Page "Wollongong" Paragraph 27

In 1871, the old lighthouse was completed.

In 1880, steam locomotives were introduced to haul coal loads from Mount Keira mine to the harbour.

Gas street lighting was introduced in 1883.

In 1885, a new court house was erected in Market Street.

Like many Australian court houses, it was designed in a Classical Revival style considered appropriate for public buildings.

It is now listed on the Register of the National Estate.

In 1886 the first town hall was erected.

The Illawarra Railway to Wollongong was completed in 1887, and now continues as far south as the town of Bomaderry on the Shoalhaven River.

The navigator George Bass first documented the Illawarra coal deposits in 1797.

There have been many coalmines in the district.

Australia's worst coal mining disaster occurred in 1902, at the Mount Kembla mine when an explosion killed 94 men and boys, the youngest aged 14, the oldest 69.

Two other men died attempting to rescue survivors.

In 1908 the Wollongong District Hospital was established on Garden Hill.

In 1916 the Wollongong High School was opened.