Wyong, 92 kilometres north of Sydney, is the administrative and commercial centre for the northern area of the Central Coast.

The original inhabitants of the area were the Walkloa clan of the Guringai Aboriginal people. The name 'Wyong' reputedly derives from an Aboriginal term and translates either to 'running water' or 'place of yams'. European settlement eventually largely dispossessed the Aboriginal occupants from the land.

White settlement began in 1825 when William Cape, a Headmaster of Sydney Public School, and his two sons were granted land in the Wyong district. One of the son's properties, Wyong Place or Wyong Hill, incorporated the future townsite, hence the name of the town.

In the proceeding years timber getters moved into the Yarramalong and Dooralong Valleys to exploit the cedar forests that grew in the area, though transporting the timber from the isolated area was problematic. Other farmers also began to settle locally.

The first inn was opened at Wyong Creek crossing circa 1858 and attracted the custom of travellers between Gosford and Maitland.

Alison Homestead, Wyong (courtesy Wyong Shire)

Woodbury's Inn (circa 1866) was established as a residence but also held a liquor licence. It ceased to operate as an inn in the late 1880s. The poor condition of the building resulted in its demolition in 1978. The site is now marked by a cairn and explanatory plaque.

Alison Homestead (1875 and later extended) is the oldest extant house in Wyong. It is now a museum.

A school was established at Wyong Creek in 1883. It is now one of the Wyong Shire's oldest school buildings.

In 1889 the timber industry was boosted by the arrival of efficient transport in the form of the Sydney-Newcastle railway line. This also spurred the growth of the settlement, with the first post office and the Royal Hotel also opening that year.

The area was also opened up to tourism and from the beginning of the 1900s resorts were established around Tuggerah Lake.

In 1924 Thomas John Ley, then-NSW Minister for Justice, laid the foundation stone for the Wyong courthouse at the site of the original post office. Ley was later convicted of murder in England.

Wyong Courthouse (courtesy Wyong Shire)

Wyong Shire was created in 1947.

Wyong still attracts holidaymakers and the development of the freeway to Sydney has placed it within commuting distance from the State capital.