Broadmeadow, New South Wales

Broadmeadow is the geographic centre of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the “Nineways”.

Origins
Broadmeadow was originally part of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve of 648 hectares. It developed around the Great Northern Railway, the road to Newcastle’s western suburbs and the construction of the Sydney to Newcastle Railway in the 1880s.

Nineways is a major intersection at Broadmeadow, originally constructed as a landscaped garden in the centre of a roundabout at the intersection of nine roads/tramlines that converge there, the area was later reconstructed to have a set of traffic lights connected to only four roads. The other roads that accessed the roundabout were variously partly or fully closed off.

At Nineways stood the Century Theatre, rebuilt by Hoyts Theatres after World War II, with vast foyers on two floors and seating 1600, as one of Newcastle's premier theatres for stage and screen. It was often a venue for symphony orchestra concerts after the closure of the city's Victoria Theatre, but the exodus from cinemas because of television caused its closure in the early 1970s. It was said to have sustained severe structural damage during the 1989 earthquake, and was subsequently quickly demolished, amidst great controversy.

Today
The Broadmeadow railway station is situated close by and is being considered as the site for Newcastle's official transport interchange, with the retention of the existing railway line into the city. Until the mid-1970s the Broadmeadow railway yards had the second-largest coaling facilities for steam locomotives in the State being a that time a major railway depot.

There are two high schools in Broadmeadow (formerly known as Newcastle Central), Hunter School of Performing Arts (HSPA) whose students have to pass a performance trial, and Merewether High School. The latter is the only academically selective secondary school in the Newcastle region.

Broadmeadow is also home to Newcastle's largest stadiums which hosts the Newcastle Knights (NRL) home games as well as the Newcastle Jets (soccer). Nearby is the Newcastle Regional Showground which holds the Newcastle Regional Show and has the Newcastle Entertainment Centre which hosts concerts and other large scale performances. The Hunter Pirates Basketball team previously played home games at the Entertainment centre before being relocated to Singapore.