Watanobbi, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Watanobbi is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales
, Australia
. It is part of the Wyong Shire local government area
, and is part of the Warnervale development precinct.
Although many believed the name's origin was Aboriginal
, with the Wyong Shire originally claiming it meant "hills surrounded by water", the Geographic Names Board later confirmed there was no Aboriginal significance to the name, with the two most likely sources being a corruption of the Japanese surname Watanabe
, ascribed to a friend of well-travelled pioneer Albert Warner, or a comment made by early landowner Allan Chapman about the "nobby" shape of the surrounding terrain, have been suggested. Landowners, claiming they were the butt of rude jokes and that the suburb's house prices had remained static relative to other areas, attempted unsuccessfully to have the name changed to Chapman Gardens in early 2002.
Watanobbi in the last 15 years has seen the removal of grazing livestock and horses to make way for the local Community Centre. Watanobbi also used to hold two legs of the locally famous Watagan Stages car rally; now modern housing occupy those dirt roads. During its most popular days as "the largest Home Show outside of Sydney
" Watanobbi boasted outside public toilets, a Commonwealth Bank lending office and as many as 5 different home builders offices on site. These included Masterton Homes (now ceased trading) and A.V. Jennings Homes (when A.V. Jennings was alive).
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is part of the Wyong Shire local government area
Local Government Areas of New South Wales
The local government areas of New South Wales, Australia have been subject to periodic bouts of restructuring and rationalisation by the State Government, involving voluntary and involuntary amalgamation of areas...
, and is part of the Warnervale development precinct.
Although many believed the name's origin was Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
, with the Wyong Shire originally claiming it meant "hills surrounded by water", the Geographic Names Board later confirmed there was no Aboriginal significance to the name, with the two most likely sources being a corruption of the Japanese surname Watanabe
Watanabe
Watanabe is the fifth most common Japanese surname.The first to be named Watanabe were kuge , direct descendants of the Emperor Saga ....
, ascribed to a friend of well-travelled pioneer Albert Warner, or a comment made by early landowner Allan Chapman about the "nobby" shape of the surrounding terrain, have been suggested. Landowners, claiming they were the butt of rude jokes and that the suburb's house prices had remained static relative to other areas, attempted unsuccessfully to have the name changed to Chapman Gardens in early 2002.
Watanobbi in the last 15 years has seen the removal of grazing livestock and horses to make way for the local Community Centre. Watanobbi also used to hold two legs of the locally famous Watagan Stages car rally; now modern housing occupy those dirt roads. During its most popular days as "the largest Home Show outside of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
" Watanobbi boasted outside public toilets, a Commonwealth Bank lending office and as many as 5 different home builders offices on site. These included Masterton Homes (now ceased trading) and A.V. Jennings Homes (when A.V. Jennings was alive).