Croydon, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Croydon is an affluent suburb
in the inner-west
of Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
. Croydon is located 11 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district
. Croydon is split between the two local government areas of Burwood Council
and the Municipality of Ashfield
.
The suburb is nestled between the commercial centres of Ashfield
and Burwood
. It is bounded by Parramatta Road to the north, Iron Cove Creek
to the east, Arthur Street to the south and a number of different streets to the west. To the north are Kings and Canada Bays on the closest reach of the Parramatta River
, to the northwest is Concord Hospital and the Olympic Games
complex at Homebush Bay
. To the south is Canterbury
Racecourse.
people. Their territory was believed to be centred on Concord
and stretched east to the swampland of Long Cove Creek. The land was heavily wooded at the time with tall eucalypt
s, blackbutts
and turpentine
s covering the higher ground and mangrove
s, swamp oaks and swamp mahoganies in the lower swampy ground of Iron Cove Creek
. The diet of the Wangal was primarily fish so they spent most of their time living near the shores of the Parramatta River
and fishing in canoe
s. The land away from the river shores provided fruits, berries and edible plants as well as possum
s and kangaroo
s, which were killed both for food and their skins.
The arrival of the First Fleet
in 1788 had a devastating effect on the local people, mainly from the introduction of smallpox
, to which the indigenous people
had no resistance. The disease spread quickly so that many indigenous people died of this white man's disease without ever having seen a white man. The Wangal certainly got to see the white men. One of their leaders, Bennelong
, even befriended the first governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip
, and was taken by him to England
.
After establishing the colony at Sydney Cove
in early 1788, Phillip ordered that a second settlement be established at Rose Hill (now called Parramatta
) later that same year to increase the prospects of establishing successful farms. Within a year or so, a land route had been established between the two settlements, cutting through the territory of the Cadigal, Wangal and Burramattagal along the way. This rough track later became the main artery of the expanding Greater Sydney and, as the northern boundary of what is now Croydon, dictated early British settlement in the area.
and his successor Captain William Paterson
pursued the opposite policy granting large swathes of land to their friends prior to the arrival of the second official governor John Hunter in 1795.
The first land grant in the Croydon area was to Captain John Townson
in April 1793 who received 100 acre (0.404686 km²) on Parramatta Road
stretching west from Iron Cove Creek
and south to what is now Queen Street. Further grants were made in 1794 to: Private J Eades (25 acres on Parramatta Road to the west of Townson's holding); James Brackenrig (30 acres on the other side of Eades's land); Augustus Alt
, the first surveyor
-general of NSW, (100 acres stretching south from Townson's land to roughly what is now Thomas Street); and Sarah Nelson (15 acres west of the southern corner of Alt's land in the area now known as Malvern Hill). Alt was the first to take up residence on his land, naming it 'Hermitage Farm'. However, his house was burnt down by a group of indigenous people (possibly led by Pemulwuy
) in 1797 and he didn't return to Croydon, establishing himself in neighbouring Ashfield
, and selling his property to John Palmer.
By 1820 a large part of the area had been subsumed by Joseph Underwood's large 'Ashfield Park Estate'. This property remained largely intact for more than 40 years, until it was subdivided into large blocks after the death of Elizabeth Underwood in 1858. By this time its proximity to the railway
made it a desirable area (the station was originally called Fivedock). One of these subdivisions was the 'Highbury Estate', on part of which Anthony Hordern, son of the founder of the great retail firm, Anthony Hordern & Sons
, eventually built his house 'Shubra Hall', just beyond the west border of Ashfield. It later became part of the Presbyterian Ladies' College
, the current boundaries of which give an idea of the extent of the Hordern property. The College
, including Shubra Hall, the main school building and the Meta Street entrance gates, is now listed on the Register of the National Estate.
From around 1800 to 1860, development in the area was slow with the forest
s gradually being cleared for orchard
s and grazing land. The area was a haunt of bushrangers in the 1820s with two major thoroughfares, Parramatta Road to the north and Liverpool Road
to the south providing regular opportunities for holdups.
