Куджи: История и описание пригорода Сиднея

Suburb of Sydney, Australia

Coogee (/'//k//ʊ//dʒ//i/) is a beachside suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, eight kilometres south east of the Sydney central business district. The Tasman Sea and Coogee Bay along with Coogee Beach lie towards the eastern side of the suburb. The boundaries of Coogee are formed mainly by Clovelly Road, Carrington Road and Rainbow Street, with arbitrary lines drawn to join these thoroughfares to the coast in the north east and south east corners.

The name Coogee is said to be taken from a local Aboriginal word koojah which means "smelly place". Another version is koo chai or koo jah, both of which mean "the smell of the seaweed drying" in the Bidigal language, or "stinking seaweed", a reference to the smell of decaying kelp washed up on the beach. Early visitors to the area, from the 1820s onwards, were never able to confirm exactly what "Coogee" meant, or if it in fact related to Coogee Beach. Some evidence suggests that the word "Coogee" may in fact be the original Aboriginal place name for the next bay to the north, now known as Gordons Bay. Another name, "Bobroi", was also recalled as the indigenous name for the locality. The Aboriginal population had largely relocated by the mid 19th century after being decimated by disease and violent clashes with early settlers, though some Aboriginal people still live in the area today.

Coogee was gazetted as a village in 1838. The first school was built in 1863, and the building was converted into the Coogee Bay Hotel in 1873. Three years later, Coogee Public School was established. Baths there were the only place swimming was permitted in daylight hours. Ocean swimming was not widely commented upon. In late 1887, Coogee Palace Aquarium and swimming baths were constructed. The Coogee Pleasure Pier, a large attraction including a theatre, restaurant and ballroom, was constructed in 1928, but was later demolished in 1934. Coogee was connected to the City of Sydney by electric tram in 1902. The suburb's popularity as a seaside resort was then guaranteed. The line branched from the line to Clovelly at Darley Road in Randwick. It ran down King Street beside the Randwick Tram Workshops, then ran in its own reservation to Belmore Road. It then ran down Perouse Road, St Pauls Street, Carr Street and Arden Street before terminating in a balloon loop in Dolphin Street at Coogee Beach. It ran through several small tram reservations on its way down from Randwick to the beach. The line from Randwick to Coogee opened in 1883, and electric services were introduced in 1902. The line closed in 1960. It follows the current route of Transdev John Holland bus route 373. Sections of the disused tramways are now maintained by local residents as a community garden. The 1888 paintings of Coogee Bay by Charles Conder and Tom Roberts are among the earliest masterpieces of the Heidelberg School or Australian impressionism. The Coogee Surf Life Saving Club was founded in 1907 by local people who believed swimmers needed protection from the dangers of the surf. The CSLSC prides itself on being a pioneer in the realm of surf life saving. In fact, the first mass rescue, night surf carnival, shark attack and the development of the resuscitation technique are attributed to the CSLSC. Built in the early 1890s and occupied by a Mrs T. M. Alcock was a large mansion known as Maidstone, which stands in Waltham Street beside St Brigid's Church. The house features a metal cupola and cedar fittings inside. The Catholic Church bought the building in 1922 and it was restored to its original style by Provincial House of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Located in Alison Road is a two storey Federation mansion named Ocean View. The house was built in 1916 by Philip Wirth, of Wirth's Circus, and is heritage listed. Other notable buildings in the area include Roslyn, a large Italianate house in Arcadia Street. It is heritage listed.

The Coogee Aquarium and Swimming Baths were officially opened on 23 December 1887. It covered a block of land bordered by Arden Street, Beach Street, Bream Street and Dolphin Street. The Palace included an indoor Swimming pool (25 x 10 metres), an aquarium featuring the tiger shark from the famous Shark Arm case, a great hall that could be used as a roller skating rink, Canadian toboggan ran down the hillside for over 70 metres, and a herd of 14 donkeys to ride as well as swings, whirligigs, rocking horses, toy boats, aviaries, flower beds, bandstand and an open air bar. In June 1945, a strong storm caused the large dome to collapse. In 1987 the Coogee Palace and Dome was re built and converted to restaurants and bars. The former hotel on the premises was owned by investment banker David Kingston and was known both as The Beach Palace Hotel and The Aquarium. In August 2014 the building re opened as the Coogee Pavilion A donor bought for them a house at 35 Dudley Street, Coogee, which, with extensions, still houses the order. Despite many difficulties from Church authorities the order was firmly established by the time of Eileen's death aged 28 in 1921. Under the leadership of Theresa (Cissie) McLaughlin and later superiors, it has continued to provide a range of services to those in need in inner Sydney and elsewhere. Eileen is buried in the Dudley Street property. The cause for her canonisation is under way and she is likely to become the second Australian canonised Catholic saint.

