Gosford

Gosford is a suburb located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 76 km north of the Sydney central business district. The city is situated at the northern extremity of Brisbane Water, an extensive northern branch of the Hawkesbury River estuary and Broken Bay.The city is the administrative centre of the Central Coast region, which is the third largest urban area in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle. Gosford has been earmarked as an important growth centre under the NSW Metropolitan Strategy. The suburb's population was 3,499 in the 2016 census.HistoryUntil white settlement, the area around Gosford was inhabited by the Guringai peoples, who were principally coastal-dwellers, and the Darginüng people that inhabited the hinterland. Along with the other land around the Hawkesbury River estuary, the Brisbane Water district was explored during the early stages of the settlement of New South Wales.Gosford itself was explored by Governor Phillip between 1788 and 1789. The area was difficult to access and settlement did not start before 1823. By the late 19th century the agriculture in the region was diversifying, with market gardens and citrus orchards occupying the rich soil left after the timber harvest. The road between Hawkesbury (near Pittwater) and Brisbane Water was a cart wheel track even in 1850.