-arch/2000/Z2000-Jan-20/http://www.ausport.gov.au/olym96/paraathl.html. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
External links
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This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Gosford. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |