Talk:Wollongong

old comments

so people from nowra are from wollongong, how ignorant are the people who write this crap? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Xposya (talk • contribs) 11:58, 13 July 2011 (UTC)

Mount Kembla 1902 disaster verification: http://www.illawarracoal.com/mtkembla.htm -- Tim Starling 03:52, Nov 2, 2003 (UTC)

Flag

The Wollongong City Council website has a link which contains the official flag of the city (http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/council/flag.asp). Should the image of the flag be shown in the article?--Bacturin (talk) 03:30, 24 April 2010 (UTC)

I am inclined towards no, as it is not representative of the city as a whole. The flag relates to the Wollongong City Council, which only covers the area from Helensburgh to Windang/Yallah, with the remainder of the metropolitan area covered by the Shellharbour and Kiama councils. It would of course be appropriate to include it in the City of Wollongong (LGA) article. --Grogan deYobbo (talk) 22:43, 24 April 2010 (UTC)

Notable Schools

Albion Park High School, far from being as notable as other schools on the list, is located in Shellharbour and not Wollongong. A reference can be found in Wikipedia itself [1]

What makes catholic such as holly spirit more notable than say corimal high school? Just because it is not a state owned and operated school does not make it notable.

Wollongong has a quasi-selective (it's a feeder school, but only takes selective out of area enrolments) sports high school - Illawarra Sports High. It's located in Berkeley and was established in 1958 (as Berkeley High School, became Berkeley Sports High in 1996 and Illawarra Sports High in 1998). Shouldn't it be listed? Dazcha 08:17, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

• This section definitely needs a clean-up. A big list of random schools looks ugly for a city article page. The education section looks a lot better in the Brisbane article for example. Depor23 (talk) 02:53, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. I propose deleting the Notable Schools section and replacing with:

Further information: [[:List of schools in Illawarra and the South East and Category:Schools in Wollongong]]

Comments or objections ? --Grogan deYobbo (talk) 22:44, 8 January 2010 (UTC)

No objections, so section deleted. --Grogan deYobbo (talk) 06:20, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

Aboriginal name?

The opening sentence says Wollongong in Aborigine means "Sound of the sea", but later says the actual name Wollongong is of Aboriginal origin and is said to mean "five islands". So which is it? --Imroy 19:12, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

I would go for the "Sound of the sea". Source: http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/library/localinfo/place.html#W (You may have to scroll down a bit to find Wollongong). -- RobertM 01:38, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

The general concensus as to the meaning of Wollongong is that it is "Sound (or Song) of the Sea". Im going to remove the other bit.

--Amandajm 12:18, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

I always heard it meant "Look at the funny white guy". On a serious note, I've heard "Between the mountains and the sea" as a translation. Dazcha 08:17, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

I thought that Illawarra meant between the mountains and the sea. Jorgerine (talk) 05:25, 18 July 2018 (UTC)

If Wollongong is believed to mean "seas of the South", then it must have been named that by Europeans, not the local Aborigines. They would not have had the same concept of south, and if they did, at that time the south coast of New South Wales would have been the south coast of Australia. Jorgerine (talk) 10:08, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

  According to the  "Lillput - Aboriginal Place Names" first published by A.H. & A.W. Reed in 1968, the origin of the
word/name Wollongong has a few "explanations",  1. From "woolyunyah or five islands" 2. "Hard ground near the
water" 3. See, the monster comes! This was an expression of fear when the Aborigines saw a ship in full sail for the first
time and was pronounced "nwoolyarngungli". 
  Another "same local" reference is also made about the "fear" aspect of this in the name/word  Gerringong -
Fearful, I fear myself. It was at this point that the Aborigines first saw the sails of Cook's "Endeavour" out at sea and
expressed their fear.
  The book , while extremely small (had to use a magnifying glass to read the "Forward"" - about 50mm x 35mm is
a very interesting source. Mt Keira is sourced from the word/name  Gheera: A wild turkey.
  My first contribution to this most valuable resource. Derrilin in Aboriginal  means "Falling Star" and I am
related to the "Wiradjuri" people. Derrilin (talk) 21:09, 27 November 2013 (UTC)

Census 2001 stats - can it be true?

