Waratah, New South Wales

Waratah is a north-western residential suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located 7 km from Newcastle's central business district and bounded on the north by the Main North line. Waratah station was opened in 1858 and is served by CityRail's Hunter line.

History
Waratah was once a major Municipality in its own right, with an elected council and mayor, incorporated in 1871. Two notable mayors, both elected to the office three times each were John Scholey and auctioneer N.B.Creer, both of whom resided at North Waratah (now Mayfield, New South Wales). Scholey was instrumental in the establishment of the Waratah Bowling Club of which he was also Patron.

Originally Waratah had as its industrial base a large colliery bearing its name. The largest industry in Waratah today is the Commonwealth Steel Company, which abuts the railway.

The suburb contains a major acute hospital, the Mater Misericordiae, owned by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy, who, until recently occupied all the most senior nursing positions. Nearby is an established major 79-bed independent Home of the Elderly, Maroba.

Schools

 * Callaghan College - Waratah Campus (formerly Waratah High School, and before that Newcastle Boys' High School) (Years 7-10)
 * Waratah Public School (State sector)
 * St. Philip's Christian College
 * Corpus Christi (Roman Catholic Primary School)

Local landmarks



 * Mater Hospital
 * Maroba
 * Comsteel has a large production facility in Waratah.
 * Waratah Rugby Union Football Club
 * Waratah Oval
 * Waratah has one shopping centre containing a Coles and a Kmart store, amongst others. Every Christmas it is renowned for an exuberant lighting display. A smaller strip of shops is still surviving in Station Street, approximately 200 metres away and contains The Waratahs Rugby Union Football Club, two pubs (The Royal (Purple) and The Town Hall (Orange)) and some smaller shops.