Demographics

Description

Stockton, just north of Newcastle, is located 179 km north of Sydney via the Sydney-Newcastle freeway. It is only 2 km (only five minutes by ferry) from the Newcastle CBD but, by road, it is 20 km via Mayfield, Kooragan and the Tourle and Nelson Bay bridges. Stockton is a peninsula, with the Hunter River at the south and south-west and the Pacific Ocean at the east. On the eastern side are sand dunes and surfing beaches, with numerous shipwrecks at its north, while on the western side there are marshes, where many migratory birds can be spotted. Despite being technically an inner-city suburb of Newcastle, Stockton has a country town atmosphere because of its isolation. It has its own shops, churches, two clubhouses, three pubs, a swimming pool, and a caravan park. Stockton Beach is 32 km long, stretching from Stockton in the South to Anna Bay at its north- eastern end.