The census section states "Income: The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over in the 2001 Census was $300-$399". I can't understand how this could be true, as it would mean that assuming an average of ~40 hours a week, the average hourly income is $7.5-10/hr. I can understand that this could be true of 15-18 year olds, perhaps, but that equates to a yearly salary of $~15000-20000 a year, WELL below the national average. Are Wollongonians (?) really that underpaid? Diliff | (Talk) (Contribs) 08:08, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

Agreed im gonna have a look into it, i attend uni and only work 2 days a week and earn this much... Virtual circuit 01:27, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

It is correct. Excluding visitors and those who did not state their income, the distribution is

• Negative/Nil 7.2%
• $1-$39 1.7%
• $40-$79 2.7%
• $80-$119 3.1%
• $120-$159 6.2%
• $160-$199 12.3%
• $200-$299 15.0%
• $300-$399 8.9%
• $400-$499 7.5%
• $500-$599 6.9%
• $600-$699 5.5%
• $700-$799 4.7%
• $800-$999 6.6%
• $1,000-$1,499 8.6%
• $1,500 or more 3.2%

By age group, the medians are $40-$79 (15-19), $300-$399 (20-24), $500-$599 (25-34, 35-44, 45-54), $200-$299 (55-64, 65-74, 75+). Keep in mind that employment rates will be having an impact here. -- Rob.au 02:18, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Arts

arts - hi I would like to contribute an article on the arts in wollongong - dispersing the myth that this is a cultural "desert" - I put some stuff up a while ago - but it got taken down - im not sure why? i'm new to wiki - so i found it hard to include an arts section ! im not sure it even worked proberly ! [This unsigned comment was left by 150.101.112.121 (Contribs) at 03:07, 31 October 2006 (UTC)]

Good to hear. It might be worth having a look at pages such as Wikipedia:Your first article, Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia and Wikipedia:Article development and also deciding if a whole new article is warranted, or just a new section of the existing one. I'd imagine the big things to look out for are avoiding advertising and ensuring you maintain a Neutral Point Of View. Dispersing a myth can be okay, but trying to raise profile is probably not. For example, mentioning a little known artist or band is probably inappropriate and remember that content must be verifiable. -- Rob.au 12:21, 31 October 2006 (UTC) and they hate god

Wollongong Warriors Quidditch team

I think the reference to Wollongong Warriors being a Quidditch team is mentioned in the book "Quidditch Through the Ages" [2] —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 58.108.87.138 (talk) 17:54, 18 February 2007 (UTC).

Aborigines over Aboriginals

It says Aboriginals under the picture of the Aboriginal dancers, thats wrong, Aboriginal is the adjective, so it should say Aboriginal dancers, or Aborigines, which is the noun. so im going to change it. --Jameogle (talk) 01:57, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with File:1-Nan Tien Temple.jpg

The image File:1-Nan Tien Temple.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

• That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
• That this article is linked to from the image description page.

The following images also have this problem:

• File:1.3-Nan Tien Temple.jpg

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --00:06, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

I have added a non free use rationale for this article on the images description page. Adam (talk) 02:09, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Just a question. Why are the images fair-use? Why I ask this is that if it's for reasons that you just want to keep the copyright then the images can't be used as it can be classed as a "replaceable" image were as some logo's, old photos of buildings that no longer exist (For images post: 1955) ect but because the building still exists then it's possible for free-use images. Bidgee (talk) 03:19, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

I have had problems with images being used on external websites where the appropriate attributions were not made. Adam (talk) 03:45, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

I've had the same issues but you can't upload images that you keep fair-use for as the images are replaceable. Bidgee (talk) 03:57, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Does that mean they all have to be changed or can stay until they are replaced with other photos. Adam (talk) 03:59, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

If you keep the Fair-use the chances of them being deleted are high (Since you're being restrictive and there is free versions already uploaded on Wikipedia/Commons). Bidgee (talk) 04:03, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

If any issues do arise later on I will change the license tag and re upload if I have to. Adam (talk) 04:11, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

The images have to be freely licensed. Claiming fair use on your own images isn't OK and will get the images deleted sooner or later.  — Mike.lifeguard | ^@en.wb 16:51, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Woonwongarang ?

