Ourimbah, New South Wales

Ourimbah
Central Coast, New South Wales

Shops along the Pacific Highway at Ourimbah.
Coordinates 33°21′54″S 151°22′05″E / 33.365°S 151.368°E / -33.365; 151.368Coordinates: 33°21′54″S 151°22′05″E / 33.365°S 151.368°E / -33.365; 151.368
Population 4,162 (2011 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 2258
Location
LGA(s) Central Coast Council
Parish Ourimbah
State electorate(s)
Federal Division(s) Dobell

Ourimbah is a small township and a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located about 78 kilometres (48 mi) north of the Sydney CBD. The township today consists of small scattered local shops and businesses along the Pacific Highway, as well as the Central Coast campus of the University of Newcastle. Ourimbah had a population of 4,162 at the 2011 census.[1]

History

The Aboriginal word "Oorin" meaning "Belt of manhood" [2] in which a stone axe was carried on hunting expeditions, and "Oorinbah" which is the bora ring or ceremonial ground in which the initiation ceremony of conferring the "belt of manhood" was carried out is where the name for Ourimbah originates from. Ourimbah was also known as ‘Blue Gum Flats’ which is what the school was called. The name of Ourimbah was universally adopted for the School, Post Office, Railway and Township in the late 1800s.

There are many sites around Ourimbah which provide evidence of Aboriginal occupation. These include axe grinding grooves, archaeological deposits of campfires and food scraps, cave art, as well as many stone implements which have been purloined by museums and privateers.

Blue Gum Flat Public School (Ourimbah Public School) was built in 1863 on the site of the present railway station. In 1886 the school was moved to the opposite side of the road and a wooden building constructed. The Ourimbah railway station was built in the same year and opened on 15 August 1887 and was the only station other than Narara between Gosford and Wyong at this time.

The relocation of the school and construction of the railway provided the opportunity for the subdivision of land into "town-size" allotments and the creation at Ourimbah of a townscape at first dubbed "Beckford". An area had previously been earmarked for a township to the north of this planned subdivision.

The town of Ourimbah, with its blue gums, blackbutts, round leaved gum, spotted gum and white mahogany trees, was an ideal place for the milling of timber to support a Sydney building boom between 1840 and 1870. The 1840s saw a major growth of population in the Ourimbah area. Attracted by the availability of work cutting timber, a great number of young couples moved all through the Central Coast, gradually forming settlements at which many began to put down roots.

While the timber supply thinned out, other means such as Citrus fruit and dairy farming restored the fortunes of Ourimbah. Later, in the 1950s it was realised that the dairy industry could not survive. The citrus farmers found themselves in a similar bind, unable to match the economies of scale available to producers elsewhere.

In January 1970, Ourimbah was the venue for Australia's first major rock festival drawing 11,000 fans.[3][4][5]

The early 1970s land boom, which saw much land redeveloped into smaller holdings, was the end of any serious potential for farming as a means of supporting a family in Ourimbah. Land use once again changed, with pockets of urban development amongst the acreages, themselves now valuable for the leisure opportunities they offered rather than as agricultural holdings.

Education

Entrance of University of Newcastle, Central Coast Campus.

Ourimbah Public School is the oldest school on the Central Coast, opening in 1863 as Blue Gum Flat School. (http://www.ourimbah-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/documents/2573097/2579271/1317966347621_19eb9eec26e2ca27012702ba259a1167.pdf) It continues to grow and change from its once small stable rural environment to its present rapidly expanding urban environment.

The University of Newcastle has a campus at Ourimbah through a multi-sector co-located partnership of the University and TAFE NSW - Hunter Institute. The Ourimbah campus offers University, TAFE and Community College programmes and courses on one site so that students can take advantage of pathways between levels and sectors of education and training. Affiliates are the Central Coast Community College and the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music. The University of Newcastle commenced teaching at the Ourimbah Campus, also known as the Central Coast Campus, in 1989.

Campus Central is the Ourimbah Campus student association. Campus Central has been operating as an independent student organisation at the Ourimbah Cmapus since 1994. Campus Central has retained autonomy through the VSU (Voluntary Student Unionism) legislation changes and continues to provide services to students, members and the Campus community.

Historical sites and heritage listed buildings

More information and photos can be found at: http://www.wyongsc.nsw.gov.au/environment/heritage_inventory.html http://www.wyongsc.nsw.gov.au/wyongshire/historical_sites.html

Transport

Ourimbah Railway Station is situated on the Sydney-Newcastle railway line, the Pacific Motorway, and the Pacific Highway which runs through its centre. It is part of the Wyong Shire local government area.

Major upgrades to the Pacific Highway occurred in 2007 by the NSW Government Roads and Traffic Authority.

Upgrading the intersection of the Pacific Highway and Dog Trap Road at Ourimbah: [7]

Upgrading the Pacific Highway between Glen Road and Burns Road: [8]

Historical images

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Ourimbah (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  2. ↑ http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/placenames.html
  3. ↑ "Weekend Rock Festival In Australia Ends Quietly". The New York Times. 26 January 1970. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  4. ↑ http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2002/01/26/Today-In-Music-A-look-back-at-pop-music/UPI-29361012024800/
  5. ↑ Shedden, Iain; Box, Dan (17 August 2006). "Industry salutes the godfather of Aussie rock". The Australian.
  6. ↑ http://www.brownlee.com.au/Pages/Brownlee%20Sawmill.html
  7. ↑ http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectsregional/centralcoast/dog-trap-road.html
  8. ↑ http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectsregional/centralcoast/lisarow_ourimbah.html
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