Illawarra

The Illawarra is the name given to a coastal region of New South Wales immediately south of Sydney. Immediately adjacent to the Illawarra to the south is the Shoalhaven region.

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The Illawarra consists of a narrow, hilly, coastal region bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the east and a mountainous, almost impassable escarpment forming the eastern edge of the Southern Highland plateau, to the west. The district extends from Bald Hill in the north to the Shoalhaven River in the south, and contains the city of Wollongong, the third largest urban area in New South Wales.

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The main industries in the area have traditionally been farming, coal mining and steel making. Australia's largest steel works is located at Port Kembla. The Illawarra region is linked to Sydney by motorway and electric railway (see South Coast railway line) and to the interior by the Illawarra Highway.

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Towns in the Illawarra include Thirroul, Bulli, Wollongong, Port Kembla, Windang, Dapto, Albion Park, Shellharbour, Kiama, Gerringong and Jamberoo.

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The Illawarra is administered by four councils: City of Wollongong, City of Shellharbour, Municipality of Kiama and City of Shoalhaven.

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Wollongong council is the northernmost council, ranging from Helensburgh (beyond the northern geographic boundary of Bald Hill) to Lake Illawarra. The Shellharbour council is south of that and ranges from Yallah to Oak Flats. The Kiama LGA's (local government area) northern border is the Minnamurra River and covers all the area to about 4 km south of Gerroa. The Shoalhaven City Council covers the southernmost reaches of the Illawarra, and further south to Ulladulla.

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New South Wales: New South Wales (NSW) is Australia's most populous and oldest state, located in the south-east, north of Victoria and south of Queensland. It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland. During the 19th century large areas were successively separated to form the Brit...

Sydney: :For other meanings, see Sydney (disambiguation), or Sidney....

Shoalhaven: The Shoalhaven is a Local Government Area (Shoalhaven City, population ~85,000) and a region in south-eastern New South Wales (NSW), Australia, two hours south of Sydney. The city actually consists of a number of distinct towns that share the one government. These towns include Nowra, Bomaderry, t...