As a local I have never heard the name Woonwongarang mentioned in the Geography section. I can't find any reference to it on the web (other than this Wikipedia article and derived articles), and it isn't listed in the Geographical Names Register. Can anyone provide a citation for this ? If not then I propose it be removed. --Grogan deYobbo (talk) 02:49, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

If that is the case then maybe the addition of the name Woonwongarang could have been a joke edit. If you track back through the article history you could probably find who added this to the article. . Adam (talk) 03:07, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

I'm a former Wollongong resident and I too have never heard of Woonwongarang. I seem to recall going through a couple of local history books in the Wollonong Library ten years ago... can't remember if there was one specifically on local place name origins or if it was just a section of one, but I certainly don't recall anything of that nature.

In terms of the nature of its addition to Wikipedia, four articles now reference it in what appear to be good faith edits. They were first added by 203.220.108.90 on 22 June 2007 - see diff for Wollongong and diff for Cringila. On 23 July 2007 203.220.109.62 added to Warrawong - see diff. On 15 August 2007 a Geography of Wollongong, New South Wales article was created as an intended split from this article and as such the text of the relevant section was copied into the initial page.

It is notable that the title Woonwongarang is being asigned first to the ridge that goes from Mount Kembla down to Hospital Hill, where it is noted as passing north of Mount Mangerton. The ridgeline continues from here down to the CBD, where you could argue it swings north. Then in the Cringila and Warrawong articles, both lay claim to the same name, yet both are some way to the south, beyond the vast low-lying Spring Hill industrial area. This ridge goes from Warrawong towards Unanderra but ends as it gets to the freeway and could not be seen by anyone as being part of the same ridge as the one previously described. I would suggest the name be removed from all four articles as there seems to be reasonable doubt that it exists at all and it is not referenced. -- Rob.au (talk) 14:48, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Done. I have removed Woonwongarang from the Wollongong, Geography of Wollongong, Cringila and Warrawong articles. --Grogan deYobbo (talk) 21:56, 3 January 2009 (UTC)

Local User Category and Userbox

Wollongongonians now have a local user Category:Wikipedians in Wollongong, New South Wales and userbox Template:User Wollongong, New South Wales available. Cheers. --Grogan deYobbo (talk) 07:41, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

I am not from Wollongong but why don't you put a photo of the city in the userbox. Adam (talk) 07:44, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

(Adam: I assume you meant your question to be in this section and took the liberty of moving it here). The userbox image area is so small that most photos will be lost and won't look like anything. However I am more than happy if someone wants to nominate a suitable photo. --Grogan deYobbo (talk) 00:23, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

I was going to suggest the City of Wollongong flag, but oddly this is not represented on Wikipedia as far as I can see. Neither is the Greater Sydney Ensign I now discover, which surprises me even more, but that's a bit off topic. -- Rob.au (talk) 12:23, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

The City of Wollongong is an LGA which covers only part of the metropolitan area, and I would therefore advise against using this flag as it is not representative of the city as a whole. I went looking for it on the council website, and oddly I could not find it there either. --Grogan deYobbo (talk) 20:34, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Main Wollongong article should a point to Wollongong City, not Wollongong Metro Area

I have to say I agree with the commentators saying that making the bare Wollongong article about the combined City of Wollongong, City of Shellharbour, and City of Kiama metro area is ill-considered.

An example given to justify this decision is that the Sydney metro area contains several LGA cities. Wollongong is easily distinguished from Sydney metro area in this respect.