In 1855, the Sydney-Parramatta railway was built through the area which led to a housing boom around the stations at Ashfield
and Burwood
. This in turn led to local governments forming in the two areas with the land divided roughly equidistant between the two centres. In 1874 a new station was built on the boundary of the two areas and was named Five Dock
after another settlement to the north. Because Five Dock was actually a long way north some confusion ensued and Ashfield Council renamed the station in 1876 to Croydon
after the suburb in London
. The suburb remains divided between the two neighbouring councils to this day.
popular in the 1880s and 90s. The 1880s and 90s also saw the establishment of the suburbs first schools with Croydon Public School
in 1884, and the Presbyterian Ladies' College relocating from Ashfield
in 1891.
The southern side of Croydon remained largely undeveloped until the early 20th century. The Malvern Hill Estate was subdivided in 1909 and designed as a model suburb like Haberfield
with wide tree-lined streets and houses built in the then-modern Federation style
(a variation of Arts and crafts
). Part of the development was the Strand shopping strip, which has survived intact to this day and is now heritage listed in its entirety.
Since World War I
, little has changed in Croydon generally. While there have been some blocks of flats built in that time, they account for only around 10% of dwellings in Croydon and many of them are art deco
blocks from the 1930s which fit in with the general heritage feel of the area.
Croydon railway station
is located on the Inner West and South
railway lines of the City Rail network. On weekdays, many limited stops services on the South
line serve Croydon, with as many as four limited stops services to the city an hour in the morning peak, and a very small amount of limited stops services towards Lidcombe in the evening peak period. On weekends, Croydon is served by two limited stops services to the city per hour.
Seven bus services pass through Croydon:
Croydon is sandwiched between two major roads: Parramatta Road
and the Hume Highway
(also called Liverpool Rd). Within Croydon itself, there is only one road bridge (Meta St bridge) over the railway line connecting the north and south parts of the suburb.
A drawcard of Croydon is its four well-established and highly regarded schools:
most sought-after addresses due to its grand homes, larger blocks and family friendly streetscapes. As of 2006, the majority of dwellings were separate houses (67.5%).
Croydon is a quiet village-like suburb with mostly detached housing built in the early part of the 20th century in what is known as Federation Bungalow
or California Bungalow
styles. The suburb caters for first-home buyers, while the wealthy may also find homes in the Malvern Hill Estate, a well-established pocket of prestigious homes that rarely come on the market and sell for more than $900,000. As of June 2008, the median house price of Croydon stood at $747,500.
The Malvern Hill area of Croydon was designed as a model suburb in 1906 by surveyors Atchison and Schleiser. Like the nearby Appian Way area in Burwood
and the 'garden suburb' Haberfield
, the aim of the development was to have modern houses on large blocks of land with wide streets. Most of the houses are California Bungalow
s or similar Federation-era designs. The Malvern Hill Uniting Church was designed by Alfred Newman. Just east of Malvern Hill, in the Ashfield Council part of the suburb, is the grand Gads Hill Villa built by former Ashfield mayor Daniel Holborow and the nearby St James Anglican Church.
Centenary Park is a large open park with a barbecue area, bike tracks, play equipment, basketball court, two synthetic cricket nets and two playing fields that are used for cricket, rugby and football. Burwood Soccer Club and ACC Cricket Club play some home matches at the park. The Western Suburbs Leagues Bowling Club (Wests Sports) is located next door to the park.
Bede Spillane Gardens is situated on the corner of Croydon Road and Queen Street. Part of the park is locally known as "The Dungeon" due to its secluded position. Bede Spillane Gardens is located adjacent to Western Suburbs Leagues Bowling Club (Wests Sports) and is only a short distance from the much larger Centenary Park.
Other parks include Blair Park, Wangal Reserve and Reed Reserve.
According to the 2006 census
, Croydon had a population of almost 10,000 people. It did not have the same level of high density housing found in its neighbours Ashfield and Burwood. Around two thirds of dwellings were separate houses with 18% apartments and 13% terraces, semis or townhouses. The average age of people in the suburb was slightly older (38) than the rest of Sydney and a higher percentage of people owned their homes outright (37%) than those paying them off (27%). Average loan repayments ($1900 per month) were much higher than the national figure ($1300).
