Thirroul is a northern
seaside suburb of the city of Wollongong
, Australia, with the name
supposedly Aboriginal for "Valley of Cabbage Tree Palms".
Situated
between Austinmer
and Bulli
, it is approximately 13 kilometres north of
Wollongong, and 69 km south of Sydney
. It
lies between the Pacific Ocean and a section of the
Illawarra escarpment known as Lady
Fuller Park, adjacent to Bulli Pass Scenic Reserve.
General
It is a fairly old town, originally called Robbinsville and dating
back to the early days of settlement in the area, when coal mining
operations began and miners needed residences, though logging had
been occurring before for some time. It has a lot of visible
heritage.
The town's
major commercial area lies between an area just north of Bulli
Pass, where the Princes Highway
splits to form the Lawrence
Hargrave Drive, to Thirroul
Station
, on the South Coast Line, and over the bridge and
past the main centre and the Anita's
Theatre building, which underwent large-scale renovations in
2006/2007. Supermarkets include a
BI-LO and
Franklins. Thirroul is steadily growing in
population, and many new shops are added regularly. Many cafes now
exist in Thirroul's main commercial area, adding to its popularity
as a seaside holiday town. The Beaches Hotel and Ryans Hotel are
lively pubs for locals and tourists alike, both located on the main
road. Thirroul also has a sub-branch of the
Returned and Services
League of Australia (RSL). The boutique clothing and jewellery
shops, florists, conveniences stores, newsagencies and other
shopping essentials make it the main shopping area for the northern
suburbs of Wollongong.
There are two primary schools, St. Michaels and Thirroul Public
School. St. Michael's
[92556] is a Catholic school that was established by
the
Sisters of St. Joseph in
1940 and is located in Station Street. The current principal is
Mrs. Louise Campbell. Thirroul Public school
[92557]was established in 1889 and is located
in Roxburgh Avenue. The current principal is Mr. Gary Graham.
Thirroul also has a Thirroul Scout Group as part of the Scout
Association of Australia, NSW Branch.
Thirroul is served by express and all stations trains on the
CityRail South Coast line. All trains stop
in Thirroul. In 2005, the station was expanded with
elevators.
Thirroul is represented in the Tooheys Illawarra Rugby League by
the Thirroul Butchers
[92558]. The Butchers were established in 1913.
Star players currently include Ben Couchman, Aaron Beath and Fuad
Suljkanovic. The Thirroul Butchers attract crowds between 500 and
1500 a game, depending on their opponents. Thirroul is also home to
a junior soccer club
[92559]and rugby clubs, which include many male
& female teams ranging form under 6's to under 18's. A new
senior soccer side, the Thunder, has been established for the 2008
season. Soccer is played at the southern end of the local Thomas
Gibson Park and rugby is held at the northern end which has a large
grandstand. Thirroul is also part of the Northern Suburbs Netball
Club. The Thirroul Amateur Swimming Club has been operating in
Thirroul since 1954. Swim nights are conducted weekly between
October and March. The club is non-profit and affiliated with NSW
Swimming.
Thirroul is also part of the Northern Illawarra Chamber of Commerce
[92560], which
was established in 1996 and is recognised as an official body by
the Wollongong City Council. Its aim is to promote the identity of
the Northern Illawarra in co-operation with local business owners,
the resident community, and government and tourism bodies to
generate local business growth for the region.
The Northern Leader is a newspaper established for people
living in the northern suburbs of the
Illawarra. Thirroul has many fashion, gift &
lifestyle shops along the main streets. Thirroul is also home to
King's Theatre (1913) which has recently been refurbished
and renamed to
Anita's Theatre by the developer John
Comelli, in honour of his late wife.
