Woolooware, New South Wales

Woolooware is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woolooware is located 24 km south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire. It shares the 2230 postcode with Cronulla.

Woolooware stretches from Woolooware Bay in the north to Burraneer Bay and Gunnamatta Bay in the south, on Port Hacking estuary. It borders the suburbs of Cronulla, Caringbah, Burraneer and Kurnell.

History
It was originally a thickly forested area, with mangrove swamps around Woolooware Bay. Those were later reclaimed to create parks and playing fields including Endeavour Field, Woolooware Golf Course and Cronulla Golf Course. The area was subdivided after the railway line from Sutherland to Cronulla was opened in 1939. The first public school opened in 1951 and the post office opened in October 1954.

Taylor Woodrow (Aust) built the first subdivision with project homes in Australia in north Woolooware, including the classic red brick homes in Taywood Street.

Commercial area
A small group of shops, known locally as Woolooware North, is located on Wills Road, close to Woolooware railway station. Shops include a general store, beauty salon, liquor shop, hairdressers, gift shop, cafe, doctor's surgery and Chinese restaurant. Another small group of shops, known locally as Woolooware South, is located around the intersection of Burraneer Bay Road and Woolooware Road. These shops, include a fish and chip shop, restaurant, chemist, bakery and general store. A petrol station is also located nearby.

Transport
Woolooware railway station is on the Cronulla branch line of the City Rail Illawarra line. The station has a playground. All services are double deck electric trains of eight carriages. Veolia Transport provides bus services from Cronulla to Westfield Miranda. The main roads of Woolooware are Gannons Road, going south from Kingsway, Kingsway which goes in an east-west direction south of the railway, Endeavour Drive to the north which connects Woolooware to Kurnell and Miranda, and Burraneer Bay Road to the bay of its namesake.

Schools
Woolooware is home to a number of primary and secondary schools. Woolooware Public School is located in Wills Road. Burraneer Bay Public School is located at the southern edge of the suburb on Gannons Road near the small shop area. It is accessed via three entry points, one to the south, one on Gannons Road and one to the north via a short path. The high schools located here are Woolooware High School, De La Salle College and Our Lady of Mercy College.

Sport and recreation
Woolooware is home to the National Rugby League team, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. The home ground, Toyota Park (formerly known as Endeavour Field) sits beside the leagues club, known as Sharkies, on Captain Cook Drive.

Woolooware also contains Woolooware Oval, which is the home ground for the Cronulla Seagulls amateur football (soccer) club. Woolooware Oval is also used for the local touch football competition and in summer is the home ground for the Cronulla Seagulls Cricket Club. It also contains Captain Cook Fields, which is the home of the Sutherland Shire Softball Association, and where all of their competition games are held.