Croydon still retains many of the characteristics of the broader Inner West region of Sydney, including a high proportion of residents born overseas. Around 53% of residents were born in Australia with 7.1% born in China
, 5.5% in Italy
, 2.3% in Lebanon
, 2.2% in South Korea and 2.0% in Greece
. There was a very high percentage of people professing to be Catholic
s (39%). People with no religion (15%) and Anglicans (11%) are less common than in Australia generally while Eastern Orthodox (7%) and Buddhism
(4%) are more common.
Croydon has recently been entirely within the federal electoral division of Lowe
and the NSW state electoral division of Electoral district of Strathfield
. However, following the recent federal electoral redistribution, the part of Croydon within Ashfield Council has been moved into the federal electoral division of Grayndler
held by Anthony Albanese
.
From a political point of view, Grayndler is considered a safe
Labor
seat while Lowe is more marginal
, having changed hands a number of times in recent years. Currently it is held by Labor's John Murphy
. The previous member Paul Zammit
was elected as a Liberal
member but quit the party after a change in government policy increased the amount of aircraft noise over the electorate. He unsuccessfully tried to retain the seat as an independent
.
The state seat of Strathfield is also considered marginal. It was held by the Liberals until a redistribution in 1999 saw Labor's Paul Whelan
come into power. The seat is currently held by Virginia Judge
, also a Labor member.
The Croydon area by itself is considered a fairly safe Labor area. The table to the right shows that when you just look at the polling booths in the suburb of Croydon, Labor has consistently returned around 60% of the two-party preferred vote even when the first preference votes have fluctuated. The Greens
vote, while not as large as in other parts of the inner-west
has been steadily increasing in recent years.
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 the inner-west
Inner West (Sydney)
The Inner West is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia...
of 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...
. Croydon is located 11 kilometres west 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...
. Croydon is split between the two local government areas of Burwood Council
Burwood Council
The Municipality of Burwood is a Local Government Area in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- Suburbs in the local government area :Suburbs serviced by Burwood Council are:* Burwood* Burwood Heights* Enfield...
and the Municipality of Ashfield
Municipality of Ashfield
The Municipality of Ashfield is a Local Government Area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It lies approximately 10 kilometres west of the central business district.- Demographics :According to the , there:...
.
The suburb is nestled between the commercial centres of Ashfield
Ashfield, New South Wales
Ashfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about 9 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield.The official name for the...
and Burwood
Burwood, New South Wales
Burwood is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Burwood is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of Burwood Council....
. It is bounded by Parramatta Road to the north, Iron Cove Creek
Iron Cove Creek
Iron Cove Creek was a creek in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the inner-western suburbs of Croydon, Ashfield, Haberfield and Five Dock...
to the east, Arthur Street to the south and a number of different streets to the west. To the north are Kings and Canada Bays on the closest reach of the Parramatta River
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....
, to the northwest is Concord Hospital and the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
complex at Homebush Bay
Homebush Bay, New South Wales
Homebush Bay was the former name of a suburb of western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia that took in the suburbs of Sydney Olympic Park, Wentworth Point and part of the neighbouring suburb of Lidcombe. Homebush Bay is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business...
. To the south is Canterbury
Canterbury, New South Wales
-Commercial area:Canterbury has a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial developments. Commercial developments are mostly situated on Canterbury Road and surrounding streets...
Racecourse.
Aboriginal settlement
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the area now known as Croydon was home to the Wangal clan of the DharugDarug people
The Darug people are a language group of Indigenous Australians, who are traditional custodians of much of what is modern day Sydney. There is some dispute about the extent of the Darug nation. Some historians believe the coastal Eora people were a separate tribe to the Darug...
people. Their territory was believed to be centred on 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....
and stretched east to the swampland of Long Cove Creek. The land was heavily wooded at the time with tall eucalypt
Eucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
s, blackbutts
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
and turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
s covering the higher ground and mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s, swamp oaks and swamp mahoganies in the lower swampy ground of Iron Cove Creek
Iron Cove Creek
Iron Cove Creek was a creek in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the inner-western suburbs of Croydon, Ashfield, Haberfield and Five Dock...
. The diet of the Wangal was primarily fish so they spent most of their time living near the shores of the Parramatta River
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....
and fishing in canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
s. The land away from the river shores provided fruits, berries and edible plants as well as possum
Possum
A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
s and kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s, which were killed both for food and their skins.
