Population 3,630 (2006 census) State electorate(s) Shellharbour Postal code 2530 Lga City of Wollongong | Postcode(s) 2530 Koonawarra Lake Illawarra Federal division Division of Throsby | |
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Koonawarra is a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the western shore of Lake Illawarra. Koonawarra, or Exmouth, as it was then called, was one of the first five land grants located in the Illawarra. It was a grant of 1300 acres made to Richard Brooks in 1817. The grant faced Lake Illawarra and extended from Brook's Creek to Mullet Creek. Koonawarra was the aboriginal name for the area. "Exmouth" was later secured by Henry Osborne and became part of his central Illawarra estate, extending from Macquarie Rivulet to Mullet Creek, and from Lake Illawarra to the mountains. The name Koonawarra is from the aboriginal word "gkoonawarra" meaning "a high point of land with smooth, round stones". The word has also been said to mean "swan".