Walking along the superb Sea Cliff Bridge

Coalcliff
Pleasant coastal village beneath the Illawarra escarpment and adjacent the Sea Cliff Bridge
Coalcliff is a very small picturesque village of some 200 people located on steeply sloping ground, 24 km north of Wollongong and 10 km north of Thirroul, the nearest substantial shopping centre. It is sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the cliffs of the Illawarra escarpment, which drop precipitously to the sea at this point. The Sea Cliff Bridge, opened in December 2005, follows the winding coastline but stands with its feet in the sea, owing to the instability of the adjacent cliffs. Rock falls and other safety concerns caused the closure of the old coast road and the construction of this new span which keeps a respectful distance from the slowly crumbling geological facade.

Despite its size Coalcliff has a railway station, a surf life-saving club, a small beach (formerly Coalcliff Harbour), a rock bath off Paterson Rd with nearby change rooms and childrenıs play park, plus a parking area for those who wish to walk along the bridge. Fishing is popular in the gutters along the beach and off the broad rock shelves.

HISTORY
If it hadn't been for a heavy surf Captain Cook would have made his first landing in NSW within the Illawarra, though he did note, in his log book, the attractive appearance of the shore and the presence of Aborigines - the Wodi Wodi around Wollongong and the Tharawal in the north - who had been in the area for at least 20 000 years.

The first Europeans to officially set foot in the vicinity and to meet the Aborigines of the Illawarra were explorers George Bass and Matthew Flinders and their servant William Martin in 1796, who were sailing south in the tiny boat Tom Thumb.

The following year the survivors of the wreck of the Sydney Cove passed through the area. The ship had developed a leak and beached on the Furneaux Islands in Bass Strait. Seventeen of the crew set out by boat for help but were wrecked at Point Hicks in Victoria and continued the journey by land. Only three survived the harrowing trip to Sydney, thereby becoming the first Europeans to make an overland trip in Australia of any duration.

At Governor Hunterıs request, Bass made another eight-day trip to the Illawarra with two of the Cove's men, intended to search out two crewmen left behind in the area and to investigate the survivors' reports of coal. This Bass found at Coalcliff and elsewhere at the northern end of the Illawarra, though it would be fifty years before the seams of the Illawarra were exploited.

The first land grant, of 1000 acres, was made in 1833 to former convict Matthew John Gibbons. It extended from present-day Coalcliff to the top of Bald Hill (now in Stanwell Park). The property was known as 'Little Bullie.'

Another early landowner, and the first to attempt to exploit local coal resources, was explorer and surveyor-general, Thomas Mitchell. He passed the property on to his son who sought to develop the coal resources, after the Australian Agricultural Companyıs monopoly came to an end in 1848. However, he was not able to raise sufficient finances and sold the property.

Future NSW Premier Alexander Stuart bought up land at Coalcliff in 1876 and, with other coal mines opening further south from about 1870, the Coalcliff Mining Company commenced operations in 1877. A timber chute was constructed to convey coal down the cliff and a 150-metre jetty extended out to sea. Stuart had two 40-metre steam colliers built in Scotland as sailing vessels were deemed unable to safely negotiate the rocky coastline. Each had a capacity of 240 tons. One sank in 1893 after hitting a reef near Port Hacking. The company changed hands a number of times after Stuartıs death in 1886 and shaft mining began around 1907.

A bush road called Clifton Road was cleared from the bottom of Bulli Pass to Coalcliff in 1868. A landslide dropped 200 tons of earth on the bridle track in 1879, illustrating an ongoing problem with transport through the area, though an improved road, renamed Main Road, was built from 1879 to 1886, owing to the existence of the mine. This later became part of Lawrence Hargrave Drive. A post and telegraph office opened at Coalcliff that same year and a hotel in 1880.

The railway line from Sydney to Wollongong was completed in 1888, involving the construction, at Coalcliff, of a railway tunnel consisting of three million bricks. North Clifton Railway Station was also opened at Coalcliff in 1888.

Leeder Park in Paterson Road

A Note on the Unique Geology of Coalcliff
Noel Leeder, after whom Leeder Park is named, writes: "Praise for the excellent amenities offered by Leeder Park at Coalcliff was most welcome reading for me because I was the instigator of its construction some fifty two years ago, when I had been living there as Manager of the local Illawarra Coke Works and was then President of the Coalcliff Progress Association.

The seafront land now occupied by Leeder Park then had a huge landslip problem - similar to the geological problems which recently forced the building of the new Seacliff Bridge to replace the old cliff-hugging roadway. As a geologist in earlier days and with some understanding of the region, I urgently sought a solution to the landslip problems then threatening to slide several properties at Coalcliff into the sea where the park now exists.

There is a band of soft shale-like strata (known as the Scarborough Graywacke) underlying the massive sandstone cliffs above Coalcliff (and the Seacliff Bridge) which becomes saturated with water from the porous sandstone above and squeezes out like putty under enormous pressure from the overlying strata, causing this to collapse onto the old roadway (which the bridge has now replaced) and this same complex geology also lead to excessive water saturation emerging as prolific springs within some land in Coalcliff itself, causing several residential properties in Coalcliff village to inexorably slide towards the sea.

In 1950, I put forward the view that, by locating the major springs and actually piping the water from them across the then-saturated land to discharge right onto the rock shelf at sea level, this movement of residential land could be slowed and, hopefully, stopped by mass loading of heavy rock above it.

