vineyards of Pokolbin, Mount View and Allandale, with their rich volcanic soils tended by entrepreneurial vignerons, are also the focus of a thriving and growing tourism industry. The extension and eventual completion of the F3 Freeway, created a property and tourism boom during the 1990s. Cessnock has begun to develop other tourist ventures beyond the wine industry such as championship golf courses, hot air ballooning, sky-diving, and guest house accommodation. The city council has actively pursued a policy of urban renewal in the city centre since 2001. The local council was one of the first to introduce a recycling program for waste disposal in the state. Most employment comes from the local port city of Newcastle, the nearby major centres of Maitland and Singleton and in service industries in the local council area, which comprises many small towns, such as Kurri Kurri, Weston, Neath, Abernethy, Kearsley and Pokolbin. Geography The town is located in the rich alluvial and volcanic soils of the Hunter Valley. Rich coal seams underlie much of the area. The Brokenback Range (part of the Great Dividing Range) rises to the west of the city. The Hunter River flows down the Hunter Valley approximately to the north. Cessnock lies within the Hunter Valley Important Bird Area. Climate Cessnock has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with hot summers and cool winters, similar to Penrith, a suburb in Greater Western Sydney to the south. Summers may be dry due to their inland location, but humid days are not uncommon. Winters are usually dry with cold nights, which may be frosty. Education Primary schools St Philip's Christian College Cessnock Public School Nulkaba Public School Cessnock East Public School Bellbird Public School Cessnock West Public School Kearsley Public School St Patricks Primary High schools Cessnock High School Mount View High School St Phillips Christian College Tertiary facilities Hunter Institute of TAFE Cessnock Campus Media Cessnock is serviced by a number of regional newspapers, radio stations and television stations. Print The Cessnock Advertiser; an adjunct to the Mercury and is published every Wednesday. With a circulation of approximately 17,000 The Maitland Mercury The Newcastle Herald Radio Radio stations include: AM stations 2HD (commercial) 1233 ABC Newcastle (ABC Local Radio) 2HRN (off band commercial) Sky Sports Radio (as part of statewide network) FM stations KOFM 102.9FM (commercial) hit106.9 Newcastle 106.9FM (commercial) New FM 105.3FM (commercial) 2NUR 103.7FM (community) 2CHR (Central Hunter Radio) 96.5