Gosford, New South Wales
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Gosford
- Country: Australia
- State: New South Wales
- Location: Template:Coor dm
- Gosford Council Area: 940.2 km2
- Population (2001): 154,654
- Postcodes: 2250, 2251, 2256, 2257, 2260
Gosford is a city in the Australian state of New South Wales, located between Sydney and Newcastle and approximately 70 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 serves as the administrative centre for Gosford City Council. .
History
Prior to European settlement, the area around Gosford were occupied by two groups of Australian Aborigines, the Guringai and Darkingung peoples, with the Guringai being principally coastal-dwellers and the Darkingung occupying land that extended westwards.
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 1800s some pioneering European settlers began occupying the land, for timber-cutting (mainly ironbark and Australian red cedar), lime production and grazing.
Gosford itself was founded as a government township in the 1830s, originally to be named Point Frederick, but named Gosford at the direction of the Governor of NSW. The name Point Frederick is now used for a suburb and the spit of land it occupies, stretching southwards from Gosford. Since shipping was the principal form of transport, the position at the northernmost end of Brisbane water provided access to the timber and other developing primary industries in the valleys of Narara Creek to the north and Erina Creek to the east. By the late 1800s the agriculture in the region was diversifying, with market gardens and citrus orchards occupying the rich soil left after the timber harvest. 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.
See also
External links
- Gosford city council website (http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/)
- Central Coast tourism (http://www.cctourism.com.au/)
- Central Coast regional development organisation website (http://www.ccrdc.org.au/)
- NSW Department of Local Government: Suburbs and Towns in Gosford Council (http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_Regions.asp?regiontype=2&slacode=3100®ion=SS) (includes map)ro:Gosford