Toronto, New South Wales

Toronto is a lakeside suburb within the city of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, approximately 28km from Newcastle's central business district and is a commercial hub for the sprawling suburbs on the western shore of the lake. It is one of the major centres in the City of Lake Macquarie LGA.HistoryToronto was named after Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in honour of Edward Hanlan, a Canadian world-champion sculler who visited Australia in 1884. In 1885 the Excelsior Land, Investment and Building Co. and Bank Ltd acquired a portion of Threlkelds' original 1,280 acre grant from McMahon and Whiting plus the 100 ft waterfront reserve from the Crown for £13,722 and subdivided it in 1887. This subdivision coincided with the opening of the Great Northern Railway and became the basis of the future town of Toronto.The area's subdividers, the Excelsior Company, named the land in honour of Hanlan's visit, which coincided with the opening of the subdivision. The name was not publicly used until 1887. The Canadian city's name theoretically said to have come from the Mohawk language tkaronto, meaning where there are trees standing in the water.Toronto was originally the site of an Aboriginal mission called Ebenezer, established in 1829 by Reverend Threlkeld. Threlkeld is reported to have begun construction of his chimney with a local black stone which he later realised was coal. Coal Point, just to the south, is named after this discovery. The development of several coal mines in the region, proximity to the nearby city of Newcastle, and its position by the lake led to gradual development and population increases. The Ebenezer Aboriginal Mission closed in 1841.