The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas. It is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area which includes most parts of the Local Government Areas of City of Newcastle, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Cessnock, City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council.

Situated 162 kilometres (101 mi) NNE of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle is presently the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting 88,880,000 tonnes (87,480,000 LT; 97,970,000 ST) of coal in 2007-2008. Beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits.

Geography
Newcastle is on the southern bank of the Hunter River mouth. The northern side is dominated by sand dunes, swamps and multiple river channels. A 'green belt' protecting plant and wildlife flanks the city from the west (Watagan mountains) around to the north where it meets the coast just north of Stockton. Because of this, urban development is mainly restricted to the hilly southern bank.[citation needed] The small town of Stockton sits opposite central Newcastle at the river mouth and is linked by ferry. Road access between Stockton and central Newcastle is via the Stockton Bridge, a distance of 20 km (12 mi). Much of the city is undercut by the coal measures of the Sydney sedimentary basin, and what were once numerous coal-mining villages located in the hills and valleys around the port have merged into a single urban area extending southwards to Lake Macquarie.

Demographics
The metropolitan area of Newcastle is the second most populous area in New South Wales, and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas as well as Fern Bay, a southern suburb of Port Stephens Council. At the 2006 census it had a population of 288,732. As of 30 June 2008 the population of the City of Newcastle itself was estimated to be 152,659 while Lake Macquarie was actually larger with a population of 195,559.

Newcastle is often quoted as being the seventh largest city in Australia. This is misleading as the area represented extends well beyond both the City of Newcastle and the Newcastle metropolitan area. The area, officially the Newcastle Statistical District, is referred to as Greater Newcastle or the Lower Hunter Region, which includes most parts of the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock, Maitland and Port Stephens local government areas and has a total population of 493,465. Despite their proximity, all of the LGAs in the region maintain their own individual identities, separate from Newcastle. Newcastle remains the regional hub for most services.

Modern times

A tram halts outside the AMP building at the top end of Hunter Street, 1947The Port of Newcastle remains the economic and trade centre for the resource rich Hunter Valley and for much of the north and northwest of New South Wales. Newcastle is the world's largest coal export port and Australia's oldest and second largest tonnage throughput port, with over 3,000 shipping movements handling cargo of 93,000,000 tonnes (92,000,000 LT; 103,000,000 ST) per annum, of which coal exports represented 88,880,000 tonnes (87,480,000 LT; 97,970,000 ST) in 2007/08. The volume of coal exported, and attempts to increase coal exports, are opposed by environmental groups.


The MV Princess of Tasmania (4700 tons) designed and built at Newcastle State Dockyard at a cost of £2,000,000 in 1957.Newcastle has a small shipbuilding industry, which has declined since the 1970s. In recent years the only major ship-construction contract awarded to the area was the construction of the Huon class minehunters.

The era of extensive heavy industry passed when the steel works closed in 1999. Many of the remaining manufacturing industries have located themselves well away from the city itself, focusing on cheap land and access to road transport routes and lack the concentrated social impact of BHP on the city's life.[citation needed]

Newcastle has one of the oldest theatre districts in Australia. Victoria Theatre on Perkins Street is the oldest purpose-built theatre in the country. The theatre district that occupied the area around what is now the Hunter Street Mall vanished during the 1940s when much of Newcastle's cultural appreciation disintegrated in the very industrial-oriented city.

The old city centre has seen some new apartments and hotels built in recent years, but the rate of commercial and retail occupation remains low while alternate suburban centres have become more important. The CBD itself is shifting to the west, towards the major urban renewal area known as "Honeysuckle". This renewal, to run for another 10 years, is a major part of arresting the shift of business and residents to the suburbs.

Commercial renewal has been accompanied by cultural renaissance. There is a vibrant arts scene in the city including a highly regarded Art gallery, and an active Hunter Writers' Centre. Recent fictional representations present a new vision of the city, using the city's historic past as a backdrop for contemporary fiction.

The old central business district, located at Newcastle's eastern end, still has a considerable number of historic buildings, dominated by Christ Church Cathedral, seat of the (Anglican) Bishop of Newcastle.[31] Other noteworthy buildings include Fort Scratchley, the Ocean Baths, the old Customs House, the 1920s City Hall, the 1890s Longworth Institute (once regarded as the finest building in the colony) and the 1930s art deco University House (formerly NESCA House, recently seen in the film Superman Returns). Residents of Newcastle refer to themselves as "Novocastrians".

Domestic architecture
A heritage area to the east of the Central Business District, centred around Christ Church Cathedral, has many fine Victorian terrace houses, embedded in architecturally "sympathetic" later housing developments.
 

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