Islington, New South Wales

Islington (/ˈɪzlɪŋtən/ IZ-ling-tən)^[6] is a suburb of the city of Newcastle in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia.^[2][3] Located only 3.4 kilometres (2.1 mi) from the Newcastle CBD on one of Newcastle's major arterial roads, it was initially developed as a residential suburb. Today it includes a small industrial area and is adjacent to the Newcastle campus of the Hunter Institute of Technology. Its southeastern border is occupied entirely by the Main Northern railway line.^[7] The suburb has one railway station, which is shared with, and named after, adjacent Hamilton.

Islington Newcastle, New South Wales
Islington Park, looking towards Throsby Creek
Islington
Coordinates	32°54′57″S 151°44′46″E
Population	2,026 (SAL 2021)[1]
• Density	2,145/km2 (5,560/sq mi)
Established	1870s
Postcode(s)	2296
Elevation	8 m (26 ft)
Area	0.713 km2 (0.3 sq mi)Note1
Location	165 km (103 mi) NNE of Sydney 3.4 km (2 mi) W of Newcastle 31 km (19 mi) SE of Maitland
LGA(s)	City of Newcastle[2][3]
Region	Hunter[2]
County	Northumberland[3]
Parish	Newcastle[3]
State electorate(s)	Newcastle[4]
Federal division(s)	Newcastle[5]
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 25.6 °C 78 °F 8.4 °C 47 °F 1,135.9 mm 44.7 in
Suburbs around Islington: Mayfield Tighes Hill Maryville Hamilton North Islington Maryville, Wickham Hamilton North, Hamilton Hamilton Wickham

History

The Aboriginal people, in this area, the Awabakal, were the first people of this land.^[8]

Islington was developed in the 1870s as a residential suburb. It is located on Maitland Road, which later became part of the Pacific Highway and was part of Highway 1 until the Minmi to Beresfield section of the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway was completed in 1998. The convenient location attracted small factories.^[9]

The Regent Theatre in Islington, located on the corner of Maitland Road and Beaumont Street, opened on 2 December 1928. In 1941 or 1942, Hoyts Theatres obtained a majority interest in the property but, with the advent of television, the Regent was unable to survive and closed on 27 June 1964. After remaining empty for five years, the building reopened as a hardware store in August 1969 and operates in that capacity today.^[10]

In 1947, Lettesi (a settler group made up of nearly 150 families from the village of Lettopalena in the Abruzzo region of Italy) settled in the Islington region, primarily due to its proximity to the BHP steel works.^[11]

Present day

Islington Park, located on Throsby Creek, has a cycleway that links Islington to the redeveloped Newcastle foreshore. Islington is located at the north-eastern end of Beaumont Street, the restaurant precinct of Newcastle. Known as the antique district of Newcastle, with numerous shops primarily located on Maitland Road, which also houses Islington's main trade area, with more shops on Beaumont Street.

Islington is known for its sex work industry and brothels.^[12]

Transport

Maitland Road, a suburban carrier of the Pacific Highway, runs through the suburb and links it to Mayfield and Newcastle West.

Islington is served by bus services operated by Newcastle Transport, including routes 11, 138, 140 and 55N along Maitland Road. In addition, the Hamilton railway station, located on the Main Northern railway line, is located on the suburb's southern boundary and provides regular services to Maitland, Newcastle Interchange and Sydney.

Population

In 2016 1883 people lived in Islington with the median age of 34.^[13] 81.6% were born in Australia, 1.8% England,1.2% New Zealand, 0.9% India, Afghanistan 0.8% and 0.7% Philippines.^[13] 50% stated No Religion, 15.8% Catholic, 10.4% Anglican and 2.7% Christian.^[13] 85.4% only spoke English at home with 0.9% Italian, 0.7% Hazaraghi, 0.6% Japanese, 0.5 German and 0.5% Dinka.^[13]

Notes

1. ^ Area calculation is based on 1:100000 map 9232 NEWCASTLE.

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Islington (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. "Suburb Search – Local Council Boundaries – Hunter (HT) – Newcastle City Council". New South Wales Division of Local Government. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
3. "Islington". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
4. "Newcastle". New South Wales Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
5. "Newcastle". Australian Electoral Commission. 10 January 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
6. "Search By Letter – ABC PRONOUNCE". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
7. "Islington". Land and Property Management Authority - Spatial Information eXchange. New South Wales Land and Property Information. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
8. "Aboriginal culture". City of Newcastle. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
9. "Islington". Discover Newcastle. Newcastle City Council. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
10. John Adey (2004). "Hoyts Regent Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
11. Ros Pesman; Catherine Kevin (28 June 2001). "A History of Italian Settlement in New South Wales" (PDF). NSW Heritage Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009. (original document p. 3, PDF p. 7)
12. Matthew Kelly (19 March 2010). "Call for action on Hunter brothels". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
13. "2016 Census QuickStats: Islington". quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 28 October 2020.

• "Newcastle Nobbys Signal Station AWS". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 10 September 2010.