The town of Cowper was created, to serve as a base for coal mining by the New Wallsend Company in 1873 with the first shipment on 17 December of that year.

A railway originally was used to transport the coal to the wharf;[4] later, trucks and automated loading belt systems were used.

[6] Proposals for rezoning and redevelopment of the area for housing were opposed by LMCC and residents as the land was zoned for conservation.

Environmentalists contended that the heathlands around the village contained a large variety of wildflowers, some dwarfed into unusual forms from the exposed coastal conditions.

This new subdivision, called Beaches Catherine Hill Bay is outside the visual catchment of the heritage village.