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The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most
populated area in the Australian state of New South
Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
Local Government Areas. It is the hub of the Greater
Newcastle area which includes most parts of the Local
Government Areas of City of Newcastle, City of Lake
Macquarie, City of Cessnock, City of Maitland and Port
Stephens Council.
Situated 162 kilometres (101 mi) NNE of Sydney, at the
mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city
within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle
is presently the largest coal exporting harbour in the
world, exporting 88,880,000 tonnes (87,480,000 LT; 97,970,000
ST) of coal in 2007-2008. Beyond the city, the Hunter
Region possesses large coal deposits.
Geography
Newcastle is on the southern bank of the Hunter River
mouth. The northern side is dominated by sand dunes,
swamps and multiple river channels. A 'green belt' protecting
plant and wildlife flanks the city from the west (Watagan
mountains) around to the north where it meets the coast
just north of Stockton. Because of this, urban development
is mainly restricted to the hilly southern bank.[citation
needed] The small town of Stockton sits opposite central
Newcastle at the river mouth and is linked by ferry.
Road access between Stockton and central Newcastle is
via the Stockton Bridge, a distance of 20 km (12 mi).
Much of the city is undercut by the coal measures of
the Sydney sedimentary basin, and what were once numerous
coal-mining villages located in the hills and valleys
around the port have merged into a single urban area
extending southwards to Lake Macquarie.
Demographics
The metropolitan area of Newcastle is the second most
populous area in New South Wales, and includes most
of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government
areas as well as Fern Bay, a southern suburb of Port
Stephens Council. At the 2006 census it had a population
of 288,732. As of 30 June 2008 the population of the
City of Newcastle itself was estimated to be 152,659
while Lake Macquarie was actually larger with a population
of 195,559.
Newcastle is often quoted as being the seventh largest
city in Australia. This is misleading as the area represented
extends well beyond both the City of Newcastle and the
Newcastle metropolitan area. The area, officially the
Newcastle Statistical District, is referred to as Greater
Newcastle or the Lower Hunter Region, which includes
most parts of the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock,
Maitland and Port Stephens local government areas and
has a total population of 493,465. Despite their proximity,
all of the LGAs in the region maintain their own individual
identities, separate from Newcastle. Newcastle remains
the regional hub for most services.
Modern times
A tram halts outside the AMP building at the top end
of Hunter Street, 1947The Port of Newcastle remains
the economic and trade centre for the resource rich
Hunter Valley and for much of the north and northwest
of New South Wales. Newcastle is the world's largest
coal export port and Australia's oldest and second largest
tonnage throughput port, with over 3,000 shipping movements
handling cargo of 93,000,000 tonnes (92,000,000 LT;
103,000,000 ST) per annum, of which coal exports represented
88,880,000 tonnes (87,480,000 LT; 97,970,000 ST) in
2007/08. The volume of coal exported, and attempts to
increase coal exports, are opposed by environmental
groups.
The MV Princess of Tasmania (4700 tons) designed and
built at Newcastle State Dockyard at a cost of £2,000,000
in 1957.Newcastle has a small shipbuilding industry,
which has declined since the 1970s. In recent years
the only major ship-construction contract awarded to
the area was the construction of the Huon class minehunters.
The era of extensive heavy industry passed when the
steel works closed in 1999. Many of the remaining manufacturing
industries have located themselves well away from the
city itself, focusing on cheap land and access to road
transport routes and lack the concentrated social impact
of BHP on the city's life.[citation needed]
Newcastle has one of the oldest theatre districts in
Australia. Victoria Theatre on Perkins Street is the
oldest purpose-built theatre in the country. The theatre
district that occupied the area around what is now the
Hunter Street Mall vanished during the 1940s when much
of Newcastle's cultural appreciation disintegrated in
the very industrial-oriented city.
The old city centre has seen some new apartments and
hotels built in recent years, but the rate of commercial
and retail occupation remains low while alternate suburban
centres have become more important. The CBD itself is
shifting to the west, towards the major urban renewal
area known as "Honeysuckle". This renewal, to run for
another 10 years, is a major part of arresting the shift
of business and residents to the suburbs.
Commercial renewal has been accompanied by cultural
renaissance. There is a vibrant arts scene in the city
including a highly regarded Art gallery, and an active
Hunter Writers' Centre. Recent fictional representations
present a new vision of the city, using the city's historic
past as a backdrop for contemporary fiction.
The old central business district, located at Newcastle's
eastern end, still has a considerable number of historic
buildings, dominated by Christ Church Cathedral, seat
of the (Anglican) Bishop of Newcastle.[31] Other noteworthy
buildings include Fort Scratchley, the Ocean Baths,
the old Customs House, the 1920s City Hall, the 1890s
Longworth Institute (once regarded as the finest building
in the colony) and the 1930s art deco University House
(formerly NESCA House, recently seen in the film Superman
Returns). Residents of Newcastle refer to themselves
as "Novocastrians".
Domestic architecture
A heritage area to the east of the Central Business
District, centred around Christ Church Cathedral, has
many fine Victorian terrace houses, embedded in architecturally
"sympathetic" later housing developments.
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