Kahibah, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Kahibah
city = City of Lake Macquarie
state = nsw


caption =
lga = City of Lake Macquarie
postcode = 2290
pop = 2475 (2006 census)
area = 1.3
est = 1868
parish = Kahibah
stategov = Charlestown
fedgov = Shortland
dist1 = 9
dir1 = WSW
location1= Newcastle
dist2 = 2
dir2 = ENE
location2= Charlestown
near-nw = Adamstown Heights
near-n = Highfields
near-ne = Highfields
near-w = Charlestown
near-e = Whitebridge
near-sw = Charlestown
near-s = Charlestown
near-se = Whitebridge

Kahibah is a suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, located convert|9|km|mi|0|lk=on from Newcastle's central business district.

Kahibah is the closest suburb to Glenrock Lagoon, and is drained by Flaggy and Little Flaggy creeks which flows into Glenrock Lagoon 2 km to the east. The suburb's name is from the Aboriginal name word "Ky-yee-bah", which meant either a place for games or to be active and eager. The local Aboriginal people, the Awabakal people, had camps in the area of Glenrock Lagoon, and named the area "Pillapay-Kullaitaran", meaning "Valley of the palms".

In a letter dated October 12, 1842, to W. Kirchner of Sydney, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt describes a walk through the valley on his way from Newcastle to Redhead via Charlestown. On this walk he described the view of the lagoon from a high vantage point. That vantage point is today known as "Leichhardt Lookout", which is on the Great North Walk.Ref. ("The Letters of F. W. Ludwig Leichhardt, Edited by A. Aurousseau Volume II", The Hakluyt Society 1968, pp532)

The township of Kahibah was gazetted on February 27, 1894. This township is not to be confused with a proposed village "Kahibah" approved by the Surveyor-General Office in 1865 which was to be located on the northern side of the entrance of Lake Macquarie where the suburbs of Pelican and Blacksmiths now exist.

In 1880 a coal rail line was built to Redhead with the line being extended to Belmont in 1916. A station was built at Kahibah. On April 8, 1971 at 1710 the last rail passenger train to Belmont via Kahibah left Newcastle Station with the rail line closing to all coal traffic on December 21, 1992. Since then the line is being redeveloped to a cycleway called "The Fernleigh Track". The first section from Adamstown to Kahibah was opened on February 2, 2003. The second stage, Kahibah to Whitebridge was opened on May 7, 2005.

In October 21, 1922 the Memorial Hall was opened in Hexham Street. It has also been known as the "Soldiers' Memorial Hall". Within the hall were the 2 Honour Rolls the men and women that went to World War I and World War 2 which now reside in the Kahibah Public School Memorial Hall. Over the life of the hall it was used School, picture theatre, library, play group (last one left December 1995). The hall was demolished in 1996 home units.

In 1938 a school was established in the Memorial Hall but it was not until October 20, 1954 that Kahibah Public School was moved to its current location.

The Great North Walk passes Kahibah on its way from Newcastle to Sydney. Each section of the track named. The first 25 km of the walk from Newcastle to Teralba, Lake Macquarie is known as the Yuelarbah Track.

1.5 km to the west of Kahibah is the central business district of Charlestown, New South Wales.

External links

* [http://www.lakemac.infohunt.nsw.gov.au/library/lhist/suburb/lmp&p/kahibah.htm History of Kahibah]
* [http://www.kahibah-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/ Kahibah Public School website]
* [http://www.ncc.nsw.gov.au/majorprojects/fernleigh/ Newcastle City Council Fernleigh Track website]