| CITY OVERVIEW
Stay in Wollongong
|
Like Newacstle, Wollongong is also famed for its steel
production and industrial landscape, especially in the area around Port
Kembla, which is some 8km south of the Wollongong City Centre. Unlike
Newcastle, Wollongong still relies on BHP's iron and steel production - so
much so that Wollongong is commonly referred to as the 'Steel City' - the former NRL team Illawarra were
also referred to as the 'Steelers'.
Like Newcastle, however, Wollongong likes to foster its relationhip with the beach as its main attraction. Some of the beaches north and south of Wollongong that attracts surfers, swimmers and tourists alike include Wollongong City Beach, North Wollongong Beach, Thirroul Beach, Fairymeadow Beach, Bulli Beach, Corrimal Beach, Bellambi Beach and Wonoona Beach. The most popular beach for tourists and the one that has most hotel accommodation along it is North Wollongong. To the south of Wollongong exists several towns that have become popular holiday resorts with people escaping Sydney for weekends and holidays. These towns include Kiama, Gerringong, Shoalhaven Heads, Culburra, Ulladulla and Bateman's Bay. |
| GETTING THERE
Fly to Sydney From USA
|
The best way to get to Wollongong from Sydney by public transport is CityRail's Inter City train service between Central Station in Sydney and Wollongong Station in Wollongong. Wollongong's public transport system is largely bus-based, with most services provided by State Transit. There are also rail services from Wollongong to surrounding suburbs and towns, including Nowra, Kiama, Berry, Bulli and Dapto. |
| NRL
ST. GEORGE - ILLAWARRA DRAGONS Ticket information through Dragons
|
See St.George-Illawarra Dragons in the Sydney reference. |
| NSL
WOLLONGONG WOLVES |
The Wollongong Wolves (formerly Wollongong City) have been one of the premier teams in the NSL. After some poor results in the early years, they won the NSL title (1999-2000) – and repeated again in 2000-2001. They also made playoffs in 1997-98. |
| NBL
WOLLONGONG HAWKS |
The Wollongong Hawks (originally the Illawarra Hawks) entered the NBL in its inaugral year and took an age to make their mark on the competition. They first made the playoffs in 1984 but became regular playoff contenders between the years of 1986 and 1995 by mkaing it six times. They reappeared as a semi-final contender again in 1998 in the leadup to the first title win in 2001. They have had a tremendous rivalry with the Sydney Kings and take great glee in being the first NSW team to win an NBL title. |
| WIN STADIUM |
WIN Stadium (formerly Wollongong Showground) hosts the NRL Dragons and the NSL Wolves and is located behind Wollongong Beach at Harbour Street, Wollongong. The Stadium has been used for Rugby League since the Illawarra Steelers first entered the competition in 1982. The ground has been gradually upgraded to its current capacity of 15,000 (including making the ground rectangular for football purposes and replacing the greyhound track that used to circle the ground). It also replaced Brandon Park as the Wolves home ground in 2000. There have been two new grandstands built since this time in addition to the grass-hill seating on the eastern side of the ground. The
Stadium is located some 1.2km away from Wollongong Railway Station (CityRail
South Coast Line). From the eastern exit of the station, walk east along
Station Street, which leads onto Burelli Street which leads straight to
the entrance of the Stadium. Buses access the Stadium but they leave from
the Gateway Centre on Wollongong City Mall, which is half-way between the
Railway Station and the Stadium. |
| WOLLONGONG ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE |
The Wollongong Entertainment Centre hosts the Hawks and is located a the northern end of WIN Stadium on the corner of Harbour Street and Crown Street, Wollongong. The Centre was opened in 1999 and has a capacity of just under 6,000. It replaces the famous tin-shed Snake Pit, which was one of the smallest but loudest stadiums in the NBL. It became a great home court advantage for the Hawks but it never hosted a championship team like the new Entertainment Centre did in 2001. As the Entertainment Centre is adjacent to WIN Stadium, you can follow the same directions as listed above. |
| HORSE
RACING
KEMBLA GRANGE RACECOURSE Tickets available at course |
The Illawarra Turf Club's Kembla Grange is the home of the 2 year old Kembla Grange Classic in the Autumn - a major lead up race to the Golden Slipper at Rosehill Gardens. Kembla Grange is located of the Princess Highway at Kemla Grange, which is some 10km south-west of downtown Wollongong. It is located adjacent to Kembla Grange Racecourse Railway Station, which is located on the South Coast line between Bomaderry and Wollongong. |
