Albion Park, New South Wales

{{More citations needed|date=July 2011}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = suburb | name = Albion Park | city = Illawarra | state = NSW | image = Albion Park NSW 2527, Australia - panoramio (4).jpg | caption = Main Street | local_map = yes | zoom = 11 | region = Illawarra | lga = City of Shellharbour | county = Camden | parish = Jamberoo | postcode = 2527 | coordinates = {{coord|34|34|S|150|48|E|display=inline,title}} | est = | pop = 13826 | pop_year = {{CensusAU|2021}} | pop_footnotes = <ref name="census">{{Census 2021 AUS | id = SAL10025 | name = Albion Park (suburb and locality) | quick = on | accessdate = 13 January 2026}}</ref> | area = | stategov = Kiama | fedgov = Whitlam | dist1 = 104 | dir1 = south | location1= Sydney | dist2 = 18 | dir2 = south | location2=Wollongong | near-nw = North Macquarie | near-n = Calderwood | near-ne = Albion Park Rail | near-w = Tullimbar | near-e = Croom | near-sw = Yellow Rock | near-s = Curramore | near-se = Croom }} [[File:Tully Sugar Mill No.6.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Tully Sugar Mill No.6 at Illawarra Light Railway Museum, Albion Park Rail]] '''Albion Park''' is a suburb situated in the Macquarie Valley in the City of Shellharbour, which is in turn one of the three local government areas that comprise the Wollongong Metropolitan Area, New South Wales, Australia. Although it is surrounded by a 'green belt' of farms, Albion Park had a population of 13,316 as at the {{CensusAU|2016}}.<ref name="census" />

The Illawarra escarpment is to the west, Dapto is to the north, Jamberoo is to the south and Shellharbour is to the east.

== History == On 9 January 1821 the area around Albion Park was part of a grant of land of over 2000 acres given to Samuel Terry, a former convict who became one of the richest men in New South Wales.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://museum.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/albion-park-history/|title=Albion Park {{!}} Shellharbour Local History|date=2017-12-09|website=museum.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-24}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://museum.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/samuel-terry/|title=Samuel Terry {{!}} Shellharbour Local History|date=2017-12-09|website=museum.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-24}}</ref> Terry owned and operated the Terry's Meadows Estate, which operated as a cattle stud.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In 1834, Terry suffered from a stroke and died in 1838.<ref name=":1" />

The land was inherited by Samuel Terry's nephew, John Terry Hughes.<ref name=":0" /> Hughes renamed the site to Albion Park.<ref name=":0" />

The township began to grow around the centre of the estate.<ref name=":1" /> For European settlers, this had been a natural meeting place as it was where the road from Wollongong in the north crossed the road from the timber industry in Calderwood and Tongarra in the west as it ran out towards the port at Shellharbour.<ref name=":1" />

The arrival of the railway line in 1887, and the completion of the road through Macquarie Pass to the Southern Highlands hastened the town's growth.

== Heritage listings == Albion Park has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Tullimbar Road: Toongla<ref name=nswshr-556>{{cite NSW SHR|5045681|Toongla|hr=00556|fn=S91/01036 & HC 870387|access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref>

== Etymology == The term "Albion" is an ancient name of Great Britain.<ref name="etym-online">[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=albion&searchmode=none Albion – Online Etymology Dictionary]</ref> The name was given to the area by John Terry Hughes after originally being known as the Terry's Meadow Estate.<ref name=":0" />

==Population== According to the 2021 census of Population, there were 13,826 people in Albion Park. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.5% of the population. * 84.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.2%, New Zealand 0.8%, Scotland 0.6% and Germany 0.6%. * 90.4% of people only spoke English at home. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 39.0%, Catholic 24.3%, and Anglican 17.2%.<ref name="census"/>

== Infrastructure ==

=== Trains === In order to avoid the highest parts of the ridge between Albion Park and Minnamurra, the railway needed to keep closer to the shore of Lake Illawarra. After the opening of Albion Park railway station two kilometres to the east in 1887, a new town began to develop next to it, now known as Albion Park Rail.

=== Roads === The Illawarra Highway runs through Albion Park and joins the Princes Highway just north of the suburb. This road brings many people through the region. Albion Park is also on the most direct link between Jamberoo Action Park and Sydney via the Princes Motorway and thus is directly on the route for those travelling south.

== Education == There are currently 4 Primary Schools and 3 High Schools in Albion Park: * [https://albionpk-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/ Albion Park Public School] * [https://albionpk-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/ Albion Park High School] * [https://mtterry-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/ Mount Terry Public School] * [http://www.sjchsdow.catholic.edu.au/ St. Joseph's Catholic School, Albion Park] * [http://www.spapdow.catholic.edu.au/ St. Paul's Catholic Primary School, Albion Park] * [http://www.calderwoodcs.nsw.edu.au/ Calderwood Christian School] * [https://tullimbar-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/ Tullimbar Public School]

== Recreation == [[File:Albion Park aerial.jpg|thumb|Aerial shot of Albion Park]] [[File:Illawarra Escarpment west of Albion Park.jpg|thumb|The Illawarra Escarpment as viewed from the plains of Albion Park]] Albion Park is home to the Shellharbour Regional Sporting Complex, which consists of two all-weather hockey fields, several football (rugby league) fields, a multi-purpose indoor basketball stadium, a turf cricket / AFL field, an athletics field, a BMX track, a remote control car racing track,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imccoffroad.com |title = ILLAWARRA REMOTE CONTROL OFF ROAD INC. - Home}}</ref> and several tennis courts. A cycleway also courses its way through the Sporting Complex and links it to a polo field and a complex of soccer fields. Albion Park is also home to a Shellharbour Council Swimming Pool, which is open during the summer months and now costs a fee of $2.00 entry, to a pool paid for by the members of the town.