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
in 1788 had a devastating effect on the local people, mainly from the introduction of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, to which the indigenous people
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
had no resistance. The disease spread quickly so that many indigenous people died of this white man's disease without ever having seen a white man. The Wangal certainly got to see the white men. One of their leaders, Bennelong
Bennelong
Woollarawarre Bennelong was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia, in 1788...
, even befriended the first governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
, and was taken by him to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
After establishing the colony at Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
in early 1788, Phillip ordered that a second settlement be established at Rose Hill (now called Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
) later that same year to increase the prospects of establishing successful farms. Within a year or so, a land route had been established between the two settlements, cutting through the territory of the Cadigal, Wangal and Burramattagal along the way. This rough track later became the main artery of the expanding Greater Sydney and, as the northern boundary of what is now Croydon, dictated early British settlement in the area.
Early British settlement
Governor Phillip showed great reluctance to grant large amounts of land to his colonists, restricting land grants to the towns and people actively planning to farm the land. After his return to England in 1792, acting governor Major Francis GroseFrancis Grose
Francis Grose was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He was born at his father's house in Broad Street, St-Peter-le-Poer, London, son of a Swiss immigrant and jeweller, Francis Jacob Grose , and his wife, Anne , daughter of Thomas Bennett of Greenford in Middlesex...
and his successor Captain William Paterson
William Paterson (explorer)
Colonel William Paterson, FRS was a Scottish soldier, explorer, Lieutenant governor and botanist best known for leading early settlement in Tasmania. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Paterson when citing a botanical name.-Early years:A native of Montrose, Scotland, Paterson was...
pursued the opposite policy granting large swathes of land to their friends prior to the arrival of the second official governor John Hunter in 1795.
The first land grant in the Croydon area was to Captain John Townson
John Townson
John Townson was an army officer and settler in the colony of New South Wales. He entered the 18th Regiment in 1779 and was part of the Gibraltar garrison...
in April 1793 who received 100 acre (0.404686 km²) on Parramatta Road
Parramatta Road
.Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, Australia, connecting the Sydney with Parramatta. It is the eastern-most part of the Great Western Highway. Much of its traffic has been diverted to modern expressways such as the M4 and the City West Link...
stretching west from Iron Cove Creek
Iron Cove Creek
Iron Cove Creek was a creek in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the inner-western suburbs of Croydon, Ashfield, Haberfield and Five Dock...
and south to what is now Queen Street. Further grants were made in 1794 to: Private J Eades (25 acres on Parramatta Road to the west of Townson's holding); James Brackenrig (30 acres on the other side of Eades's land); Augustus Alt
Augustus Alt
Augustus Theodore Harman Alt was a British soldier , engineer and surveyor. His father Jost Heinrich was Hessian and entered the service of the Landgrave in Sweden as writer to Major-General Ernst Hartmann von Diemar...
, the first surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
-general of NSW, (100 acres stretching south from Townson's land to roughly what is now Thomas Street); and Sarah Nelson (15 acres west of the southern corner of Alt's land in the area now known as Malvern Hill). Alt was the first to take up residence on his land, naming it 'Hermitage Farm'. However, his house was burnt down by a group of indigenous people (possibly led by Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy was an Aboriginal Australian man born around 1750 in the area of Botany Bay in New South Wales. He is noted for his resistance to the European settlement of Australia which began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. He is believed to have been a member of the Bidjigal clan of...
) in 1797 and he didn't return to Croydon, establishing himself in neighbouring Ashfield
Ashfield, New South Wales
Ashfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about 9 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield.The official name for the...
, and selling his property to John Palmer.
Croydon railway station, Sydney
-Transport links:NightRide runs two routes via Croydon station:*Route N50 - Between Liverpool and City *Route N60 - Between Fairfield station and City -Neighbouring stations:-References:...
made it a desirable area (the station was originally called Fivedock). One of these subdivisions was the 'Highbury Estate', on part of which Anthony Hordern, son of the founder of the great retail firm, Anthony Hordern & Sons
Anthony Hordern & Sons
Anthony Horderns was the largest department store in Sydney, Australia. It was originally established by a free immigrant from England, Anthony Hordern, in 1823, as a drapery shop...
, eventually built his house 'Shubra Hall', just beyond the west border of Ashfield. It later became part of the Presbyterian Ladies' College
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney
The Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for girls in Croydon, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, Australia...
