Belmont | |||||||||||||
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 View from Belmont 16s sailing club | |||||||||||||
  Belmont | |||||||||||||
 Interactive map of Belmont | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:33°02′13″S151°39′36″E / 33.03694°S 151.66000°E /-33.03694; 151.66000 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| City | Greater Newcastle | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location |
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| Established | 1825 | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 8.8 km2 (3.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 8 m (26 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 7,289 (2021 census)[2] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 828/km2 (2,145/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 2280 | ||||||||||||
| Parish | Kahibah | ||||||||||||
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Belmont (Awabakal:Bahtahbah)[3] is a suburb in theCity of Lake MacquarieNew South Wales,Australia, located20 kilometres (12 mi) fromNewcastle'scentral business district on the eastern side ofLake Macquarie.
Belmont is situated on a sandy peninsula formed by theTasman Sea on the east and Lake Macquarie.[4]
Prior to European settlement, the area around Belmont was inhabited by theAwabakal people – the Awabakal named the areaBahtahbah, meaning "hill on a lake".[3] In 1825, ReverendLancelot Edward Threlkeld established a Christian mission at Belmont at the behest of theLondon Missionary Society, occupying the area where the present-day TAFE campus is.[5] He established small scale farming of wheat andIndian Corn and employed the local Aboriginal people to help him. While doing so, Threlkeld – with the help of local tribesmanBiraban – recorded phonetically the language of the Awabakal and produced the first serious works on Aboriginal language, its grammar, usage, and relation to other Aboriginal tribal languages.[citation needed]
Thomas Williamson (1833–1880) was born in the northernmost island ofUnst, Shetland Islands in a hamlet calledBelmont. He was the third settler in the Lake Macquarie area and in 1865 selected 100 acres, including the site of Rev. Threlkeld's old Aboriginal mission to settle.[citation needed] On the rising land leading to the top of the hill, near the corner of Walter and Victoria Streets (and what became, many years later the Infants School) he built a large residence to serve as a guest house, naming it after the town of his birth "Belmont" House. It is thought the village which grew up around it may have assumed the name from the house.[citation needed] As the village grew, some of the streets were named after his children: Ada St leads down to theLake Macquarie Yacht Club, Maude St comes from Cahill Oval down to the water at the baths. Walter St would have come right past the old Belmont house whilst Alick (named for Alexander) and Ernest Sts marked the eastern boundary of the original acreage. Thomas St, outside the shopping centre, is named after Thomas Williamson himself. On the eastern side of the old house Williamson planted a vineyard, facing towards the lagoon, and to the north an orchard including banana trees.[citation needed]
In 1874, he erected the first church just near where George St meets the highway, and the Belmont Post Office was opened in 1877 with Thomas Williamson himself as Postmaster. He continued in this capacity until his death. He was also the first licensee of the Belmont Hotel, which opened nearby the church. In 1873, realising that there were enough children in the local village to warrant the existence of one, he opened the first school, a single-roomed building, next to Maudeville Cottage. John Anderson bought "Anderson's Hill" in 1870 and built a guesthouse called "Bellevue" after which the road was named.[6]
The area from Ross St on the water, to Lewers St was bought by Robert D. Lewers, Sydney Manager of the Bank of London and subdivided in 1916, known as Lewers Estate for many years.[citation needed]
The land around the lake was of such poor quality, apart from in small patches, that as early as 1828, Henry Dangar, Government Surveyor, knew that it was more suited " to the retired naval, military or civil officer, or to the merchant, inclined to quit the busy scene, one who is fond of shooting, fishing, or hunting, or boat sailing, where he can enjoy living with a most salubrious air..."[citation needed] Any industrial use or mining in the lake was constrained by the terrible nature of the bar on the lake's entrance atSwansea. Hence, in order to provide to a larger need for lifestyle and recreation, rather than industrial use, the issue of transport was vital. The road had been a major problem from almost the beginning of the township's life. It was reported as "one of the worst in the colony" – only 12 miles from Newcastle but taking two and a half to three hours bydray.[citation needed] Guesthouses failed to thrive because of the severity of the road conditions and really it was not until the road was formally fixed in the 1910s, and the Pacific Highway came through in the 1920s, that Belmont was able to make the most of its beautiful surroundings, and the township started to thrive.[7] In addition, the New Redhead Estate & Coal Company extended theirtrainline to Belmont, where both a station and coal-loading ramps and sidings were constructed. Passenger trains ran every day of the week to Belmont. The line was closed in 1991.[citation needed]
Through urbanisation and the use of the hills to the north and north-east of the peninsula, Belmont has become one of the major centres of Lake Macquarie.[citation needed] The suburb itself is currently (2011 census) the fourth-largest by population, with the surrounding locality (consisting of Belmont North, Floraville and Jewells) the largest locality within the jurisdiction of Lake Macquarie City Council.
According to the2016 census of population, there were 7,114 people in Belmont.
Belmont is home to many shops, restaurants and many other amenities. Belmont and the surrounding locality also include 4 primary schools (Belmont Public School, Belmont North Public School, Floraville Public School and Jewells Public School); 2 secondary schools, Belmont High School and Belmont Christian College, along with a tertiary institution in the form of a campus ofTAFE NSW (formerly Hunter Institute of TAFE).Belmont Hospital, located on Croudace Bay Road, is the only public hospital in Lake Macquarie. Belmont Baths, a public swimming enclosure measuring 70m in length and 45m in width, re-opened to the public on 22 December 2018.[8]
Until May 2006,Aeropelican (nowFlyPelican) operated scheduled passenger services fromBelmont Airport toSydney Airport. The discontinuation of these services has all but closed the airfield, with owners seeking to develop the land. Belmont Airport is now privately co-owned byRed Bull Air Race pilotMatt Hall and a skydiving company.
Many collieries, large and small, sought coal from the coal seams which were plentiful in the Belmont area, the largest of these being theBHP's John Darling Colliery at Belmont North. The NewRedhead Estate & Coal Mining Company operated a railway until recent times from Belmont toAdamstown, a suburb ofNewcastle,[9] where it joined theNew South Wales Government Railways Main Line. The railway carried passenger trains as well as coal trains and served several collieries. Also, situated on a spur line just south of Belmont railway station, was a large railway coal loading facility, whereby motor trucks from collieries as far afield asSwansea, could load their coal into railway trucks for transporting to Newcastle's port. The smaller collieries closed due to the 1960s - 1970s slump in the industry, the last being Belltop Colliery. The larger collieries closed later.[citation needed]
