Carss Park is a suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 in southern

Southern Sydney

This article refers to an area the same as a combination of St George and SutherlandSouthern Sydney is a general term which is used to describe the southern metropolitan area of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia....

 Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, in the state of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Carss Park is located 17 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district

Sydney central business district

The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...

 in the local government area of the Municipality of Kogarah

Municipality of Kogarah

The Municipality of Kogarah is a Local Government Area in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The centre of the municipality is located 14km SSW of the Sydney central business district and west of Botany Bay....

. Carrs Park is part of the St George

St George, New South Wales

St George Area is an unofficial name applied to a group of southern suburbs in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area includes all the suburbs in the local government areas of the City of Hurstville, the City of Rockdale and the Municipality of Kogarah...

 area.

Location

Carss Park is a picturesque suburb around Carss Point, overlooking Kogarah Bay on the Georges River

Georges River

The Georges River is a waterway in the state of New South Wales in Australia. It rises to the south-west of Sydney near the coal mining town of Appin, and then flows north past Campbelltown, roughly parallel to the Main South Railway...

. The suburb is surrounded by the suburbs of Kogarah Bay

Kogarah Bay, New South Wales

Kogarah Bay is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah Bay is located 16 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Kogarah Bay is in the local government area of the Municipality of Kogarah.Kogarah Bay...

, Allawah

Allawah, New South Wales

Allawah is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Allawah is located 16 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Allawah lies mostly in the local government area of the Municipality of Kogarah and partly in the...

, South Hurstville

South Hurstville, New South Wales

South Hurstville is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. South Hurstville is located 18 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. South Hurstville is in the local government area of the Municipality of Kogarah...

 and Blakehurst

Blakehurst, New South Wales

Blakehurst is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blakehurst is located 18 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Kogarah and is part of the St George area.Blakehurst is connected to...

. Carss Park is a mostly residential area featuring some valuable real estate with water views and bushland surrounds.

History

The area was purchased from the Crown on 22 January 1854 by Jonathon Croft for £123. It changed hands several times before being acquired in 1863 by William Carss, a cabinet-maker, who called his property Carss Bush. He built a stone cottage in the 1860s called Carss Park Cottage. After William Carss died, his family continued to live in the house, including daughter Mary Carss. William had left the estate to the trustees of the Sailor Home in Sydney. When Mary died this clause in her father’s will was honoured and the estate passed to the trustees in 1916.

In 1921 the Blakehurst Progress Association made attempts to secure Carss Bush for a public park and Kogarah council was able to acquire the land for the people. Carss Bush Park was dedicated on 26 January 1924 and 150 lots were auctioned on the same day for development. Many of the streets on the new estate were named after Aboriginal tribes.

Commercial area

A small shopping strip is located on the Carwar Avenue near the intersection with the Princes Highway

Princes Highway

The Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....

, containing a bottleshop, chemist, hairdresser, newsagent, petrol station and supermarket. A bus service operates between Hurstville

Hurstville, New South Wales

Hurstville is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hurstville is located 16 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of...

 and Kogarah

Kogarah, New South Wales

Kogarah is a suburb of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George area...

 via Carss Park.

Schools

Blakehurst Primary School is in the Carss Park area. While Mater Dei Catholic Primary School and Blakehurst High School are just outside.

Parks and recreation

Carss Park has several recreation facilities including an Olympic Swimming Pool, Freshwater Baths, a bicycle track and football fields. Parks in the suburb are Carss Bush Park, Carss Park, Todd Park, Parkside Drive Reserve and Fraser Park.

Demographics

According to the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australian Bureau of Statistics

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...

 Census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 of Population, there were 1,194 people usually resident in Carss Park. 22.9% stated they were born overseas with the top countries of birth being Greece 3.7%, United Kingdom 3.9% and China 2.8%. English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 67.0% of residents and the most common other languages spoken were Greek 13.7%, Arabic 5.5% and Italian 1.8%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 30.3%, Anglican 19.5% and Orthodox

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 19.4%.

Notable residents

• Bradley Clyde
  Bradley Clyde
  Bradley Clyde is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s who, at the peak of his playing career was widely acknowledged as the best lock forward in the game....
  
  , former rugby league player
• Kostya Tszyu, Australian/Russian boxer

Pop culture

• The Carss Park Motel was featured in the penultimate scene of The Square
  The Square (2008 film)
  The Square is a neo-noir thriller film directed by Nash Edgerton, written by his brother Joel Edgerton and Matthew Dabner, and starring David Roberts and Claire van der Boom. Based upon an original idea by Joel, the project was written and then shelved by the actor because he felt it was not...
  
  , a movie produced by Nash Edgerton
  Nash Edgerton
  Nash Edgerton is an Australian film director and stuntman.-Life and career:Edgerton was born in Blacktown, New South Wales and is the brother of actor Joel Edgerton....
  
   and Joel Edgerton
  Joel Edgerton
  Joel Edgerton is an Australian film and television actor.-Early life:Edgerton was born in Blacktown, Sydney, to a homemaker mother and a solicitor/property developer father, Michael. His brother, Nash Edgerton, is a stuntman and filmmaker...
  
  .
• The family home in popular television series Packed to the Rafters
  Packed to the Rafters
  Packed to the Rafters is an Australian family-orientated television series which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The drama series features a mix of lighthearted comedy woven through the plot. It revolves around the Rafter family facing work pressures and...
  
   is supposed to be located in Carss Park, although the actual location is in Concord
  Concord, New South Wales
  Concord is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay....
  
  . Filming does, however, take place on location in Carss Park and surrounding suburbs.