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Nelson Bay Facts & Worksheets

Nelson Bay is a pretty town on the Southern coastline of Port Stephens, near the Port Headlands. It is about 60 kilometres by road north-east of Newcastle.

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Nelson Bay is a pretty town on the Southern coastline of Port Stephens, near the Port Headlands. It is about 60 kilometres by road north-east of Newcastle. At the 2016 census, Nelson Bay had a population of 5,820. It is a major tourism center, particularly for dolphin and whale watching, surfing, diving, fishing, and other recreational aquatic activities.

See the fact file below for more information on the Nelson Bay or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Nelson Bay worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

  • Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the area was occupied by the Worimi Aborigines. Port Stephens was sighted by Captain James Cook in May, 1770 who named it after Sir Philip Stephens, Secretary of the Admiralty.
  • The first Europeans in the area were five convicts whose boat sunk off Port Stephens in 1790. They were seen as reincarnated ancestors by the Worimi who aided them and accepted them into the tribe. The harbour was entered by the convict ship the Salamander in 1791 and charted by deputy surveyor-general Charles Grimes in 1795 who described it as low and sandy.
  • Governor King ordered a survey of the Port by William Paterson in 1801. In 1812 Governor Macquarie visited the port in the Lady Nelson.
  • Macquarie found the port “good, safe, and capacious” but decided there were too many shoals and the land was too barren to support a colony.
  • By 1886 there were about 30 residents. The villagers led a rather peaceful life based around fishing.
  • In the 1960s developers, seeing the potential of the area, started major commercial and domestic developments. Today Nelson Bay is popular with both holidaymakers and retirees.

ETYMOLOGY

  • No one is sure whether the town was named after Admiral Nelson or a vessel named Lady Nelson.
  • The name may have come from the Lady Nelson that was used by Governor Lachlan Macquarie when he visited Port Stephens in 1812 or it may simply have been named after Admiral Horatio Nelson, the hero who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

CLIMATE

  • Nelson Bay has a maritime-influenced humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with warm humid summers, damp autumns, cool wet winters, and relatively dry springs. The suburb is relatively sunny, receiving 117.8 clear days annually.
  • Despite the high amount of rainfall throughout the year, the rain days are relatively few, barely reaching over 10 days per month.

LOCATION AND TRANSPORT

  • Nelson Bay is 18 m above sea-level and 209 km north of Sydney via the Pacific Motorway and Nelson Bay Road. It is 59 km north-east of Newcastle.
  • Port Stephens Coaches operate local services to Newcastle, Raymond Terrace, and Soldiers Point as well as an express service to Sydney. The driving time from Sydney to Nelson Bay is within 2 hours and 44 minutes.

THINGS TO SEE AND DO

  • Cruises and Boat Hire. Nelson Bay is one of the premier locations on the New South Wales coast for dolphin and whale-watching cruises. It is also possible to hire boats for deep-sea and big-game fishing cruises.
  • The Ferry from Nelson Bay. One of the modestly priced pleasures of the area is the ferry trip across Port Stephens to Tea Gardens. Apart from being a delightful journey it also travels past pods of dolphins who seem to enjoy racing the ferry and gambolling in its wake.
  • Yacaaba Head. The view from Nelson Head looks east to Yacaaba Head. The “head” has an interesting geological history. Millions of years ago massive volcanic disturbances formed Yacaaba Head. It can be climbed by travelling to Hawks Nest and walking south along the beach.

MORE ATTRACTIONS

  • Bushwalks around Port Stephens. There are literally dozens of bushwalks around Nelson Bay. The major national park, Tomaree National Park, is criss crossed by dozens of trails. In the immediate area around Nelson Bay there are three easily accessible, short walks: Fort Tomaree Walk, Tomaree Head Summit Walk, and Wreck Beach Walk.
  • Fly Point. To the east of the d’Albora Marinas is Fly Point, which is a popular dive site. Fly Point is a nautical term meaning safe anchorage with protection from winds. It was the site of the fish curing operations of the Chinese in the late 19th century.
  • Little Nelson Beach. Little Nelson Beach is a 200 m long beach that lies between the d’Albora Marinas and Fly Point. It has jetties at both ends of the beach, a large boat ramp, and a cycleway. It is safe for swimming. In the clearing over the road from the picnic area are several Aboriginal canoe trees – trees that had a large chunk of bark carved out in the rough shape of a dugout.
  • Corlette is now part of the suburban sprawl that stretches west from Nelson Bay. The interplay between the soft yellow rendered sections and the seductive grey timbers works perfectly in what can fairly described as a low key “New England Cottage” style. Its primary attraction is the upmarket Anchorage Port Stephens.

Nelson Bay Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Nelson Bay across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Nelson Bay worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Nelson Bay which is a pretty town on the Southern coastline of Port Stephens, near the Port Headlands. It is about 60 kilometres by road north-east of Newcastle. At the 2016 census, Nelson Bay had a population of 5,820. It is a major tourism center, particularly for dolphin and whale watching, surfing, diving, fishing, and other recreational aquatic activities.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Nelson Bay Facts
  • History Timeline
  • Describe Me
  • Fact or Bluff
  • NB Facts
  • Nelson Bay’s Resort
  • The Walks
  • Nelson Bay IG
  • Jumbled Words
  • My Itinerary
  • Words to Essay

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Link will appear as Nelson Bay Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, January 25, 2020

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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