Carrington, New South Wales facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carrington Newcastle, New South Wales
Carrington Pump House
Carrington Location in Newcastle, Australia
Population	1,929 (2016 census)
• Density	1,380/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Established	1860s
Postcode(s)	2294
Area	1.4 km2 (0.5 sq mi)
Location	3 km (2 mi) NNW of Newcastle
LGA(s)	City of Newcastle
Parish	Newcastle
State electorate(s)	Newcastle
Federal Division(s)	Newcastle
Suburbs around Carrington: Tighes Hill Tighes Hill Maryville Carrington Hunter River Wickham Newcastle West

Carrington is a suburb in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is named after Lord Carrington. He was the governor of New South Wales in 1887. That was the year Carrington became its own town.

In 2016, almost 2,000 people lived in Carrington.

Carrington's Beginnings

Long ago, Aboriginal people called this area "wuna-r tee." This name means "place of the mud crab." They used the land for fishing and gathering oysters and mud crabs. When settlers arrived in 1804, they called it Chapman's Island. They even thought about building a prison there.

Carrington was once mostly underwater during high tide. It was slowly built up over time. Ships would dump their ballast (heavy material used to balance a ship) here. Other land-filling work also helped. This made the island grow out of the mud.

Carrington became a place where people lived in the 1860s. Many moved there to escape the dirty and noisy city. Others were forced to leave Honeysuckle Point. This was because land was being made for the port. At first, people reached the island by rowboat or punt (a flat-bottomed boat). There was also a coach pulled by two horses. A footbridge from Honeysuckle also existed for a while.

Carrington was a special place. It was one of the few areas of government-owned land near Newcastle. Most other land was owned by big companies. As Carrington became more valuable, parts of it were sold off.

In 1887, Carrington became its own Municipality (a town with its own local government). The first town council meeting was held on June 1, 1888. By 1900, about 2,200 people lived there. Carrington grew into a working-class suburb. In the 1920s, steelworkers moved in. They liked being close to the new BHP steelworks.

The Carrington Pump House (pictured in the infobox) was very important. It gave power to large cranes. These cranes loaded coal and other goods onto ships at 'The Dyke.' This pump house is one of the most important buildings left from Newcastle's industrial past. The cranes were very modern. They were built by a company called Armstrong Whitworth in England.

The Great Depression hit Carrington hard. In 1933, more than half of the people who earned wages were jobless or only worked part-time. A small settlement of makeshift homes called "Texas" appeared. It gave shelter to many people without homes or jobs. It was called Texas because the land used to be for stables.

Street Names in Carrington

Many streets in Carrington are named after important people. These include leaders, politicians, and kings and queens from before Australia became a federation of states.

Queens of Australia

Some streets are named after former Queens of Australia:

• Elizabeth St, named for Elizabeth II (It was renamed from William St for her visit in 1954).
• Victoria St, named for Queen Victoria.

Governors of New South Wales

Other streets are named after former Governors of New South Wales:

• Young St, named for Sir John Young.
• Gipps St, named for Sir George Gipps.
• Bourke St, named for Sir Richard Bourke.
• Darling St, named for Sir Ralph Darling.
• Fitzroy St, named for Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy.
• Denison St, named for Sir William Denison.

Chief Justices of New South Wales

These streets are named after former Chief Justices of New South Wales (top judges):

• Forbes St, named for Sir Francis Forbes.
• Hargrave St, named for Sir John Hargrave (who was a Supreme Court Judge).

Premiers of New South Wales

Some streets are named after former Premiers of New South Wales (the state's leaders):

• Cowper St, named for Sir Charles Cowper.
• Parker St, named for Sir Henry Parker.
• Robertson St, named for Sir John Robertson.

Politicians

These streets are named after other important politicians:

• Arnold St, named for William Arnold.
• Darvall St, named for Sir John Darvall.
• Garrett St, named for Thomas Garrett.
• Smart St, named for Thomas Smart.
• Wilson St, named for Bowie Wilson (It was once called Little Dension St).

Carrington Council Members

These streets are named after people who were part of the Carrington Council:

• Booth St, named for Edward Booth, an Alderman.
• Coe St, named for H.N. Coe, the last Mayor.
• Doran St, named for James Doran, a Mayor.
• Howden St, named for John Howden, an early settler.
• Marsden St, named for George Marsden, a Mayor.
• Mathieson St, named for Alexander Mathieson, a Mayor (It was once called Little Gipps St).
• McCann St, named for Robert McCann, a Mayor.
• Rodgers St, named for James Stuart Rodgers, a Mayor (It was once called Little Young St).
• Scott St, named for David Scott, a Mayor and Member of Parliament. (It was once called Little Bourke St).

Carrington Today

Today, Carrington has homes, businesses, and factories. It is separate from other suburbs. It is close to the harbour and the city center. It helps serve the Port of Newcastle. Because of its good location, homes here can be expensive. You can get to Carrington by crossing the Cowper Street bridge over Throsby Creek.

Population Details

The 2016 census counted 1,929 people living in Carrington.

• About 7.2% of the people were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
• Most people (85.2%) were born in Australia.
• Most people (90.4%) spoke only English at home.
• When asked about religion, 43.1% said "No Religion." Catholic was 18.4%, and Anglican was 16.3%.

Historic Places

Carrington has some places that are listed for their history. One important site is:

• 106 Bourke Street: The Carrington Pump House.

Images for kids

• 

  Carrington council chambers, built in 1888 and now in use as a community centre.

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  Carrington council chambers, built in 1888

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  Sign outside the entrance of Newcastle Port Corporation. In the background is the ruins of Carrington Power station

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  Grain storage silos, Carrington port district, Newcastle, New South Wales.