Cooks Hill is one of Newcastle’s most sought after and popular suburbs. An inner city suburb, Cooks Hill’s leafy streets boast a number of character-filled corner pubs and an impressive collection of cafes. It’s also home to the city’s most popular eat street, Darby Street.
While the majority of properties are units and townhouses, you’ll find a charming mix of Victorian terrace houses, timber cottages, big modern homes and stylish new apartments.
Cooks Hill is a good representation of what the coal city in the process of revamping itself is all about – good food, an edgy artiness, coffee and the laid back beach lifestyle Newcastle is famous for.
Top things to do in Cooks Hill
1. Discover what the Darby Street fuss is about
Darby Street is one of Newcastle’s premier food, coffee, shopping and nightlife destinations. With its graffiti mural walls and eclectic, independently owned cafes lining the sidewalk, it’s a hive of activity from breakfast until late at night. It’s the perfect spot for breakfast, lunch or dinner, a spot of shopping, grabbing a coffee with friends or a drink of an evening.
2. Newcastle Art Gallery
Just around the corner from Darby Street you will find Newcastle Art Gallery, which houses over 6,200 works of art. Nationally recognised as one of the finest public collections in Australia, the gallery holds works from prominent Australian artists including Sidney Nolan, Brett Whiteley, Russell Drysdale and William Dobel. The gallery frequently hosts a variety of exhibitions and events for visitors.
Quick stats
- Postcode– 2300
- Vacancy rate– 2.3 per cent (March 2017)
- Median house value– $831,371
- Median unit value– $466,297
- Price growth – House prices in Cooks Hill have increased by 32.07 per cent in the past three years while unit prices have also risen by 20.28 per cent in the same period
- Rental returns– The average house in Cooks Hill has a weekly median rent of $465 and average rental returns of 3.18 per cent, while units have a median weekly rent of $400 and average returns of 4.49 per cent
- Average listing duration– 35 days for houses; 60 days for units
- Average weekly income– $947
- Dwelling type– The majority of properties are semi-detached dwellings (41 per cent)
- Occupation – The majority of residents are professionals
- Ownership – The majority of properties are rented (53 per cent) while 21 per cent
- Birthplace – 82 per cent of Cooks Hill residents are Australian
- Age – The majority of residents are in the 20-29 years age group (28 per cent)
Places to eat in Cooks Hill
It’s not so much a matter a where to eat in Cooks Hill, but which place on your ever growing list of eateries you should try.
For a decent coffee fix, head to Darby Street where you’ll be spoilt for choice. You could also try the more tucked away Welsh Blacks, popular with locals.
When it comes to food, you have the choice of Indian, modern Australian, organic, Thai, Vietnamese, pizza, Italian and many more.
For casual fare for breakfast, lunch or dinner, try one of Darby Street’s infamous cafes including the Three Monkeys, Goldbergs, Longbench or Zinc. For dinner, some local favourites include Le Dynasty for Vietnamese, Delucas for Italian or Benjamas for Thai.
For something sweet, Coco Monde is a must try, or if you want to step it up a level try and finish one the freak shakes at The Depot on Darby.
Transport in Cooks Hill
Cooks Hill is well serviced by local buses, particularly along Darby Street where you’ll also find a taxi rank.
Hospitals and healthcare in Cooks Hill
In addition to Cooks Hill Medical Centre and Darby Street Family Practice, there are a number of GPs, services for physio, optical, psychology and dental, and several chemists including Darby Street pharmacy and Darby Street Day Night Chemist.
Education and childcare in Cooks Hill
There are two schools in Cooks Hill including Cooks Hill Campus, which is an extension of Newcastle High and provides project based education to students. It also offers adult education (WEA) out of school hours. The second school is the Newcastle Grammar School Park Campus. For the younger kids there is a Cooks Hill Preschool.
Shopping in Cooks Hill
For one off finds and everything from clothing, home wares, swimwear and assorted nick-knacks, head to the independently owned and sometimes quirky boutiques along Darby Street. Popular local brands you’ll find along there include Betty Mim, Abicus, Ramjet, Blackbird Corbner, Azra Mayya and High Tea with Mrs Woo.
Food wise, there is a Cooks Hill Aldi or you can shop for organic produce at Natural Tucker. You’ll find a larger selection of stores including a Coles and Woolworths at Marketown Shopping Centre in the next suburb.
Sports and recreation in Cooks Hill
For some green space you could head to Centennial Park or if you prefer greens of a different kind, Lowlands Bowling Club is a popular choice. The kids will enjoy getting active at Ninja Park while for adults there is a Genesis fitness centre and a Pilates studio locally. If you’re more of an indoors person, you can spend some time at Cooks Hill Galleries, Newcastle Region Art Gallery or Newcastle Library, all located in Cooks Hill.
Entertainment in Cooks Hill
Take your pick of one of the pubs in the area which often have live music, trivia and other events. The Delany Hotel on Darby Street is a popular night-life destination on Friday and Saturday nights in particular. Also along this stretch are some more subdued but still popular options including 5 Sawyers or The Hop Factory, which specialises in craft beer.
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