The annual
Thirroul Seaside & Arts Festival is held over a
weekend in the first week of April. It includes activities such as
art exhibitions and workshops, kids activities, live stage
entertainment, buskers, a variety of stalls, pony and carnival
rides and face painting. The festival won the 2003 Illawarra
tourism Award in the events/festivals category. Involved in
organising the event is the Austimer-Thirroul Lions Club. The
festival actively involves community organisations, educational
institutions, sporting groups, performing and visual art studios,
scouts, surf lifesavers and the general public.
In June 2009, the new Thirroul District Library and Community
centre was opened. This library offers email and word processing,
inter-library loans, photocopying and printing, free internet
access and childrens programs.
[92561].
Demographics
Thirroul has one of the least culturally diverse populations in the
Wollongong local government area (LGA). In 2001, 13.8% of the
Thirroul population was born overseas, compared to 23.0% for the
Wollongong LGA. In addition 4.5% of the Thirroul population
reported in the 2001 Census to speaking a language other than
English in the home, compared with 17.1% for the Wollongong
LGA.
The 2001 census also indicated that the median weekly individual,
family and household incomes in Thirroul are higher than those for
the Wollongong LGA. 16.3% of Thirroul individuals earn more than
$1000 a week, which is significantly higher than the Wollongong
area. Levels of qualification in Thirroul are also higher than the
Wollongong LGA.
Many former Sydneysiders have moved to Thirroul and now commute to
work from the northern area. Few employment opportunities exist in
the suburb with much of the labour force commuting to Sydney for
work. Thirroul's major industry of employment is education, with
14.5% of the labour force employed in this area. Health and
community services is Thirroul's second major employer.
Thirroul Beach
The beach
is a prominent feature, as well as the backdrop of the 400 metre
high escarpment, attracting many bushwalkers to northern Austinmer and surfers to both beaches. Thirroul beach
is popular with both locals and tourists, becoming particularly
busy in summer months and long weekends. The beach is 1 kilometre
long and backed by a large, grassy reserve. Swimming can be
potentially hazardous because of permanent and shifting rips. The
beach is patrolled in Summer and a 50 m ocean pool is located
near the beach. The Thirroul Surf Lifesaving Club
[92562] was
established in 1907 as one of 14 foundation clubs in NSW. There
have also been complaints of under-age drinking, noise and
anti-social behaviour occurring on Thirroul Beach Park after dark,
especially in the summer months. Former Iron Men Champions Darren
and Dean Mercer are from Thirroul and their parents still reside in
the town.
Thirroul SLSC is also the home of the Thirroul Seagulls IRB
(inflatable rescue boat) Racing Team, who have competed strongly
for the last 15 years.
Aerial photo from north west
Thirroul is an exposed beach and reef break, and has reliable surf
all year. The most desirable wind for surfing in Thirroul is
offshore winds from the west north-west. Most of the surf in
Thirroul comes from groundswells, with the best swell direction the
south-east. The beach break provides for both left and
right-handers. Caution should be taken with rips, rocks, sharks
and, during the summer, bluebottles.
Natural Environment and Wildlife
The Sandon Point Stockland development, has given rise to much
controversy and conflict between developers and environmental and
Aboriginal groups over Aboriginal heritage and coastal wetland and
floodplain since 1989, is just south in Bulli. This
protest is
ongoing, and included a 24/7 picket for five years before an
arson attack, and a continuing Aboriginal Tent Embassy. Resident
Jill Walker has been heroic in taking Stockland and the Minister
for Planning to both the Land and Environment and Supreme Courts
over a number of outstanding environmental issues relating to the
development. It is also the starting/finishing point to the bike
track that runs south to Wollongong, the
Wollongong to Thirroul Bike
Track. The escarpment area is rich in its variety of birdlife.
Recorded birds in the northern suburbs of Wollongong include the
Australian King Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Eastern Sea Eagle and the
Brown Gerygone.
History
Before European settlement, Wodi Wodi
Aborigine inhabited the area known
then as Thurrural, meaning "The Valley of the Cabbage Tree Palms".
Cabbage tree palms were once plentiful in the area, hence the name.
Early white settlers used cabbage tree palms to make strong fence
posts. The trees are still present on either side of
Bulli Pass.
