NSWPlanned settlement
Kariong
A state farm for boys put a village on the ridge.
1912Mount Penang boys’ farm begins
WHAT STARTED IT
Kariong sits on the ridge west of Gosford, near Mount Penang, where boys from the training ship Sobraon began clearing a state farm home in 1912. A small village grew up on the ridge nearby.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
The village was known as Kendall Heights before taking the name Kariong, said to mean “meeting place”, by 1947; in 1949 its progress association was seeking a hall, a school and electricity. The training school site later became the Mount Penang Parklands, home to gardens and the NAISDA Dance College.
TURNING POINTS
1912On 1 July about 100 boys from the training ship Sobraon begin clearing a site at Mount Penang.
1947The village of Kendall Heights is by now known as Kariong.
2003Mount Penang Parklands is listed on the State Heritage Register; Mount Penang Gardens open.
2007NAISDA Dance College moves its headquarters to Mount Penang.
2010Kariong Mountains High School opens in the parklands.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A residential suburb bordered by Brisbane Water National Park. It sits beside the M1 motorway near the Gosford exit, at the southern edge of the Central Coast.