Koonawarra is a suburb of Wollongong, New South
Wales, Australia. It is located on the western shore
of Lake Illawarra. Koonawarra, or
Exmouth, as it was then called, was one of the first
five land grants located in the Illawarra. It was a
grant of 1300 acres made to Richard Brooks in 1817.
The grant faced Lake Illawarra and extended from
Brook's Creek to Mullet Creek. Koonawarra
was the aboriginal name for the area. "Exmouth"
was later secured by Henry Osborne and became
part of his central Illawarra estate, extending from
Macquarie Rivulet to Mullet Creek, and from Lake
Illawarra to the mountains.