In 1924 construction started on an 'English seaside style' amusement pier at Coogee Beach. On 24 July 1928, the pier was officially opened, reaching 180 metres out into the sea complete with a 1400 seat theatre, a 600 capacity ballroom, a 400 seat restaurant upstairs, small shops and a penny (machine) arcade. Unfortunately, Coogee's rough surf damaged the pier and it was demolished in 1934. Lifeguards recently discovered remains of the pier on the ocean floor about 50 metres out from shore. No particular supernatural powers were attributed to the shadow (dubbed "Our Lady of the Fence Post" by the media, aka "Rail Mary") and interest waned within a few weeks. The section of fence that created the image was destroyed by vandals within days of it being publicised, although the local council had the fence replaced. While some continued to petition the Catholic Church and the New South Wales government to build a chapel, their claims were not seriously considered.

Coogee Bay Road runs from Randwick to Coogee Beach which is relatively protected through its formation as a bay. The surrounding coastline is mostly cliffs, decreasing in height down to the beach in the western part of the bay. The bay is sheltered from the roughest seas by Wedding Cake Island, a rocky reef about 800m off the southern headland. There is an annual swimming event around the island in November. The beach itself drops off rapidly at the edge of the water, which can result in a dangerous shore break particularly when the surf is large. The combination of this shore break and high visitor numbers mean that Coogee has more spinal injuries than any other Australian beach. In larger surf, there are often rip currents at both the northern end and at the southern ends, and also quite frequently in the centre of the beach. These are simply the places where the incoming water escapes most naturally. It is claimed by some locals that the rip in the centre of the beach is partly caused by the remaining foundations of the old entertainment pier (see above – history). At the northern end of the beach are stairs leading from Dolphin Point down to the old Giles baths. This is now an open rock pool carved out of the surrounding rocks. This area is now known as "Dolphin Point". The doorway and a four metre high bronze sculpture serve as a memorial to twenty of the Australian victims of the 2002 Bali bombing who were residents of Coogee and its neighbouring suburbs, including six members of the Coogee Dolphins rugby league team. A short walk further to the north is Gordons Bay, which is a popular location for snorkeling. At the southern end is the Ross Jones Memorial Pool just below the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club. Also at the southern end are two small reefs, the inner and the outer. Further south is a coastal walk that goes past the women's baths and Wylie's Baths. Coogee is one of Australia's more densely populated areas, with apartment buildings in every style from the 1930s onwards. Some free standing houses remain.

At the 2021 census, there were 14,634 residents in Coogee. The most common ancestries in Coogee were English 36.2%, Australian 22.8%, Irish 19.5%, Scottish 10.0% and Italian 4.9%. 56.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 9.9%, Ireland 4.5%, New Zealand 2.6%, United States of America 1.9% and Brazil 1.6%. 79% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included French 1.9%, Spanish 1.9%, Greek 1.3%, Portuguese 1.6% and German 1.1%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion, so described 48.1% and Catholic 25.4%. Beach volleyball is growing in popularity around the world. The Coogee Beach Volleyball Association resides at the northern end of the beach, with the Council authorisation to set up five portable nets along the promenade.

Coogee has a primary school, Coogee Public School. There is also a Catholic primary school located on Coogee Bay Road, St Brigid's.

The Coogee Arts Festival in February is a series of open air events held in the parklands above the southern side of Coogee Beach. It features theatre performances and a small film festival. The Annual Coogee Family Fun Day is the first Saturday of every December, held by the Coogee Chamber of Commerce. It features amusement rides and stalls next to the beach. Coogee Carols are held on the weekend prior to Christmas at Goldstein Reserve, opposite Coogee Beach. The event has been staged annually since 2002. Coogee Sparkles are a New Year's Eve event held at 9pm on the evening of the 31st of December prominent vantage points include Goldstein Reserve (opposite Coogee Beach) and on the sand of Coogee Beach. Putu Mayam Day is the first of its kind outside of Malaysia. On the first of every month one can indulge in the world famous putu mayam (rice noodles accompanied by shaved coconut and brown sugar) on the coastal edge of Coogee Beach. Coogee Dawn Service is held on Anzac Day at Coogee Beach annually. The service is held at dawn. The Island Challenge, held in the last weekend in November by the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club, involves a 2.4 km swim out and around Wedding Cake Island (off Coogee Beach). The race began in 2000, attracts hundreds of competitors, and is a prominent fixture on the Sydney ocean swimming scene. Participants may also compete in a 1 km shorter swim, and for participants under the age of 12, an 800m dash is also held.

Coogee is part of the City of Randwick, forming the East Ward together with Clovelly. It lies in the Federal electorate of Kingsford Smith (which covers all of south east Sydney), historically Coogee has been part of the Wentworth and then the Phillp electorates. Coogee is located in the State electorate of Coogee (which also includes the suburbs of Randwick, Waverley, Clovelly, Bronte, and Bondi Junction). Coogee is currently represented by the Australian Labor Party at both the Federal level and the State level.