Fairy Meadow, New South Wales

Fairy Meadow is a suburb in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Located in the Illawarra region, it is a mainly low density residential area, except for a strip of small commercial properties located along the Princes Highway.

Overview
Fairy Meadow is popular with tourists and surfers, due to its long beach (Fairy Meadow beach) and views of Mount Keira, and Mount Kembla. Fairy Meadow residents live mainly in older style houses, though apartments are now being built along the aforementioned strip. The main shopping area includes a Woolworths and Aldi supermarket amongst other stores. Fairy Meadow also has a skate park and tennis court. The skate park is located at Guest Park, west of the Princes Highway commercial area. A local historical building is the old Northern Illawarra Council Chambers.

In the southeast of Fairy Meadow is Puckeys Estate Reserve, a bush reserve known for bird watching and coastal environment protection, open to the public for walking on the tracks, once site of a saltworks. The area is also bordered by a long beach which stretches from Towradgi Point in the north, to Wollongong in the south, interrupted only by the rocks at the Fairy Lagoon entrance.

North of Puckey's Reserve and east of Fairy Meadow is Fairy Meadow Beach, the picnic facilities, playground and toilets in 2007 went under upgrades along with several other beachside areas in the Illawarra. The beach is patrolled in summer and has a surf life saving club, established in 1951.

West of Puckey's Reserve is Brandon Park, a greyhound racing track and the Wollongong Science Centre and Planetarium complex as well as an area of university property. The science centre is known for its laser concerts. The science centre was opened on 15 May 2000 by MP Colin Markham. The centre is a white building, and clearly visible from Wollongong's higher points. Outside of the entrance is a sculpture called 'Southern Cross' featuring poles in the shape of the constellation with graphics on them. The centre contains two levels, including a laser theatre, observatory, dinosaur and fossil exhibit, electronics exhibit and other attractions such as a setup demonstrating solar power with a model railroad and a forest logging simulation game

Churches in Fairy Meadow include the historic 1928 Anglican Church, Crossroads Christian Community, the more recent 1952 construction of St John Vianney's Catholic Church, and Wollongong Christian Reformed Church.

Unofficial colloquial nicknames for the town include "Fez Mez"

Transportation
The area is served by a railway station on the South Coast line, which is part of the CityRail railway network. The station is accessed via steps which climb to the road bridge on Elliot's Road which runs from Puckey's Estate and Fairy Meadow Beach Surf Lifesaving Club to the Princes Highway.

It is also located along Wollongong's free shuttle bus route.

Schools
Fairy meadow hosts two schools: Good Samaritan Catholic Primary which hosts Saint John Vianneys Co-Cathedral and Fairy Meadow Demonstration School.

Notable residents
Birthplace of cricketer Dave Gregory, captain of the first Australian test team.

Fairy Meadow hosts one of the residence halls for the University of Wollongong - Campus East - being the second largest college in the southern hemisphere. It also hosts the University of Wollongong's Innovation Campus.