Wollongong Council, the Joint Coal Board, Coalcliff Collieries, the Illawarra Coke Company, major transport companies, local service clubs and, above all, the residents of Coalcliff all swung in behind a true community effort. Wollongong Council acquired the worst two blocks of unstable residential land - then a soggy swamp sliding into the sea, but now the site of Leeder Park - the Joint Coal Board supplied funding to purchase the neccessary piping and accessories, Coalcliff Collieries, the Illawarra Coke Company and the local transport companies supplied earth moving equipment, cranes and trucks to dig out the springs and place the pipework to drain the water flow right to the sea and the enthusiastic local residents provided the volunteer manual labour to do the physical work on site.

A major structural fault way underground at Coalcliff Colliery was being excavated at that time and some three thousand tons of massive sandstone from this work was progressively placed above the new pipework to stabilise the soggy land and mass load it to compact it and eventually dry it out. This rock took some months to put in place and the now-stabilised land was left for another two years to be sure it was no longer a problem.

In 1953, the participating companies once more combined with the residents to obtain, place on site and grade 1200 tons of clean fill and topsoil. Wollongong Council then grassed the area, installed childrens' playground equipment (purchased by residents and donations from other enthused local groups in Greater Wollongong), a pathway to the beach and rock baths was constructed and a toilet block was built by Wollongong Council.

In 1954, Leeder Park was officially opened by Wollongong Lord Mayor, Albert Squires, at a ceremony on site attended by Alderman Rube Hargraves, many other Local and State Government representatives, business leaders and the jubilant local organisations and residents who had supported the long years of community effort. The occasion was deemed significant enough to make it to national TV news that night!

I was proud indeed to find that a public petition had asked Wollongong Council to name the park after me. Although it is now forty years since I lived in Coalcliff, I am deeply grateful that Leeder Park remains such a focal point for the residents of Coalcliff and I still receive the warmest welcome whenever I pass through.

Sadly, an engraved plaque acknowledging the work of all those who made the project such an outstanding success has been destroyed by vandals, but the park and what it means to the residents of Coalcliff and to all those enjoying it as visitors will be there forever.

Things to see:  

THINGS TO SEE
Beach
Coalcliff has a small beach surrounded by rocky platforms with a surf life-saving club for safe swimming in the summer. It is located at the end of a short roadway which runs off Lawrence Hargrave Drive about 400 metres north of Sea Cliff Bridge. The roadway has no name but has small blue signposts: one reading 'Coalcliff S.L.S.C.' and the other indicating Parking for the Sea Cliff Bridge.

The Rock Baths

Rock Bath
A few yards past the turnoff to the beach, along Lawrence Hargrave Drive, is another turnoff into Paterson Rd, which bends in an arc to rejoin Lawrence Hargrave Drive just near the start of the bridge. There is a small roadside park with a few childrenıs play facilities, with toilets/change rooms and a path which leads down to the rock bath - a small pool filled tidally with seawater for safe swimming. The beach is just around the corner.

Sea Cliff Bridge
The Sea Cliff Bridge follows the coastline south, linking Coalcliff and Clifton. Parking on the northern side of the bridge is available along a short road which runs off Lawrence Hargrave Drive about 400 metres north of the bridge. The roadway has no name but has a blue signpost indicating parking is available. A small parking area accommodates about a dozen cars and sits adjacent a picnic shelter. A very pleasant pathway leads down a slope, across a small bridge and up to Paterson Rd. Turn left into the road, which intersects with Lawrence Hargrave Drive just near the start of the bridge. There is another roadside parking area at the other (southern) end of the bridge.

The 1.6-km bridge has a pedestrian lane shielded from traffic on one side and fencing on the other to forestall childish inattention and the careless adult promenade. The views it offers are very pleasing to the eye. Dolphins are sometimes seen offshore and sea-birds are in plentiful supply.

Sea Cliff Bridge

Clifton
Clifton is another small ex-mining hamlet. The main part of the village is located on somewhat more even and higher ground than Coalcliff. The first building you will see, as you drive into Clifton from the bridge, is the former Clifton School of Arts, now an art gallery, tel: (02) 4268 1746.

The two-storey brick structure, with its Classical-style stucco flourishes, dates from 1911 when it was built on land contributed by the Clifton Mine for the purpose of establishing a learning facility. It provided the local community with a reading room, a general store and a billiards room, though it later served as a post office, an electoral office, a caretakerıs residence, a shop and a venue for local dances. It is now held in trust by local residents.

Just along the road, on the opposite side, is the Clifton Hotel, with its doorways and windows sadly boarded up. An hotel (the Imperial) was licensed on this site in 1884, five years after Clifton's first pub opened. Reschıs Brewery Limited purchased the hotel in 1910 and knocked it down, building the present two-storey brick structure in 1911. It was renovated and much extended in the 1970s, with the addition of an excellent rear balcony. Unfortunately, the closure of the road between Clifton and Coalcliff, during the bridgeıs construction, was a lengthy one and the hotel did not survive financially.

South of the Bridge
The drive south from Sea Cliff Bridge is a very pleasant one. The road is narrow and winding and passes through a series of former coalmining villages. Neither quite suburban nor rural, they are nestled in amongst greenery and stretch from the sea up the ascending escarpment via a series of narrow roads until they reach the uninhabitable terrain near the increasingly sheer cliff line.

800 metres south of the bridge is Scarborough Primary School where an art and craft exhibition is held in October. Another 600 metres brings you to the Scarborough Hotel, with excellent views out over the ocean from the back verandah.

700 metres south of the pub is the signposted turnoff on the left to Wombarra Beach (also with surf lifesaving club) and a large cricket oval. 700 metres further along Lawrence Hargrave Drive is the turnoff to the Wombarra Rock Pool. Further south again is Coledale (see separate entry).

Be warned that the qualities which make the main road enjoyable (narrow, serpentine, houses sometimes jammed up against the apron of the road, terrific scenery, pleasant locales, tiny, quaint primary schools alongside the road) also make it very dangerous to attempt to drive with anything but moderation and attention.