NSWPlanned settlement
Umina Beach
A sand plain behind a surf beach became the Central Coast’s biggest suburb.
1917Model Township plans approved
WHAT STARTED IT
Umina sits on the flat sand plain of the Woy Woy Peninsula, built up between sandstone headlands where Broken Bay, the Hawkesbury River and Brisbane Water meet. Its level ground and long surf beach suited holiday subdivision once the railway reached nearby Woy Woy.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
In 1917 Erina Shire approved plans for the Ocean Beach Model Township behind the beach, with 100-foot avenues and a large beachfront reserve. Its first lots went to auction at Easter 1918, when tenders were also called for a motor service from Woy Woy station; Umina Public School opened in 1956.
TURNING POINTS
1917Erina Shire approves plans for the Ocean Beach Model Township, with 100-foot avenues and a beachfront reserve.
1918Tenders are called for a motor service from Woy Woy station; 30 lots sell at the first Easter auction.
1927The Ocean Beach Surf Life Saving Club is active on the beach.
1956Umina Public School opens.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
The most populous suburb on the Central Coast, with a busy town centre around West Street. Surf clubs patrol both Umina Beach and Ocean Beach, two names for one unbroken shoreline.
KEEP READING · SOURCESTrove · Gosford Times, 29 November 1917, ‘Ocean Beach Model Township, Woy Woy’Trove · Gosford Times, 28 February 1918, ‘Family Notices’ (motor service tender)Trove · Sydney Morning Herald, 3 April 1918, ‘Property Sales’Trove · Gosford Times, 1 December 1927, ‘Ocean Beach S.L.S. Club’Traveller · Woy Woy (including Ettalong, Umina, Ocean Beach and Koolewong)Wikipedia · Umina Beach