Stockton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is the only residential suburb of the City of Newcastle that lies north of the Hunter River. Geography Stockton is a peninsula, with the Hunter River at the south and south-west and the Pacific Ocean at the east. On the eastern side are sand dunes and surfing beaches, with numerous shipwrecks at its north, while on the western side there are marshes, where many migratory birds can be spotted. There are numerous spots at Stockton suitable for recreational fishing. For many years, Stockton was linked to Newcastle's central business district at the south by passenger and vehicular ferry services. While there is still a passenger ferry service, vehicular traffic is now connected by the Stockton Bridge, built in 1971. History The Aboriginal people, in this area, the Worimi, were the first people of this land. The Worimi people call the area Burrabihngarn. Stockton was settled almost as soon as the foundation of Newcastle in 1797. It was originally called "Pirate Point" as the result of escaped convicts who stole the Norfolk which shipwrecked on the peninsula in 1800. The southern tip of the peninsula, near the northern breakwater is still known as "Pirate Point". For much of the 19th century it served as an industrial and mining base. In 1896 tragedy struck when a gas leak killed 11 people in the Stockton Colliery Disaster. It has become a working-class dormitory suburb during the 20th century, and remains so today for its 4,200 residents. Stocktonians are particularly proud of Dave Sands, a local resident and champion boxer during the years immediately after World War II. Like the Colliery Disaster, the short life of Sands was commemorated by some of the numerous memorials across this seaside village. Stockton Beach is also known as the location of the 1989 rape and murder of Newcastle High School student and Fern Bay resident Leigh Leigh. A play, Blackrock (written by Australian playwright Nick Enright), and also a film of the same name, were inspired by this event. Culture Despite being technically an inner-city suburb of Newcastle, Stockton has a country town atmosphere because of its isolation. It has its own shops, churches, two clubhouses, three pubs, a swimming pool, and a caravan park. It also had a large residential unit for people with developmental disability known as the