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Coogee is a beachside suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Coogee is located 8 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Randwick. It is also a part of the Eastern Suburbs region.

The Tasman Sea and Coogee Bay along with Coogee Beach lie towards the eastern side of the suburb. The beach is popular for activities such as swimming, body-boarding and surfing. The boundaries of Coogee are formed mainly by Clovelly Road, Carrington Road and Rainbow Street, with arbitrary lines drawn to join these thoroughfares to the coast in the north-east and south-east corners.

The suburb is well served by buses, with routes to the Sydney CBD via Randwick, and also to Bondi Junction, Eastgardens via Kingsford and Maroubra and Leichhardt via Glebe and Newtown.

Coogee Beach is relatively protected through its formation as a bay. The surrounding coastline is mostly cliffs, decreasing in height down to the beach in the western part of the bay. The bay is sheltered from the roughest seas by Wedding Cake Island, a rocky reef about 800m off the southern headland. There is an annual swimming event around the island each November.

The beach itself drops off rapidly at the edge of the water, which can result in a dangerous shore break particularly when the surf is large. The combination of this shore break and high visitor numbers mean that Coogee has more spinal injuries than any other Australian beach.

In larger surf, there are often rip currents at both the northern end and at the southern ends, and also quite frequently in the centre of the beach. These are simply the places where the incoming water escapes most naturally. It is claimed by some locals that the rip in the centre of the beach is partly caused by the remaining foundations of the old entertainment pier.

Coogee is represented in one of the most popular sporting competitions in Australia, the National Rugby League, by the local Rugby League club, the Sydney Roosters. The Roosters have represented the area in the League since 1908. Some junior League clubs in the area are also affiliated to the South Sydney junior Rugby League, as the borders between the Roosters and Souths have been redrawn numerous times in the Coogee area since the 1930s. Local Rugby League teams representing the Coogee area include the Coogee Dolphins and Coogee Wombats.

Randwick District Rugby Union Football Club resides in Brook Street, Coogee and plays their home games across the road at Coogee Oval. Randwick DRUFC currently competes in all grades of the New South Wales Rugby Shute Shield competition. Randwick First XV Shute Shield home games are often broadcast to local Sydney audiences on ABC television's Channel 1 at 3pm on Saturdays.

Coogee Surf Life Saving Club has competed in both branch and state as well as national competitions since its founding in 1907, and continues a strong presence in all three areas of competition today. The Coogee SLSC surf carnival is held annually in February each year. The Surf Club fosters and supports many other water-orientated sport and recreation club's including the Coogee Minnows (a junior lifesaving/nipper club), Coogee Triathlon Club, The Coogee Boardriders as well as supporting swimming groups such as the Coogee Penguins. The nearby Wylies Baths' an historic coastal pool facility has been a long time supporter of Coogee's water-based sports and recreation.

The Island Challenge, held in the last weekend in November by the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club involves a 2.4 km swim out and around Wedding Cake Island (off Coogee Beach). The race began in 2000, attracts hundreds of competitors, and is a prominent fixture on the Sydney ocean swimming scene.
The Coogee Arts Festival in February is a series of open air events held in the parklands above the Southern side of Coogee Beach. It features theatre performances and a small film festival.
The Annual Coogee Family Fun Day is the first Saturday of every December held by the Coogee Chamber of Commerce features amusement rides and stalls next to the beach.
Coogee Carols are held on the weekend prior to Christmas at Goldstein Reserve, opposite Coogee Beach. The event has been staged annually since 2002.
Putu Mayam Day is the first of its kind outside of Malaysia. On the first of every month you can indulge in the world famous Putu Mayam (rice noodles accompanied by shaved coconut and brown sugar) on the coastal edge of Coogee Beach.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coogee,_New_South_Wales