, the current boundaries of which give an idea of the extent of the Hordern property. The College
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
, including Shubra Hall, the main school building and the Meta Street entrance gates, is now listed on the Register of the National Estate.
From around 1800 to 1860, development in the area was slow with the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s gradually being cleared for orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s and grazing land. The area was a haunt of bushrangers in the 1820s with two major thoroughfares, Parramatta Road to the north and Liverpool Road
Liverpool Road
Liverpool Road is located in the London Borough of Islington of inner north London. Liverpool Road runs parallel to Upper Street and is largely made up of Georgian architecture. It starts at Upper Street and joins Holloway Road....
to the south providing regular opportunities for holdups.
In 1855, the Sydney-Parramatta railway was built through the area which led to a housing boom around the stations at Ashfield
Ashfield, New South Wales
Ashfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about 9 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield.The official name for the...
and Burwood
Burwood, New South Wales
Burwood is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Burwood is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of Burwood Council....
. This in turn led to local governments forming in the two areas with the land divided roughly equidistant between the two centres. In 1874 a new station was built on the boundary of the two areas and was named Five Dock
Five Dock, New South Wales
Five Dock is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local Government Area of the City of Canada Bay.-Location:...
after another settlement to the north. Because Five Dock was actually a long way north some confusion ensued and Ashfield Council renamed the station in 1876 to Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
after the suburb in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The suburb remains divided between the two neighbouring councils to this day.
Population growth
The first developments were on the northern side of the station around Edwin and Elizabeth Streets. Anthony Hordern built his grand home 'Shubra Hall' in 1869 while many of the shops along Edwin Street North were built in the 1880s. Many houses in the areas surrounding Edwin Street North and Elizabeth St are also of the Victorian styleVictorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
popular in the 1880s and 90s. The 1880s and 90s also saw the establishment of the suburbs first schools with Croydon Public School
Croydon Public School
Croydon Public School is a public, co-educational, primary school, located in Croydon, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located within the Burwood Council district....
in 1884, and the Presbyterian Ladies' College relocating from Ashfield
Ashfield, New South Wales
Ashfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about 9 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield.The official name for the...
in 1891.
The southern side of Croydon remained largely undeveloped until the early 20th century. The Malvern Hill Estate was subdivided in 1909 and designed as a model suburb like Haberfield
Haberfield, New South Wales
Haberfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Haberfield is located 9 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield....
with wide tree-lined streets and houses built in the then-modern Federation style
Federation architecture
Federation architecture refers to the architectural style in Australia, which was prevalent from around 1890 to 1920. The period refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the Australian colonies collectively became the Commonwealth of Australia...
(a variation of Arts and crafts
Arts and crafts
Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest"...
). Part of the development was the Strand shopping strip, which has survived intact to this day and is now heritage listed in its entirety.
Since World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, little has changed in Croydon generally. While there have been some blocks of flats built in that time, they account for only around 10% of dwellings in Croydon and many of them are art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
blocks from the 1930s which fit in with the general heritage feel of the area.
Commercial area
Croydon's principal commercial area is located around the railway station. The Strand, south of the railway line, features a number of restaurants and cafes while the older Edwin Street precinct, north of the line, is mainly specialist businesses such as printers. A secondary commercial area along Parramatta Road is mainly used car yards and light industrial. Croydon was also the site of the Western Suburbs Hospital which closed in the 1990s and has been replaced with an aged care facility and community health centre.Transport
Croydon railway station, Sydney
-Transport links:NightRide runs two routes via Croydon station:*Route N50 - Between Liverpool and City *Route N60 - Between Fairfield station and City -Neighbouring stations:-References:...
is located on the Inner West and South
South railway line, Sydney
The South Line is a railway line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and is part of the CityRail suburban network...
railway lines of the City Rail network. On weekdays, many limited stops services on the South
South railway line, Sydney
The South Line is a railway line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and is part of the CityRail suburban network...
line serve Croydon, with as many as four limited stops services to the city an hour in the morning peak, and a very small amount of limited stops services towards Lidcombe in the evening peak period. On weekends, Croydon is served by two limited stops services to the city per hour.
