Morisset, New South Wales
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Morisset Lake Macquarie, New South Wales |
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View from Morisset Hospital
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 Morisset
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| Coordinates | 33°6′54″S 151°30′4″E / 33.11500°S 151.50111°ECoordinates: 33°6′54″S 151°30′4″E / 33.11500°S 151.50111°E | ||||||||||||
| Population |
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| • Density | 107.41/km2 (278.2/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1887 | ||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2264 | ||||||||||||
| Area | 26.6 km2 (10.3 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | City of Lake Macquarie | ||||||||||||
| Parish | Morisset | ||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Lake Macquarie | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Hunter | ||||||||||||
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Morisset is a commercial centre and suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, and is located west of Lake Macquarie just off the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway. The count at the 2011 Census was 2,857 for the gazetted suburb of Morisset. The estimated urban population of the Morisset area, including Cooranbong, was 24,127 as at June 2015. The area is growing steadily, with population increasing 8.9 percent over the prior year, 2014, and having five-year average annual growth of 1.4 percent.
The town is named for Major James Thomas Morisset, who camped there in 1823 while making the overland journey from Sydney to Newcastle. Morisset went on the become Commandant at Norfolk Island prison between 1829-1833, where his brutal regime led to a rebellion. Historically there has been considerable confusion over the spelling of the suburb: Morissett, Morriset, Morrissett and Morrisset have been used.
The earliest settlement in the area was at Cooranbong in 1826, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of the current town and near the foot of the Watagan Mountains. Initially, various kinds of agriculture were conducted, and before long forestry became an important industry. Most of the transport to the area at the time was by river boat on Dora Creek meaning that Cooranbong was the most accessible part of town. The town of Morisset itself was essentially non-existent until 1887, when the Sydney-Newcastle railway was built. Morisset sprang up as a sawmill town clustered around the train station, and the township was proclaimed on 3 December.
In 1908, a psychiatric hospital opened on a large estate along the lake shore. At its height in the 1960s, Morisset Mental Hospital had 1,600 patients. The Hospital continues to dominate Morisset's reputation, although it is now only a 130-bed hospital.
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