North Avoca is located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, and is about 95 kilometres north of Sydney. It has a wonderful surfing beach, abundant golden sands and is framed by a majestic headland. These factors make it a very popular destination for holiday makers in the Summer months, and it also means that it is a busy time for our life savers. Every year in January there is a surf carnival here, and the area has produced a number of surfing champions.

The first white settlers to permanently reside in the area were the timber getters, in the late 1800's. It wasn't settled earlier, as it was useless for dairy farming, although itinerant groups of aborigines were known to have come and gone. The steep terrain, and dense rainforest, had kept it somewhat isolated from other nearby settlements. The main road through the suburb, Tramway Road, was named after the route taken by the bullock drays, hauling the logs up a timber tramway. From there they were taken to Tom Davis' mill and shipyard at Terrigal Haven, and then all over the world. At that time Davis owned virtually all of North Avoca and Terrigal.

In the early years of this century, most of the land comprising Avoca Beach, North Avoca and parts of Terrigal, were owned by Sydney surveyor, Henry Ferdinand Halloran. He commenced his subdivisions in the 1930's and this process was interrupted by the second World War. However in the late 1940's and 1950's little fibro holiday houses started appearing, and the population began to grow.

THE SURF CLUB

Henry Halloran had apparently “donated” two blocks of ocean-front land in North Avoca Parade to Clive Evatt in the 1930’s, when the latter was Minister for Lands, in return for officiating at the opening of his North Avoca subdivision. However Evatt didn’t build there, and a group wanting such land for a surf-club approached him to buy the blocks, but were rudely rebuffed. They then approached Gosford Council, with their story, and the acting Administrator helped out by resuming the land for the surf club and paying Evatt what he’d been offered. Thus the group had a head start and retained their funds to put towards the clubhouse! The block with the carpark, had initially been set aside as a road, and was allowed to be so used by Council. This indicates how much wider the dune hinterland had once been!

The original club house was built in the 1960’s, with generous help from the community, and it has served as a focal point for the suburb for over a generation. Its needs have kept growing with the continual growth in the population, and in 1999 a new and larger Club House was built on the site.

THE COMMUNITY

In recent times, North Avoca has moved from being a place for holiday makers, to one which has mainly permanent residents living in it. There is a pride in the beauty of the area, and an easy life style for those who have chosen to make their homes there. The bus runs from Gosford on weekdays, and the suburb is served by a small shopping center. There is a café, hairdresser and general store. Fishing along the beach and on the rock-platform are popular pastimes for visitors and permanent residents alike, while boating on the lagoon can also be fun. All-in-all it's a great place to live!!

Compiled by Liz Parkinson lizparkinson2002@gmail.com