Kurri Kurri

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Kurri Kurri

New South Wales, Australia

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Kurri Kurri, town, now part of the city of Cessnock, eastern New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the Hunter River valley. Sydney lies 106 miles (170 km) to the south.

Kurri Kurri was laid out in 1902 as a centre for the surrounding coalfields, its name coming from an Aboriginal term meaning either “man” or “the first.” Nearby is the town of Weston, another coal-mining town, established in 1903. The principal industry in Kurri Kurri is an aluminum smelter, which began operating in 1969, but coal mining remains important, as does the manufacture of clothing. The surrounding area is given to poultry raising, orcharding, dairying, and sawmilling. Kurri Kurri was linked with Cessnock, Weston, and Bellbird in 1966 to form a single local government area. Pop. (2006) Kurri Kurri–Weston urban centre, 12,532; (2011) Kurri Kurri–Weston urban centre, 13,057.

Newcastle

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Newcastle

New South Wales, Australia

Also known as: Coal Harbour Penal Settlement

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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‘Heartbreaking’: poisoning suspected after mass deaths of more than 200 little corellas in Newcastle • Mar. 18, 2025, 7:31 AM ET (The Guardian)

Newcastle Council takes back control of parks • Mar. 1, 2025, 3:19 AM ET (BBC)

Newcastle, city and port, eastern New South Wales, Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Hunter River, approximately 105 miles (170 km) northeast of Sydney.

Newcastle originated as the small Coal Harbour Penal Settlement in 1801 and developed as an outlet for coal (from the Newcastle-Cessnock field) and for farm produce of the fertile hinterland. The city’s iron and steel industries, established in 1915 by the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, Ltd. (BHP), came to rival its coal trade. Diversified industrialization followed, including metallurgy, engineering, shipbuilding, mineral sands mining (rutile and zircon), and major textiles. However, in the 21st century steel production declined dramatically. Proclaimed a municipality in 1859, Newcastle became a city in 1885. Its port facilities (based on North Harbour, the Basin, and Port Waratah) include a floating dock. The University of Newcastle (formerly Newcastle University College) was established in 1965. The Newcastle War Memorial Cultural Centre opened in 1957, and the Newcastle Museum, successor institution to the Newcastle Regional Museum (1988), opened in 2011. The city was struck by a moderate earthquake in 1989 that damaged some buildings. Pop. (2006) local government area, 141,753; (2011) local government area, 148,535; urban agglom., 398,770.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.

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