Early settlement began in the late 1860s in the hilly area of the
village as the lower beachside area was swampy and susceptible to
flooding with high tides sometimes combining with heavy rain.
Occupations consisted of farming,
cedar
logging, whaling and fruit growing and eventually mining when the
[Bulli Mine was opened in 1859. The township was known as North
Bulli until February 1880 when, after a meeting of the town's
residents, the name of Robbinsvale was chosen. The town was then
known as Robbinsvale until 1895, when the name "Thirroul" was
officially adopted.
In 1888 the rail link with Sydney was finished. Early construction
workers on the railway caused a population increase, and the
eastern side of the town progressed rapidly. The Railway Institute
Hall where workers once studied has been classified as a heritage
building. The construction of the rail link also created an
increase in tourism for Thirroul. It became a popular family
seaside holiday destination with boarding houses and holiday
cottages in demand.
Two known early residents include Samuel McCauley and Frederick
Robbins. McCauley was one of the oldest residents of the Illawarra
district when he died in June 1899 in Thirroul. A street in
Thirroul has been named McCauley street. Robbins was a prominent
resident who gave his name to the township of North Bulli as it was
then called. He was made the first postmaster of Robbinsville in
1888 after, along with other residents, lobbying the government to
supply a post office and railway platform.
In 1898 the
Amy was shipwrecked on the rocks at the
southern end of Thirroul beach. All of its crew died. A memorial
plaque to the Amy and her crew is located in the Thirroul Beach
Park.
[92563]
The world famous English author,
D.
H. Lawrence visited Thirroul in 1923 and wrote
the novel
Kangaroo about Australian
fringe politics after the First World War whilst there. Over
looking the Pacific Ocean, his house
Wyewurk is the
earliest Australian bungalow to show the influence of the
Californian Bungalow style of
architecture. He gave this description of the town...
"…The
town trailed down from the foot of the mountain towards the
railway, a huddle of grey and red painted iron roofs. Then
over the rail line towards the sea, it began again in a spasmodic
fashion….There were wide unmade roads running straight as to go
nowhere, with little bungalow homes…..Then quite near the inland,
rose a great black wall of mountain or cliff…..". The book
D.H. Lawrence at Thirroul by life-long Thirroul resident Joseph
Davis was published by Collins (Sydney) in 1989 and questioned many
of the assumptions made by Robert Darroch in his 1981 work entitled
D.H. Lawrence in Australia published by Macmillan (Melbourne). The
Cambridge edition of Kangaroo (edited by Bruce Steele) tended to
accept the views of Davis rather than those of Darroch. Davis has
gone on to write a number of books about art and the environment in
Thirroul and the local area, including Lake Illawarra: an ongoing
history (2005).
Artist
Brett Whiteley died from a
heroin overdose in the Beachside Motel in Thirroul on the 15th June
1992, aged 53.
[92564] The artist Paul Ryan (many times short
listed for the Archibald Prize) is a long-term resident of
Thirroul, as is the up and coming 'outsider' art practitioner Frank
Nowlan.
In 1993 the Thirroul Village Committee won the prestigious Basil
Ryan gold award at the Rise & Shine Awards presentation for
improved streetscapes. The Thirroul Seaside and Arts Festival began
as "the Growing Green Kids Festival' - a not-for-profit event which
was the brain-child of resident Cate Wilson. Cate is also President
of the Thirroul Action Group (TAG) - an environmental group which
has functioned for around 30 years. Residents concerned about
health risks picketed against the Telstra phone tower in 1997.
Storms and floods severely affected the Thirroul area in August
1998.
In August 2007, Thirroul's CBD and beach was declared an alcohol
free zone as a council initiative to prevent public drinking on
streets and footpaths within the designated area. A local
developer, John Comelli, re-opened the old King's Picture Theatre
In Thirroul as Anita's Theatre in 2007 after a lavish
refurbishment.
References
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