Bar Beach

Bar Beach is a suburb located in southwest Newcastle and takes its name from a rock pool formation named The Bar. Prior to the development of Bar Beach and the surrounding suburbs of Cooks Hill and Hamilton, the Australian Agricultural Company held extensive Crown land grants in the area. Bar Beach is steeped in history -the northern part of the beach is named after the American ship Susan Gilmore which suffered a shipwreck on 4 July 1884. It also has a number of heritage-listed buildings including Cooks Hill Surf Life Saving Club and Memorial, Reid Park Tennis Clubhouse and Tennis Courts, and the Empire Park Bowling Club Fence.