=== Sport === Albion Park is also home to various sporting teams such as: * Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080617215635/http://www.albionparkhockey.org.au/ Albion Park Hockey Club] * Albion Park Bowls and Recreation Club * Albion Park Cows Football Club * Albion Park Cricket Club * Albion Park White Eagles * [http://www.albionparkcrows.com.au/ Albion Park Crows Junior AFL Club]

=== Museums === Albion Park has the Tongarra Museum, which showcases the history of the region, and the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society Museum located at the Illawarra Regional Airport.

=== Commercial area === There is a small Vicinity Centres shopping complex in Albion Park. In 2009, the local Council started a program to revitalize the town centre and it has attracted more tourists to the town.

==Climate== Albion Park has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: ''Cfa'') with warm summers and mild winters. Rainfall is spread through the months but has a bias to the first half of the year.

{{Weather box |location = Albion Park (Shellharbour Airport), 1999–present |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C = 45.8 |Feb record high C = 41.0 |Mar record high C = 39.6 |Apr record high C = 34.8 |May record high C = 28.0 |Jun record high C = 25.0 |Jul record high C = 28.0 |Aug record high C = 29.4 |Sep record high C = 35.1 |Oct record high C = 38.0 |Nov record high C = 41.8 |Dec record high C = 43.4 |year record high C = 45.8 |Jan high C = 26.9 |Feb high C = 26.3 |Mar high C = 25.4 |Apr high C = 23.4 |May high C = 20.6 |Jun high C = 18.1 |Jul high C = 17.8 |Aug high C = 18.9 |Sep high C = 21.5 |Oct high C = 23.0 |Nov high C =24.1 |Dec high C = 25.7 |year high C = 22.6 |Jan low C = 17.2 |Feb low C = 17.2 |Mar low C = 17.2 |Apr low C = 12.3 |May low C = 9.1 |Jun low C = 7.3 |Jul low C = 6.5 |Aug low C = 6.8 |Sep low C = 8.6 |Oct low C = 11.1 |Nov low C = 13.6 |Dec low C = 15.3 |year low C = 11.7 |Jan record low C = 8.6 |Feb record low C = 9.7 |Mar record low C =5.0 |Apr record low C = 2.0 |May record low C = 2.0 |Jun record low C = -2.0 |Jul record low C = -1.7 |Aug record low C = -2.0 |Sep record low C = 0.6 |Oct record low C = 1.0 |Nov record low C = 4.5 |Dec record low C = 6.1 |year record low C = -2.0 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm =86.7 |Feb precipitation mm = 145.1 |Mar precipitation mm = 149.1 |Apr precipitation mm = 81.9 |May precipitation mm = 77.6 |Jun precipitation mm = 84.5 |Jul precipitation mm = 74.0 |Aug precipitation mm = 64.7 |Sep precipitation mm =48.2 |Oct precipitation mm = 70.4 |Nov precipitation mm = 86.4 |Dec precipitation mm = 67.4 |year precipitation mm = 1029.5 |Jan precipitation days =8.5 |Feb precipitation days = 8.5 |Mar precipitation days =9.2 |Apr precipitation days =7.2 |May precipitation days = 5.3 |Jun precipitation days =6.0 |Jul precipitation days = 5.1 |Aug precipitation days = 4.7 |Sep precipitation days = 5.4 |Oct precipitation days = 6.9 |Nov precipitation days = 7.9 |Dec precipitation days = 7.7 |year precipitation days =82.7 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |humidity colour=green |Jan afthumidity = 63 |Feb afthumidity = 67 |Mar afthumidity = 64 |Apr afthumidity = 61 |May afthumidity = 58 |Jun afthumidity = 57 |Jul afthumidity = 54 |Aug afthumidity = 49 |Sep afthumidity = 53 |Oct afthumidity = 58 |Nov afthumidity = 63 |Dec afthumidity = 61 |year humidity =59 | Jan dew point C = 16.8 | Feb dew point C = 17.6 | Mar dew point C = 16.0 | Apr dew point C = 13.1 | May dew point C = 9.9 | Jun dew point C = 7.6 | Jul dew point C = 6.2 | Aug dew point C =5.9 | Sep dew point C =8.8 | Oct dew point C = 10.9 | Nov dew point C = 13.5 | Dec dew point C = 14.9 | year dew point C = 11.8 |source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology <ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_068241_All.shtml | publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |title = Climate statistics for Albion Park |accessdate = 21 February 2026}}</ref> |date= 19 February 2026 }}

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}}

Category:City of Shellharbour Category:Suburbs of Wollongong