Boolaroo shakes off its lead smelter past and is now a suburb in demand

Between 2016 and 2021 the population increased by 58 per cent, Lake Macquarie City Council's integrated planning manager, Wesley Hain, says. That's 602 additional people who now call Boolaroo home - and counting.

Granted, Boolaroo's population in 2016, prior to that survey, was just over 1000, but still - it's growth.

"Between 2016 and 2021 almost two-thirds, or 395, of the 602 people were under 50 years of age," Hain says.

"There was a spike in people aged between 30 and 40 years old and people aged 0 to 14 years old, which indicates a greater number of families with children.

"If you take into account two-and-a-half people per dwelling on average - I'll do a quick bit of maths - that equates to 240 homes, and that's set to continue to grow into the future as well.

"As for the rest of Weemala, on the old Pasminco site, you would have seen a lot of construction activity going on if you've driven past recently. That's a development that's been approved and over the next five to 10 years you'll see another, say, 500 homes in there."

Just this week the council revealed further plans to rezone three lots on Munibung Road to allow for public facilities and raise building heights to attract new businesses to land nestled between Bunnings and Costco.

That means more major retailers, homes, schools or parks on the old Pasminco smelter site.

"We've seen how the Boolaroo area has changed over the last couple of years, all for the better, and we can see the type of investment that's happening around this area which is really very exciting," Mayor Kay Fraser told the Newcastle Herald.

"There's a lot more work to be done there in the Boolaroo area, but it's one of those areas we know will strive and thrive and this will support that ongoing development in the area for us."

Why are people choosing to move to Boolaroo? Hain says it's a combination of factors. He also mentions nearby development Billy's Lookout, which he says is "really taking off".

"Lake Macquarie City Council have been continuing to invest in some of the sporting facilities in the area, and Speers Point Park. We're building cycleways along Cockle Creek, extra businesses are moving in to Boolaroo and surrounds, and then there's Costco opening and other employment opportunities in the area," he says.

"It's a very central location for people to be able to access facilities, services and jobs close to where they live. There's also a train line within a couple of hundred metres of town, and I'm sure people factor that into their decision making as well."

The Pasminco lead smelter at Cockle Creek in Boolaroo opened in 1897 and closed down in 2003. It was the Hunter region's first heavy industrial site.

In 2014, the Newcastle Herald revealed in a joint investigation with Macquarie University that there were alarming levels of lead and other heavy metals found in homes and public places at Boolaroo, Speers Point and Argenton.

The operation to clean up the Pasminco area was among the largest in Australia's history: 1.9 million cubic metres of contaminated material was placed into a 45-metre-high containment cell in a 19-hectare area on the site.

The site was scraped back to the rock to remove contaminated material.

In 2020 US retail giant Costco lodged a development application to build a 14,000-square-metre warehouse and petrol station at the site. It opened a year later. That same year the NSW Government announced the sale of 55 hectares of the former smelter site to residential developer Green Capital Group for a multi-staged development called Weemala at the Lake.

Katrina Cooper and Vicki Holt have operated the popular Fresh Start Takeaway on Boolaroo's main street for the past eight years.

Katrina has lived in Warners Bay "all of her life" while Vicki has spent "most of her life" in Belmont.

"I have 24 years experience in takeaway - I previously owned Boolaroo Takeaway," Vicki says.

"Katrina owns Alternative Way to Health in Merewether which has been operating successfully for the past 20 years.

"Fresh Start started off small. We had no idea whether we would succeed or fail but after a year of opening it was evident we had created a monster, so we took on the shop next to us and made it into one large shop able to hold the volume of customers we get each day."

Vicki says she had always predicted a "boom" in Boolaroo.

"There was and still is guaranteed customers from all the new developments - concretors, plumbers, builders, electricians - the list goes on," she says.

"And then we are left with the actual home owners and their children. The placement of the shop next to the IGA (now SPAR) was always key as we would always have a steady stream of people ... I think we help each other."

Most of Fresh Start's customers are local to Boolaroo, Warners Bay, Argenton, Toronto, Edgeworth and surrounds, but Vicki says they "do have a few that come from as far as Rutherford on a weekly basis ... they say that they go past so many takeaways on the way, but they won't stop anywhere else other than our shop ... One young lady attends university in Melbourne and when she comes home she gets off her flight and comes straight to Fresh Start."

She says she and and Katrina have a "great relationship" with other Boolaroo businesses.

"We all look out for one another. We all care and we all want what's best for Boolaroo. Just in the last year we've had three cafes open, which adds to the bustle of the main street. There are new owners in the SPAR and the building has been updated. We have definitely had a big influx of people - I used to know everyone's name, now I know every second name."

Rapid growth in the town has, though, brought with it some hardships.

"In the beginning, road closures for the clearing of the Pasminco site and the development of the Bunnings site and land lots almost resulted in the complete demise of our business," Vicki says.

