Seahampton, New South Wales

Seahampton is a hamlet situated north of West Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia, located 21 kilometres (13 mi) west of the city of Newcastle's central business district and west of the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway. It is a suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area.

Seaham No.1 Colliery in 1900.

Seahampton Greater Newcastle, New South Wales
Seahampton
Coordinates	32°55′26″S 151°35′06″E
Population	311 (2011 census)[1]
• Density	620/km2 (1,610/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	2286
Area	0.5 km2 (0.2 sq mi)
Location	21 km (13 mi) W of Newcastle 23 km (14 mi) SSE of Maitland
LGA(s)	City of Lake Macquarie City of Maitland
Parish	Teralba
State electorate(s)	Cessnock
Federal division(s)	Hunter
Suburbs around Seahampton: Richmond Vale Stockrington Minmi Richmond Vale Seahampton Minmi West Wallsend Cameron Park

Seahampton's origins are in coal mining. Seaham No. 1 Colliery was opened here on 6 March 1890 by the Monkwearmouth Coal Company which was reformed and renamed the Seaham Coal Company Ltd., in 1896. The shaft was 460 feet (140 m) deep and serviced the Borehole seam which here was about five feet nine inches thick.

Its peak production was 1,450 tons per day and the coal was shipped via the company's private railway to the New South Wales Government line at Cockle Creek Junction. The colliery closed on 7 July 1932, during the Great Depression, and never re-opened.

The township of Seahampton was surveyed in 1889 to provide homesites for colliery employees.

History

The Aboriginal people, in this area, the Awabakal, were the first people of this land.^[2]