Valentine, New South Wales facts for kids
Quick facts for kids ValentineCity of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales |
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 Valentine
Location in the Hunter-Central Coast Region
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| Population | 5,773 (2021 census) | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 1,519/km2 (3,930/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1869 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2280 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 3.8 km2 (1.5 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | City of Lake Macquarie | ||||||||||||||
| Parish | Kahibah | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Swansea | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Shortland | ||||||||||||||
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Valentine is a friendly suburb located in New South Wales, Australia. It's part of the City of Lake Macquarie and is considered a neighbour of Greater Newcastle. You can find Valentine right on the eastern shore of Lake Macquarie. It's about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of Newcastle's main city area.
Contents
Valentine: A Growing Community
Valentine is a big neighbourhood where many families live. A lot of new houses were built here starting in the late 1980s. Today, Valentine has many useful shops and services. You can find a butcher, a post office, a doctor's office, a petrol station, and a newsagent. There's even a bowling club for fun!
Who Lived Here First?
The very first people to live in this area were the Awabakal people. They have a long history and connection to this land.
How Valentine Got Its Name
Valentine was named after a man called Henry Valentine Joseph Geary. He was a businessman who bought and sold land. He owned land in Valentine, even though he lived somewhere else. Henry Halloran, a surveyor, named the area after him in 1916. Surveyors are people who measure and map out land. Henry Halloran also mapped out many other suburbs in Sydney.
Early Days: Mining and First Homes
Long ago, in the mid-1800s, people mined for coal near Valentine. There's a place called "Hartley Point" at the western end of Dilkera Avenue. This name reminds us of the old coal mining business. That business had some bad luck when two of its coal ships sank in the lake in the 1860s.
The very first house in Valentine was built by Mr. Thomas Croudace in the 1860s. It was next to the park on Valentine Crescent. Some of the trees from his original house are still standing in the park today. There was also a dairy farm nearby, and at one point, the creek was even dammed to create a swimming spot!
Developing the Area
The first holiday cottage was built in the late 1920s. But back then, it was hard to get to Valentine because there were no good roads. There was also no water, electricity, or sewerage. Because of this, the area grew very slowly.
- Getting Around: Holiday visitors used a ferry to get to Valentine from Speers Point.
- Early Shops: A small shop was open only on weekends.
- Water Access: Most of the early houses were built close to the lake. This was because the only way to get around was by water. The street name Dilkera Avenue comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "by the shore."
- Roads and Services: The road from Warners Bay to Belmont was built in the late 1930s. It was paved in 1956. A permanent shop opened in 1945. The first telephone service arrived in 1946, with 20 people signing up. Town water and electricity came in 1948.
- Schools: Children used to go to school in Belmont. But by 1957, there were enough children in Valentine to start a small school. It was held in the Progress Hall, which was built in 1954. A new school building opened in 1958.
Street Names in Valentine
Many of the streets in Valentine have Aboriginal names. However, there's one area that was once owned by the Toll family. This area was known as "Toll's Estate." The streets there are named after Albert Toll and his family members, like Christopher, Frederick, Victor, Peter, and Andrew.
