Toronto, New South Wales

area = 9.5
area_footnotes = ref|area|Note2
timezone = AEST
utc = +10
timezone-dst = AEDT
utc-dst = +11
propval = $258,500
dist1 = 28
dir1 = SW
location1 = Newcastle
dist2 = 133
dir2 = N
location2 = Sydney
dist3 = 17
dir3 = SW
location3 = Charlestown
dist4 = 45
dir4 = SSE
location4 = Maitland
lga = City of Lake Macquarie
region = Hunter
county = Northumberland
parish = Awaba
stategov = Lake Macquarie
fedgov = Charlton
near-n = Blackalls Park
near-ne = "Lake Macquarie"
near-e = "Lake Macquarie"
near-se = Carey Bay, Kilaben Bay
near-s = Rathmines, Kilaben Bay
near-sw = Awaba
near-w = Awaba
near-nw = Awaba

Toronto is a town within the city of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, approximately convert|28|km|mi|0|lk=on from Newcastle's central business district and is a commercial hub for the sprawling suburbs on the western shore of the lake.

History

Toronto was named after Toronto, Ontario, Canada in honour of Edward Hanlan, a world-champion sculler who visited Australia in 1884. The area's subdividers, the Excelsior Company, named the land in honour of Hanlan's visit, which coincided with the opening of the subdivision. The name was not publicly used until 1887. The Canadian city's name comes from the Mohawk language tkaronto, meaning "where there are trees standing in the water".cite web|url=http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/education/toronto_e.php|title=The real story of how Toronto got its name|publisher=Natural Resources Canada|accessdate=2006-04-17]

Toronto was originally the site of an Aboriginal mission called Ebenezer, established in 1829 by Reverend Threlkeld. Threlkeld is reported to have begun construction of his chimney with a local black stone which he later realised was coal. Coal Point is named after this discovery. The development of several coal mines in the region, proximity to the nearby city of Newcastle, and its position by the lake led to gradual development and population increases.

Transport

Toronto is considered to be the hub for public transport on the western side of Lake Macquarie. The area is served by a privately operated bus service; 'Toronto Bus Service', which services the areas to the west, south and north of the town.

Toronto was served by train services until March 1990, when the NSW Government closed the line because of low passenger levels. The train service was replaced by a bus service which connects Toronto with Fassifern railway station.Train services operating from Fassifern include services to Sydney and Newcastle as well as the XPT service to Brisbane. Toronto is well served by road links to Newcastle and Sydney and is approximately 8 minutes from the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway (F3).

The Toronto centre serves the local communities of Kilaben Bay, Coal Point, Carey Bay, Rathmines and Wangi Wangi to the south and Teralba, Booragul, Woodrising, Fennell Bay, Bolton Point, Fassifern and Blackalls Park to the north.

ports

Toronto is represented by three sports teams in Newcastle competitions. The Toronto Awaba Stags FC in the Northern NSW Football competition; the Macquarie Scorpions in the Newcastle Rugby League and also the Toronto Workers Kookaburras in the Newcastle cricket competition.

Notes

# The density figure provided is based on the area of the whole suburb which contains a suburban area as well as a large area consisting of rural and semi rural development. As such, it is not an accurate indicator of typical population densities in the suburb, which vary considerably.
# Area calculation is based on NSW GNB maps.

References

*

External links

* [http://www.toronto.com.au Toronto Website]
* [http://www.torontochamber.com.au Toronto Chamber of Commerce and Industry]
* [http://www.lakemac.com.au Lake Macquarie City Council's website]