Current Time in Wollongong, Australia

Wollongong sits on the Pacific coast of New South Wales, about eighty kilometres south of Sydney, on a narrow coastal plain squeezed between the ocean and the dramatic sandstone cliffs of the Illawarra Escarpment. Rainforest-clad slopes rise steeply behind the suburbs, waterfalls tumble down the gullies after rain, and a string of surf beaches runs north and south from the harbour. Few Australian cities enjoy such a striking natural setting.

The urban area is home to around three hundred and ten thousand people, making it the third largest city in the state. Wollongong grew as a coal and steel town, and the Port Kembla steelworks remains the largest steel producer in Australia, alongside a busy industrial port that handles coal, grain and vehicles. In recent decades the economy has broadened considerably into education, health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing and tourism, and the city increasingly functions as part of the wider Sydney region.

The Dharawal people have lived along this coast for thousands of years, and the name of the city comes from their language, with several suggested meanings including the sound of the sea. European settlers arrived in the 1810s to graze cattle and cut cedar, and coal was discovered in the escarpment soon afterwards. Mining transformed the district in the nineteenth century, a harbour was cut into the rock to ship the coal, and the opening of the steelworks in 1928 brought decades of industrial growth. Waves of migrants from Britain, Italy, Greece, the former Yugoslavia, Turkey, Lebanon and later Asia and Africa came to work in the mills and gave the city a genuinely multicultural character.

Visitors head for the beaches, the historic lighthouses and the old fishing harbour at Belmore Basin, where trawlers unload beside seafood restaurants. Flagstaff Hill offers sweeping views along the coast. The Nan Tien Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere, is an unexpected and beautiful complex of pagodas and gardens on the southern edge of the city. North of town, the Sea Cliff Bridge curves out over the ocean along the Grand Pacific Drive, one of the most spectacular coastal roads in the country, while walking tracks climb Mount Keira and Mount Kembla for views across the whole Illawarra.

The city has a strong arts scene centred on the regional art gallery, the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre and a lively calendar of festivals, markets and food events. Surfing, hang gliding at Bald Hill, cycling on the coastal path and rugby league are part of everyday life, and the Botanic Garden and Science Centre are popular with families.

The South Coast railway line runs to Sydney through tunnels and along cliffs, and motorways, buses and a free city shuttle complete the network. The University of Wollongong is a major research institution with a large international student body and a campus set among bushland.

Wollongong is popular for combining beaches, mountains, industry and a relaxed coastal lifestyle within easy reach of Sydney.