Seven bus services pass through Croydon:
- The 461 travels down Parramatta Road between Burwood and the city
- The 418 travels down Liverpool road between Burwood and Tempe bus depot
- The 480 and 483 also travel down Liverpool Road between StrathfieldStrathfield, New South WalesStrathfield is an Inner West suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Strathfield is located 14 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield...
and the city - The 490 and 492 travel from Drummoyne to Burwood via Queen Street, Croydon. They then travel through the southern part of Croydon with the 492 continuing on to RockdaleRockdale, New South WalesRockdale is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rockdale is located 13 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area...
and the 490 continuing to HurstvilleHurstville, New South WalesHurstville 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... - The 491 travels down Frederick Street and Elizabeth Street between Five Dock and Ashfield and then on to Hurstville
Croydon is sandwiched between two major roads: Parramatta Road
Parramatta Road
.Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, Australia, connecting the Sydney with Parramatta. It is the eastern-most part of the Great Western Highway. Much of its traffic has been diverted to modern expressways such as the M4 and the City West Link...
and the Hume Highway
Hume Highway
The Hume Highway/Hume Freeway is one of Australia's major inter-city highways, running for 880 km between Sydney and Melbourne. It is part of the Auslink National Network and is a vital link for road freight to transport goods to and from the two cities as well as serving Albury-Wodonga and...
(also called Liverpool Rd). Within Croydon itself, there is only one road bridge (Meta St bridge) over the railway line connecting the north and south parts of the suburb.
Schools and churches
- Burwood Girls High SchoolBurwood Girls High SchoolBurwood Girls' High School is a public, comprehensive, secondary, day school for girls, located in Croydon, an inner western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, a secondary public school for girls, established in 1929. - Croydon Public SchoolCroydon Public SchoolCroydon Public School is a public, co-educational, primary school, located in Croydon, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located within the Burwood Council district....
, a primary, co-educational public school, established in 1884. - Holy Innocents Catholic Primary School, a Roman CatholicRoman Catholic Church in AustraliaThe Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Pope.Australia is a majority Christian but pluralistic society with no established religion. There are approximately 5.1 million Australian Catholics . Catholicism...
, co-educational primary school, established in 1924. - All Saints of Russia is a Russian Orthodox Church, Chelmsford Avenue
- St Christophorous is a German speaking Catholic Church in Edwin Street.
- Presbyterian Ladies' College, SydneyPresbyterian Ladies' College, SydneyThe Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for girls in Croydon, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, Australia...
(P.L.C Sydney), an independentIndependent schoolAn independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
, PresbyterianPresbyterian Church of AustraliaThe Presbyterian Church of Australia is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. .-Beginnings:...
, R-12, day and boarding schoolBoarding schoolA boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
for girls, established in 1888. - St Joseph's Maronite Catholic Church
- St James' Anglican Church Croydon
Houses
Croydon features many of the inner west'sInner West (Sydney)
The Inner West is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia...
most sought-after addresses due to its grand homes, larger blocks and family friendly streetscapes. As of 2006, the majority of dwellings were separate houses (67.5%).
Croydon is a quiet village-like suburb with mostly detached housing built in the early part of the 20th century in what is known as Federation Bungalow
Federation architecture
Federation architecture refers to the architectural style in Australia, which was prevalent from around 1890 to 1920. The period refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the Australian colonies collectively became the Commonwealth of Australia...
or California Bungalow
California Bungalow
California bungalows, known as Californian bungalows in Australia and are commonly called simply bungalows in America, are a form of residential structure that were widely popular across America and, to some extent, the world around the years 1910 to 1939.-Exterior features:Bungalows are 1 or 1½...
styles. The suburb caters for first-home buyers, while the wealthy may also find homes in the Malvern Hill Estate, a well-established pocket of prestigious homes that rarely come on the market and sell for more than $900,000. As of June 2008, the median house price of Croydon stood at $747,500.
The Malvern Hill area of Croydon was designed as a model suburb in 1906 by surveyors Atchison and Schleiser. Like the nearby Appian Way area in Burwood
Burwood, New South Wales
Burwood is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Burwood is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of Burwood Council....
and the 'garden suburb' Haberfield
Haberfield, New South Wales
Haberfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Haberfield is located 9 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield....
