Woy Woy
Woy Woy derives its name from the nearby creek.
The earliest rendering of the name was Why Why - a short and sharp exclamation, the warning cry of the blacks against the presence of a snake.
In old days the low lying swampy areas of the district were infested with black snakes.
A tombstone in Gosford Cemetery marks the last resting place of a resident in Wye Wye Bay and the Sydney Morning herald in 1855 mentioned Why Why creek.
Until 1866 the Woy Woy area was known as Webb's Flat.
Samuel Coulter was actually the first resident in what is now Woy Woy.
He built a house and farmed land on the site on which the old Bayview Hotel and Neilson's Slipper Factory were located.
A figtree planted by Coulter was growing on the waterfront.
The railway line, of course, now runs through the Coulter property.
Coulter sold the property in 1884 to Owen Friend and Peter Fagan for 250 pounds.
The present site of Woy Woy was then a vast sandy area covered with scrub which nobody wanted.
Historical monograph, 1984
Charles Swancott, Highlights of Central Coast History