Originally named “Pirates Point” after escaped convicts were shipwrecked there in 1800, Stockton was an industrial and mining base throughout most of the 19th century. Workers and families flocked to the area throughout the 20th century, and in 1971 the Stockton Bridge opened, further reducing the suburb’s isolation from “mainland” Newcastle.
Stockton Beach stretches 33 kilometres up to Port Stephens. It features a surf lifesaving club, multiple shipwrecks and the largest mobile sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere.