"We accrued enormous debt and it took a few years to get back on top.

"Now, with the economic climate, the growth has only allowed us to survive as opposed to thrive. Rising business costs (inflation and wages) have hit many businesses. Staying in business is a day by day grind that in some cases is too hard for some ... even those long-term, well-established businesses in the area like the Boolaroo Theatre which the Herald ran a story about recently.

"Yes, the residential and business growth is there, but consumers are still watching every penny."

And the appeal of owning a business in Boolaroo?

"I know a lot of my customers by name. I know their children and I've watched them grow, some of them even have their own children, and I think there's something pretty special in that," Vicki says.

"Boolaroo is blessed by the lake, and by being so close to the playground at Speers Point and the markets.

"There are some amazing businesses in Boolaroo and some of them have survived decades here and continue to grow: Lakes Army Disposal and the cinema, to name a couple. Having a big business like Costco come to our area has also been a blessing."

Mother and daughter duo Leisa Bisby and Kimberley Smith operate clothing store and hairdressing salon The Mibar Collective on Main Street, Boolaroo.

Leisa grew up in Boolaroo and Speers Point. Kimberley grew up in the Wallsend area and attended St Paul's High School, Booragul. They both still live in the Lake Macquarie area.

Kimberly is a hairdresser who moved her salon from Waratah to Boolaroo during the pandemic, describing it "a difficult time for all but also the best decision I have ever made". She also runs a stall at the Homegrown Markets called Eloka Soul Sista.

Why the decision to open The Mibar Collective at Boolaroo?

"I would visit my grandparents' place in Boolaroo when I was younger and we would have outings," Kimberley says.

"We would walk along Main Road and go to the shops, movies or local park. My grandparents also had a business in Boolaroo for over 40 years.

"For us Boolaroo was always home, and we wanted to grow our little community area and make Boolaroo not just a drive-by suburb but a destination to stop at, enjoy the local shops, have a lovely coffee and chat with friends. A place to visit and make a day of it."

Mibar's customers are a mix of locals and "visitors exploring our little piece of heaven and the beautiful Lake Macquarie".

"Cost of living has been a real problem for all, but thankfully we are still open and getting busier every week and we are able to do what we love," Kimberley says.

She and Leisa have seen a lot of changes in the town over the past few years.

"The housing development throughout Boolaroo, Speers Point and Teralba has been the biggest change," Kimberley says.

"And there are now great little coffee shops and boutiques along the main road. It is a busy little strip and we just hope we don't lose the local businesses, [sense of] community and all the little quaint buildings along Main Road."

She says Boolaroo business owners are "a close and friendly community" who support each other.

And the appeal of living in Boolaroo? Kimberley reckons it's ideal for families.

"There are many local businesses, schools, entertainment, parks, sporting grounds, and it's so close to the lake. It's all about community, lifestyle and being close to everything."

Margo Rayner's eclectic clothing and homewares store on Main Road, Vintage Pony, is one of the new kids on the block. It opened in July.

She grew up at Werris Creek and was a veterinary nurse at South Tamworth Animal Hospital for 20 years before becoming a principal buyer for a group of pharmacies. Now her focus is on Vintage Pony and, with her many stories and endearing "bushie" sayings inherited from her family, Margo is fast becoming one of Boolaroo's most colourful personalities.

She has lived in the Lake Macquarie area for 20 years and says she's "probably a local by now, I suppose".

"We live in this disposable world now and it's sad. Landfill is horrendous. Let's love things again.

"I love old stuff. As a kid in the bush everything we had was secondhand. Dad made our bikes, he got parts from the dump. Our clothes were secondhand. We made things, we had to."

She laughs when she recalls the story of a "young girl" who came into her shop recently and bought a leopard skin beret and a belt.

"I was wearing the same beret and belt in 1985 when I was living in London, and I bought them from Oxfam back then, and I loved myself stupid in them," she says.

"When this girl tried them on she was gushing about them and when she walked out the door I just had the loveliest feeling. It was OK to let them go.

"I tend to love things and hang onto them. I imprint with things I love very deeply, as you do with animals. I see beauty in a lot of things and I think 'right, what's your story?'

"But yeah, let's just love things again. There's no quality in things these days, especially clothing."

Margo loves small town life. It's why she opened a store in Boolaroo in the first place. She shares a number of stories from Boolaroo locals during our chat. I hear about a woman's backyard which is so full of water "you could drive a nail into the soil and grow a crowbar". There's a man who told her there is a bridge under a road in Boolaroo. A family at odds over the future of their business.

"Everyone talks to one another, shares stories and rumours," she says.

"I love Boolaroo, it reminds me of a country town. I just want it to stay that way. Surely we can keep it in that little time capsule, and not put a big shopping centre in the centre of town? But maybe that's just me."