Cringila, New South Wales

Cringila Wollongong, New South Wales
Aerial photo from east
Cringila
Coordinates	34°28′16″S 150°52′19″E / 34.47111°S 150.87194°E / -34.47111; 150.87194
Population	2,156 (2021 census)[1]
• Density	829/km2 (2,150/sq mi)
Established	1928
Postcode(s)	2502
Elevation	12 m (39 ft)
Area	2.6 km2 (1.0 sq mi)
Location	90 km (56 mi) from Sydney 6 km (4 mi) from Wollongong 28 km (17 mi) from Kiama
LGA(s)	Wollongong City Council
State electorate(s)	Wollongong
Federal division(s)	Whitlam
Suburbs around Cringila: Unanderra Spring Hill Berkeley Cringila Port Kembla Berkeley Lake Heights Warrawong

Cringila (/krɪndʒɪlə/) is a southern suburb of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is bounded by Berkeley, Unanderra, Lake Heights and Warrawong.

The suburb is planned on a north-south residential/commercial strip and the east west streets that adjoin it, making a rectangular pattern.

Cringila Community Park is a 78 ha site purchased by Wollongong City Council after residents defeated a proposal by BHP to use the land as a dump for industrial waste. Its main purpose is to regenerate the local area's natural wildlife. Surrounding Cringila's primary school is a protected rain forest.

A fraction of Cringila is the Port Kembla steelworks, which is a major local employer. This led to an influx of ethnic groups, primarily Macedonian, Portuguese, Turks and Lebanese. This in turn transformed the demographics of Cringila significantly and at the 2001 census more people lived in households where Macedonian was spoken (31.8%) than in households where only English was spoken (24.6%), making it the only suburb in Australia where this was true.^[2] However, at the 2021 census only 16.2% of the population lived in households where Macedonian was spoken and 40.8% lived in households where only English was spoken.^[1]

The word Cringila is an Aboriginal name - the town was formerly called Steeltown. In 1928 the first blast furnace opened up at the Port Kembla steelworks.^[3]

In 1935, the first public school opened, it was known as Steel Town School.^[3] In 1957, Cringila Primary School opened.^[3]

The main operating shops include Abdul's Butcher, the Cringila Hotel, a few burek shops, a newsagency, a pharmacy and convenience store. Other businesses include a petrol station, kebab shops, and a florist.

Cringila also has a local football (soccer) team which participates in the local Illawarra Premier League. They are supported strongly by the Macedonian community of Cringila and Wollongong. They play their local games at their home ground at John Crehan Park, Merrett Avenue, Cringila. In 2008 Cringila had finished 4th in the local Illawarra Premier League and also won the Corrimal League cup which also led to greater success in winning the Bert Bampton Cup. Cringila Lions have a strong rivalry with Wollongong United also backed heavily by the Macedonian community.

Cringila railway station in on the Port Kembla Branch of the South Coast railway line.

At the 2021 census, Cringila had a total population of 2,156 with 1,148 (53.2%) born in Australia and a median age of 38. Their country of birth was as follows:^[1]

40.8% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arabic 18.1% and Macedonian 16.2%. The most common responses for religion were Islam 29.1%, No Religion 20.1%, Eastern Orthodox 14.8%, Catholic 13.2% and Not stated 7.1%.^[1]

• Macedonian Australian