Urunga | |
|---|---|
 Urunga | |
  Urunga | |
| Coordinates:30°30′0″S153°01′0″E / 30.50000°S 153.01667°E /-30.50000; 153.01667 | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| LGA | |
| Location |
|
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Elevation | 7 m (23 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 3,185 (2021 census)[2] |
| Postcode | 2455 |
Urunga (/juːˈrʌnɡə/yoo-RUN-gə) is a small town located within theMid North Coast region ofNew South Wales, Australia, inBellingen Shire. It is famous for its surf spots (reefs, beaches and mouth of two rivers). At the2021 census, Urunga had a population of 3,185.[2]The town is south ofCoffs Harbour andSawtell and north ofNambucca Heads. The place name is derived from the Gumbaynggir wordYurūnga (pronounced Yu-roon-ga), which is derived from the word for longyurūn[3] in reference to "long white sands".[4]
There are two main streets, and both abowling club and agolf club. A weekly 6-a-side soccer competition is held on Thursdays at the Oval on Morgo Street, colloquially known as the Cabbage Patch or simply 'The Patch'.[citation needed]
Urunga is a fishing ground, withbream being the main sport fish.[citation needed] The Urunga boardwalk, leading over the tidal Urunga Lagoon then out to the beach, was rebuilt in 1988 and extended in 1991. The full boardwalk was completed in 2007. In November 2010, a further section of boardwalk was completed. This extension finishes at the mouth of the river and has taken the length of the boardwalk to almost one kilometre (0.62 mi). Hungry Head, four kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south is the onlypatrolled beach in Urunga.[5]
On 8 December 2017, the Federal Court of Australia determined that the Gumbaynggirr People have native title rights and interests over an area of land and waters at Wenonah Head, near Urunga. This determination resolved the oldest native title claim in New South Wales.[6]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 924 | — |
| 1976 | 1,207 | +30.6% |
| 1976 | 1,609 | +33.3% |
| 1981 | 2,045 | +27.1% |
| 1986 | 2,336 | +14.2% |
| 1991 | 2,666 | +14.1% |
| 1996 | 2,716 | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 2,706 | −0.4% |
| 2006 | 2,687 | −0.7% |
| 2011 | 2,523 | −6.1% |
| 2016 | 2,599 | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 2,731 | +5.1% |
| Source:Australian Bureau of Statistics data.[7][8] | ||
Urunga celebrates Father's Day with a "Picnic in the Park" in September and a Flathead fishing comp in November.
Urunga railway station opened on theNorth Coast line in 1923 and continues to be served by country passenger trains.[9]
In May 2017 the UrungaWetlands were opened to the public. It features a wheelchair accessible 150-metre boardwalk and a 450-metre walking track surrounding the park.[10] In the late 1960s and early 1970s the area was the site of a processing plant used for extracting theheavy metalantimony from its ore,stibnite. Antimony and other heavy metals leached into the surroundingmelaleuca wetlands creating what was claimed to be "one of the most polluted natural environments in New South Wales."[11] In 2015 a $10 millionreclamation project began that involved treating over 36,000 tonnes of contaminated soils at the site and its storage in an onsite containment cell.Water quality of the wetlands has returned to acceptable levels and birds and other wildlife have started to return since completion of the project.[12]
