Illawarra is a coastal region in New South Wales, Australia. It occupies a narrow plain south of Sydney, stretching from Stanwell Park to the Shoalhaven River. It is bound on the west by the Illawarra Range. The area was first settled in 1815, and the first coal mine opened at Bulli in 1859. Huge deposits of black coal are mined in the Wollongong area. The port of Wollongong is a large manufacturing center, and Port Kembla, established in 1928, has an important iron and steel industry. See also New South Wales .
