Coogee, New South Wales
Encyclopedia : C : CO : COO : Coogee, New South Wales
Coogee is a beachside suburb of Sydney adjacent to Coogee Bay (the Tasman Sea) in the east, Clovelly in the north, Randwick in the west and Kingsford and Maroubra in the south.
The boundaries are formed mainly by Clovelly Road, Avoca Street and Rainbow Street, with arbitrary lines drawn to join these thoroughfares to the coast in the north-east and south-east corners.
History
The name "Coogee" is said to be taken from a local Aboriginal word believed to mean "smelly place", or "stinking seaweed"; a reference to the smell of decaying kelp washed up on the beach. Although at certain times large quantities of seaweed are still washed up, it is usually removed before it gets a chance to smell. Early visitors to the area, from the 1820's onwards, were not able to confirm exactly what the word "Coogee" meant, or if it in fact related to Coogee Beach. Another name, "Bobroi", was also recalled as the indigenous name for the locality. Some evidence suggests that the word "Coogee" may in fact be the original aboriginal place name for the next bay to the north that is now called Gordon's Bay. [link]
The Aboriginal population had largely relocated by the mid-19th century after being decimated by disease and violent clashes with early settlers, though some Aborigines live in the area today.
Coogee was gazetted as a village in 1838, growing slowly until it was connected to the city by electric tram in 1902. The suburb's popularity as a seaside resort was now guaranteed and the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club was founded in 1907. Population growth began in earnest in the 1920s.
An English-style seaside entertainment pier stood at the beach between 1928 and 1934 but it was demolished after damage by the surf.
1935 Shark Arm murder
The Shark Arm Case refers to an incident in Coogee in 1935, when a captured tiger shark regurgitated a human arm. The arm belonged to a missing person, James Smith, and was identified by a tattoo. The arm had been cut off, which led to a murder investigation.
Nobody was ever charged over the murder, although another local criminal, Reginald Holmes, was found shot in a car near the Sydney Harbour Bridge the day before the inquest into Smith's death was due to commence.
2003 Alleged Marian Apparition
In January, 2003 it was noticed that one of the fence rails on Dolphin Point, just north of Coogee Beach, cast an afternoon shadow that could be seen to resemble a veiled woman. When this was reported in newspapers many Christians (predominantly Roman Catholic) came daily to worship what they interpreted as an appartition of Mary, the mother of Jesus; however the Roman Catholic Church never officially recognized this alleged apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. [link]No particular supernatural powers were attributed to the shadow (dubbed "Our Lady of the Fence Post" by the media) and interest waned within a few weeks. The section of fence that created the image was eventually destroyed by vandals. While some continue to petition the Catholic Church and the New South Wales government to build a chapel, their claims are not being considered seriously.
Today
Today Coogee is one of Australia's more densely populated areas, with apartment buildings in every style from the 1930s onwards. Some free-standing houses remain. The suburb is a popular destination for tourists.On the northern headland stands the doorway of the old Giles gym and baths, the remainder of which has now been demolished. This area is now known as "Dolphin Point". The doorway and a four-metre high bronze sculpture serve as a memorial to twenty of the Australian victims of the 2002 Bali bombing who were residents of Coogee and its neighbouring suburbs, including six members of the Coogee Dolphins Rugby League team.
Transport
Sydney's steam tramways first reached Coogee in 1883 and were electrified in 1902. The trams were replaced by buses from time to time in the 1940s and 1950s as the infrastructure suffered severe neglect during and after WWII. The tracks were deemed too expensive to repair and the power supply was so inadequate that trams would grind to a halt in incovenient locations. Eventually the entire Sydney tram network was scrapped and replaced by buses. The last trams ran to Coogee in 1960.
The suburb is now well served by buses, with routes to the Sydney CBD via Randwick, Bondi Junction, Eastlakes via Maroubra and Leichhardt via Glebe and Newtown.
Geography and landmarks
Coogee beach is relatively protected through its formation as a bay. The surrounding coastline is mostly cliffs, decreasing in height down to the beach in the western part of the bay. The bay is sheltered from the roughest seas by Wedding Cake Island, a rocky reef about 400m off the southern headland.
The beach itself drops off rapidly at the edge of the water, which can result in a dangerous shore break particularly when the surf is large. The combination of this shore break and high visitor numbers mean that Coogee has more spinal injuries than any other Australian beach.
In larger surf, there are often rip currents at both the northern end and at the southern ends, and also quite frequently in the centre of the beach. These are simply the places where the incoming water escapes most naturally. It is claimed by locals that the rip in the centre of the beach is partly caused by the remaining foundations of the old entertainment pier (see above - history).
At the northern end of the beach are stairs leading from Dolphin Point down to the old Giles baths. This is now an open rock pool carved out of the surrounding rocks. A short walk further to the north is Gordons Bay, which is a popular location for snorkeling. At the southern end is the Ross Jones Memorial Pool just below the Coogee Surf Lifesaving Club. Also at the southern end are two small reefs the inner and the outer. Further south is a coastal walk that goes past the women's baths and Wylies baths.
Politics
Coogee is part of the City of Randwick, forming the East Ward together with Clovelly. It lies in the Federal electorate of Kingsford Smith (which covers all of south-east Sydney), and the State electorate of Coogee (which also includes the suburbs of Randwick, Waverley, Clovelly, Bronte, and Bondi Junction).
Festivals and Local Events
The last weekend in November, the Coogee Surf Lifesaving Club holds the "Island Challenge", a 2.4km swim out and around Weddingcake Island (off Coogee Beach). The race began in 2000, attracts hundreds of competitors, and is a prominent fixture on the Sydney ocean swimming scene.
The Coogee Arts Festival [link] in January is a series of open air events held in the parklands above the Southern side of Coogee Beach. It features theater performances and a small film festival.
External links
- Information and photos at [Coogee Beach Home Page].
| Suburbs and localities within the City of Randwick | Eastern Suburbs | Sydney |
|---|
| Centennial Park | Chifley | Clovelly | Coogee | Hillsdale | Kensington | Kingsford | La Perouse | Little Bay | Malabar | Maroubra | Maroubra Junction | Matraville | Phillip Bay | Port Botany | Randwick | South Coogee |
| List of Sydney suburbs |
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.