Waratah

Waratah is a north-western residential suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Newcastle's central business district and bounded to the north by the Main North railway line.

Waratahis a north-western residential suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Newcastle's central business district and bounded to the north by the Main North railway line. Waratah station was opened in 1858 and is served by NSW TrainLink's Hunter line.

The first inhabitants of the land were the Awabakal people, who belong to the larger Awabagal/Gadjang subgroup, also called Worimi. Anthropologist Norman Tindale estimated that Awabakal territory covered about 1,8002 km.Waratah was once a major municipality in its own right, incorporated in 1871, with an elected council and mayor. Two notable mayors, both elected to the office three times each were John Scholey and auctioneer N.B.Creer, both of whom resided at North Waratah (now Mayfield, New South Wales). Scholey was instrumental in the establishment of the Waratah Bowling Club, of which he was also patron.

Originally Waratah had a large colliery bearing its name as its industrial base.The suburb contains a major acute hospital, the Calvary Mater (formerly the "Mater Misericordiae"), owned by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy who, until recently, occupied all the most senior nursing positions. Nearby is a major 150+-bed independent retirement and nursing home, Maroba.