Holgate, New South Wales

Holgate is a prestigious semi-rural suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia north-east of Gosford. It is part of the local government area.It is located approximately five minutes from Erina and the shopping destination "Erina Fair", as well as seven minutes from beaches including Terrigal Beach.Holgate contains wineries, the Matcham Valley Pony Club, and other attractions including the Katandra Reserve. This reserve contains a number of walking trails and Seymour Lake, a recreational destination. Holgate has been the base for many suburban runners since they can train at the Katandra Reserve. "Katandra" is an aboriginal word meaning "Song of Birds".Holgate is often jokingly referred to as Hellsgate,because of the large number of leeches in the area.Holgate is the area of land on the Western side of the Matcham Estate bounded to the north by Tumbi Umbi, the west by Lisarow and the south by Erina.It is part of the 2560 acres granted to Charles Hotatio Matcham, a nephew of Lord Nelson. The first settlers to buy land on the Matcham Estate in the Holgate area were Captain and Mrs Heyne, who came here on their honeymoon in February 1908, when Captain Heyne was on furlough from the Indian Army. They returned in 1921 to take up permanent residence and had a long association with the area. Mrs Heyne lived to the age of 92 years and died in Gosford on 30 December 1976.In the early 1920s, the residents formed a Progress Association. One of the achievements was the successful petition to establish a telephone office in the area. This was opened on 25 July 1924,a year later it became an unofficial post office.