WHERE: On the South Coast of New South Wales, 85 kilometres south of Sydney along the Princes Highway. 242 kilometres to Canberra, 835 kilometres to Melbourne.
AREA: 684 square kilometres.
POPULATION: According to the 2001 census, there were 181,612 people in the city of Wollongong. Including Shellharbour and Kiama, the region had a population of 257,510.
ORIGINAL INHABITANTS: Dharwal Aborigines. First Europeans to visit the area were the navigators George Bass and Matthew Flinders in 1796. The first European settlers came in the early 19th century.
TERTIARY EDUCATION: University of Wollongong. The Wollongong campus is three kilometres from the city centre.
PERFORMING ARTS: The Illawarra Performing Arts Centre is right in the heart of Wollongong. It has three performance spaces - IMB Theatre, Bruce Gordon Theatre, Bob Peet Studio - and is the home of the Merrigong Theatre Company. Located on Burelli St, between Kembla and Corrimal Sts, a block south of Crown St.
GALLERY/MUSEUM: Wollongong City Gallery is the largest regional museum in Australia. It has a major collection of contemporary Australian, Aboriginal and Illawarra colonial art, and features temporary exhibitions which change monthly. Located at Kembla and Burelli Sts.
GETTING THERE: The easiest way from Sydney to Wollongong is to take the Princes Highway (F6 Freeway until the outskirts of Wollongong) and follow it all the way into the city of Wollongong. That's the left fork at the Y intersection after coming down the mountain. The F6 Freeway bypasses Wollongong city centre and continues farther south. An alternative route, particularly if coming from the western and southwestern suburbs of Sydney, is to take the M5 Freeway to Campbelltown, then through Appin Rd. Turn left at Appin into Church St and into Bulli-Appin Rd until it joins the F6 just north of Bulli. Continue south and into Wollongong.
ACCOMMODATION: Wollongong Hotels
TOURISM WEBSITE: www.tourismwollongong.com.au
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