Maroubra

Maroubra is a beachside suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Maroubra is a beachside suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 10 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Randwick.

Maroubra is the largest suburb within Randwick City Council by both area and population;.Maroubra Junction is a locality in the centre of the suburb.

Maroubra is a local Aboriginal word meaning place of thunder. In 1861, the first house was built in the area by Humphrey McKeon. A number of other settlers arrived on the land in the 1870s to work on the wool scouring works located at the northern end of the bay.

The suburb first made headlines on 6 May 1898, when the Hereward, a fully rigged iron ship weighing 1,513 tons was caught by the gale-force winds and shipwrecked at the northern end of Maroubra Beach while heading north toward Newcastle. The shipwreck remained on the beach for a number of years until a failed attempt to refloat it was made by building a coffer dam around the wreck.

The wreck was slowly washed out to sea afterwards; and by 1937 only a triangle dorsal fin was visible above sea level. In 1950, Randwick Council feared the danger that the remains posed, especially to surfers and swimmers, and had the remains blasted; such that by 1967 it appeared that there was nothing left of the ship.In recent times, on various occasions, due to large swells and sweeping currents, large amounts of sand had moved off the sea floor and had exposed extensive portions of the Hereward which were once thought to be destroyed and lost forever. In March 2013 after large seas, extensive portions of the ship's metal hull, along with mast and engine pieces were exposed to a greater extent than they ever had been before.Hereward Street in Maroubra is named after the event.

Major residential development only began in the 1910s after Herbert Dudley, a real estate developer, subdivided the land into residential blocks. Herbert Dudley also lobbied for the extension of the tramline to Maroubra Junction in 1912, where he had built Dudley's Emporium which has just recently been redeveloped. In 1918 sixty-five allotments on Crown Lands bordered by Maroubra Bay Road, Cooper Street and Broad Road were auctioned by Stanton and Son Limited.The tram line was extended to Maroubra Beach in 1921.

Between 1925 and 1934, the Olympia Motor Speedway was located in South Maroubra at the corner of Anzac Parade and Fitzgerald Avenue. However, due to the dangerous nature of the concrete track, a number of deaths occurred and it was closed after only nine years of operation. Coral Sea Park and surrounding estates was announced on the site in 1947 and formally completed in 1961. The estates and park was given its namesake from the 1942 battle; The battle of the Coral Sea.

In 2005, Maroubra was named as one of the suburbs involved in the Cronulla Riots, after more than 100 cars were vandalised in relation to the riots between Middle Eastern and Anglo youth. In 2006, Maroubra Beach became the second Australian beach to be named a National Surfing Reserve (the first beach being Bells Beach in Victoria). It is also a popular place for people learning to surf due to its beginner friendly conditions.

Maroubra Junction is one of the main shopping areas in the district and is home to Pacific Square shopping centre (built on the area once known as Stockland Mall, Maroubra). Pacific Square shopping centre has an outdoor eating area on Anzac Parade, Coles and Aldi supermarkets, Glamabags, many specialty shops as well as being home to the area's Australia Post outlet. Commercial developments are also found along Anzac Parade, Maroubra Road and surrounding streets, including Dudley's Emporium which was the first shopping centre in Maroubra Junction built in 1912 and has been recently redeveloped.

There are also a handful of shopping districts besides Maroubra Junction including the areas surrounding Maroubra Beach.McKeon Street and Marine Parade are home to multiple cafes and restaurants, and other retail facilities such as surf shops, yoga schools, a chemist and newsagent, the Maroubra Seals Club and The Bay Hotel.

South Maroubra Shopping Village, known as "The Village", is located in South Maroubra and is home to many well-known shops including a late night pharmacy, Walsh's Pharmacy as well as Maroubra's only Woolworths supermarket.It is also next door to the Sands Hotel. The Village and South Maroubra Village Green are home to Christmas Carols every year.