Toronto...
Toronto is a town within the city of Lake Macquarie in New South
Wales, Australia, approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) 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.
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.
Following the closure of the Ebenezer Aboriginal Mission in
1890, the population of the Toronto area remained mostly
Aboriginal. As the coal companies moved into the area, the
aboriginal population were helped financially and the community was
sustained mainly by the coal industry. However, it was not long
before a mixture of land disputes and poor treatment of the local
Aboriginals led to a major rally by the locals. This rally, which
began as vandalism of mining company property, soon escalated into
heavy violence and led to the Toronto massacre of 1896. Five
Aboriginals were killed and many people on both sides were brutally
beaten.
Population:
Toronto and its surrounding suburbs had a total population of just
over 5,000 people at the turn of the century. Toronto's population
was 5161 in the 2006 census.
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.
Sports:
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. Nathan Green, winner of the 2009 RBC
Canadian Open, was born in Toronto.
Information from Wikipedia - with thanks