Woy Woy South

We know the way the tide lopes in here — the bob of trawlers, the gulls arguing over someone’s lunch — because we’ve walked it a dozen times. Back in the day Broadsheet told Sydneysiders what we’ve always known: Woy Woy was a fishing town first, then slowly decided it wanted to be taken seriously as a place to eat and drink. We smiled and kept the nets.

Our weekend rhythm is delightfully low-tech. We can amble the roughly 12-minute stroll down to the waterfront to where Woy Woy Fishermen’s Wharf used to let you walk through the market, pick your catch and watch the boats while someone else did the frying. The Clayton family — three generations, Broadsheet reminded us — built a reputation on locally caught seafood and waterfront theatrics. On other days we’d head toward Colonial Plaza where Concrete Playground once wrote about a neon pizza spot called Tropicana Social Club, or remember the Woy Woy Hotel after that multimillion-dollar renovation that turned the old boozer into a place with a refreshed beer garden, an upmarket bistro and room for crowds.

We’re fond of the contradictions: a peninsula that’s only a 7–10 minute drive from Ettalong and Umina Beach, about 15 minutes to the M1 at Kariong if you truly must leave, and yet still the kind of place where a regional running event like the Bay to Bay Festival winds through town and feels perfectly normal.

Petty drama? There’s less of that in the files than you’d think. The stories here are more about keeping traditions — fish markets, school halls and parish history — than stadium-grade feuding. St John the Baptist Catholic School was rebuilt on Dulkara Road in 1979; Woy Woy South Public School still shows up in local listings with its enrolment of about 510 students and an Equity Transition Program focussing on literacy and numeracy. We don’t need a scandal to feel local pride.

Who would hate it? If you can’t stand the smell of salt, the sight of boats, or the occasional sudden influx of weekend traffic from Sydney day-trippers, you’ll be miserable. Who would love it? Families who value local schools and roots, people who like seafood lore (thanks, Fishermen’s Wharf), and anyone who appreciates a town that’s happy to be both a working waterfront and a surprisingly tidy dining detour — at least, back in the day.