NSWPlanned settlement
Wamberal
A beach between two lagoons, sold off as holiday lots.
1923Blue Lagoon Estate subdivided
WHAT STARTED IT
Wamberal occupies the coastal strip between Wamberal Lagoon and Terrigal Lagoon, next door to Terrigal. Its name is said to come from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘where the sea breaks’.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Estate subdivisions in the 1920s, including Blue Lagoon Estate in 1923 and Birds Eye View Estate in 1929, divided the beachside land into building lots. Older beach houses have since been replaced by larger homes, and beachfront property became some of the most expensive on the Central Coast.
TURNING POINTS
1923Plans are drawn up for the Blue Lagoon Estate at Wamberal.
1929The Birds Eye View Estate opens up Ocean Road and the Scenic Roads for sale.
1981Wamberal Lagoon Nature Reserve is created.
2020Storms erode the beach and threaten beachfront homes.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A residential suburb of about 7,000 people, with a 3.8-kilometre surf beach and bushland ridges set aside from development. Storms in 2020 exposed serious erosion along the beachfront.