NSWMining
Woonona
An early coal mine turned a bush track into a village.
1857First Bellambi coal shipped from Woonona mine
WHAT STARTED IT
Thomas Hale opened a mine in an eight-foot seam on the escarpment above Woonona, sending coal down a chute and by dray to the sheltered anchorage at Bellambi. A store, a blacksmith and a post office grew up along the road beside his workings.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Hale’s mine closed in 1863, but it reopened in 1889 and neighbouring collieries kept the village working. A co-operative society based here supplied shops along the northern coalfield, and brick public buildings replaced the early timber ones.
TURNING POINTS
1857Thomas Hale’s first load of Bellambi coal is christened at the harbour in November.
1859A post office opens, kept by storekeeper Henry Fry.
1863Hale’s Woonona Colliery closes.
1889The Woonona mine reopens after 25 years.
1903A new brick post office opens on the main road.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A northern Wollongong suburb of about 12,400 people, with a highway shopping strip, a surf beach and the ocean pool at Collins Rock.