1. Common usage is that Sydney refers to the metro area, where as Wollongong refers to the LGA or suburb at the town centre
2. Residents of Kiama don't consider themselves part of Wollongong, whereas residents of Sydney metro LGAs do.
3. There are signs at the entry points to Sydney welcoming you Sydney. The entry points signposted as entering Wollongong are in Helensburgh and Yallah.
4. Sydney metro area is a common term in use outside of statistical departments, whereas Wollongong metro area isn't.

The most common usage of Wollongong is to Wollongong city, the greater Wollongong usage of this page is obscure. This is demonstrated by the references to Wollongong in other Wikipedia articles, all tourism references and general web references. It is also apparent from the content of this article, with most of the references throughout to Wollongong City.

I suggest this article be renamed as Wollongong Metropolitan Area, to avoid confusion. We can then either move the City of Wollongong article to this one, or set up a disambig page as appropriate. --Inas66 (talk) 01:59, 9 September 2011 (UTC)

ARequested Move discussion may be in order then, to seek consensus. Would "Illawarra" be a better name for this topic or should the article at Illawarra and this one be merged even? I am not a local and would not know local usage. -- Mattinbgn (talk) 02:23, 9 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the comment. I checked the Illawarra regional article, and unfortunately it even contains a definition for the Wollongong Metro Area which is different to the one in this article, that it is defines the Wollongong Metro area as the same as the Wollongong City LGA area. It defines the Illawarra to include one more LGA, namely the Shoalhaven. So, it appears we have the City of Wollongong article, this article, referring to Wollongong City LGA, Shellharbour City LGA amd Kiama Municipal LGA, and the Illawarra article referring to Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and Shoalhaven LGAs. A fair bit of overlap there, and as I said, confusion in this unusual use of the Wollongong name. --Inas66 (talk) 06:52, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

A clear distinction needs to be drawn between City of Wollongong (a local government area or council area with arbitrary political boundaries) and this Wollongong article (a metropolitan city in the usual geographic sense, that happens to be administered by multiple LGAs). I would suggest that in this sense "Wollongong" is just like "Sydney" in that common usage refers to the entire metropolitan area, while one of the LGAs comprising the metropolitan city shares the name (City of Wollongong).

Note that City of Wollongong is the LGA's official name, so that article should not be renamed or be used to talk about the metropolitan city.

To further add confusion it is true that the central CBD suburb of the city also has the name Wollongong, and by rights it should also have its own article.

I agree that residents of Kiama probably don't consider themselves part of Wollongong. And for that matter, probably neither do the residents of Helensburgh. However this article follows the Wikipedia Australia convention that a metropolitan city means the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Statistical Divisions or Statistical Districts. For the Wollongong Statistical District, that means a population of 292,190 (see List of cities in Australia by population) and from the map this corresponds to the combined area of the City of Wollongong, City of Shellharbour and Municipality of Kiama LGAs. There is also relevant discussion in Talk:List of cities in Australia.

The Illawarra article refers to the region. In theory this is larger than the Wollongong metropolitan area, but as indicated in Regions of New South Wales, regions are somewhat fuzzy and lack an official geographic definition.

Hope this helps clarify and provide some rationale for what currently exists. Grogan deYobbo (talk) 05:42, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

Contrary to your statement that regions do not have a definition, If you are going to use the ABS statistical divisions as definitive definitions (part of the rationale for the continued existence of this article), Illawarra has as much definition you this hypothetical and weirdly over-inflated Wollongong. Two overlapping regions are the result. Using the ABS SD definition has the unfortunate side-effect of making the Illawarra utterly unrecognisable to a local (making the Illawarra extend almost all the way to Bateman's Bay is so far from common usage that it becomes another classic Wikipedia failure). The article needs a note added at the top that tells non-locals that the Wollongong entity being discussed is an artefact of Wikipedia and the ABS statistical collection structure and does not reflect common usage. That way the article can go on existing, which I understand is important to the author, but makes it less misleading to the poor souls who stumble over it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.33.208.54 (talk) 10:17, 21 July 2013 (UTC)