Stockton

Stockton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located 600 m (0.4 mi) from Newcastle's central business district.

Stockton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located 600 m (0.4 mi) from Newcastle's central business district. It is the only residential suburb of the City of Newcastle that lies north of the Hunter River.

The Aboriginal people, in this area, the Worimi, were the first people of this land. The Worimi people call the area Burrabihngarn.Stockton was settled almost as soon as the foundation of Newcastle in 1797. It was originally called "Pirate Point" as the result of escaped convicts who stole the Norfolk which shipwrecked on the peninsula in 1800. The southern tip of the peninsula, near the northern breakwater is still known as "Pirate Point". For much of the 19th century it served as an industrial and mining base. In 1896 tragedy struck when a gas leak killed 11 people in the Stockton Colliery Disaster. It has become a working-class dormitory suburb during the 20th century, and remains so today for its 4,200 residents.

Stocktonians are particularly proud of Dave Sands, a local resident and champion boxer during the years immediately after World War II. Like the Colliery Disaster, the short life of Sands was commemorated by some of the numerous memorials across this seaside village.

Stockton Beach is also known as the location of the 1989 rape and murder of Newcastle High School student and Fern Bay resident Leigh Leigh. A play, Blackrock (written by Australian playwright Nick Enright), and also a film of the same name, were inspired by this event.