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.

"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.