, the aim of the development was to have modern houses on large blocks of land with wide streets. Most of the houses are California Bungalow
California Bungalow
California bungalows, known as Californian bungalows in Australia and are commonly called simply bungalows in America, are a form of residential structure that were widely popular across America and, to some extent, the world around the years 1910 to 1939.-Exterior features:Bungalows are 1 or 1½...
s or similar Federation-era designs. The Malvern Hill Uniting Church was designed by Alfred Newman. Just east of Malvern Hill, in the Ashfield Council part of the suburb, is the grand Gads Hill Villa built by former Ashfield mayor Daniel Holborow and the nearby St James Anglican Church.
Parks
Bede Spillane Gardens is situated on the corner of Croydon Road and Queen Street. Part of the park is locally known as "The Dungeon" due to its secluded position. Bede Spillane Gardens is located adjacent to Western Suburbs Leagues Bowling Club (Wests Sports) and is only a short distance from the much larger Centenary Park.
Other parks include Blair Park, Wangal Reserve and Reed Reserve.
Demographics
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
According to the 2006 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...
, Croydon had a population of almost 10,000 people. It did not have the same level of high density housing found in its neighbours Ashfield and Burwood. Around two thirds of dwellings were separate houses with 18% apartments and 13% terraces, semis or townhouses. The average age of people in the suburb was slightly older (38) than the rest of Sydney and a higher percentage of people owned their homes outright (37%) than those paying them off (27%). Average loan repayments ($1900 per month) were much higher than the national figure ($1300).
Croydon still retains many of the characteristics of the broader Inner West region of Sydney, including a high proportion of residents born overseas. Around 53% of residents were born in Australia with 7.1% born in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, 5.5% in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, 2.3% in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, 2.2% in South Korea and 2.0% in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. There was a very high percentage of people professing to be Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s (39%). People with no religion (15%) and Anglicans (11%) are less common than in Australia generally while Eastern Orthodox (7%) and Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
(4%) are more common.
Notable residents
Notable former and current residents of Croydon include:- Joseph AbbottJoseph Palmer AbbottSir Joseph Palmer Abbott, KB, KCMG was an Australian politician and solicitor.-Early life:Joseph Palmer Abbott was born on 29 September 1842 at Muswellbrook, New South Wales, to John Kingsmill Abbott, a squatter, and his wife Frances Amanda, née Brady...
(1843–1903), wool-broker and politician - Augustus AltAugustus AltAugustus Theodore Harman Alt was a British soldier , engineer and surveyor. His father Jost Heinrich was Hessian and entered the service of the Landgrave in Sweden as writer to Major-General Ernst Hartmann von Diemar...
(1731–1815), first surveyor-general of NSW. - Adolphus Herbert Frederick Norman Appleroth (1886–1952), founder of Aeroplane JellyAeroplane JellyAeroplane Jelly is a jelly brand in Australia created by Bert Appleroth. Appleroth's backyard business, Traders Pty Ltd, became one of Australia's largest family-operated food manufacturers and was sold to McCormick Foods Australia, a subsidiary of United States corporation McCormick & Company, in...
- Margaret Chandler (1934–1963), who died in the infamous Bogle-Chandler caseBogle-Chandler caseThe Bogle-Chandler case refers to the mysterious deaths of Dr Gilbert Stanley Bogle and Mrs Margaret Olive Chandler née Morphett on the banks of the Lane Cove River in Sydney, Australia on January 1, 1963. The case became celebrated because of the circumstances in which the bodies were found and...
, lived in Croydon with her husband Geoffrey. - Michael Fitzpatrick (1816–1881), public servant, land agent and politician
- Walter Wilson FroggattWalter Wilson FroggattWalter Wilson Froggatt was an Australian economic entomologist.-Early life:Froggatt was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of George Wilson Froggatt, an English architect, and his wife Caroline, daughter of Giacomo Chiosso, who came from a noble Italian family...
(1858–1937), entomologist, founder of the Naturalists' Society of New South Wales and author. Froggatt Crescent in Croydon, and the Froggatt prize for Science at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney are named after him. - Shopping magnate Anthony Hordern (1819–1876) built and lived at Shubra Hall, now part of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney
- The fictitious poet Ern MalleyErn MalleyErnest Lalor "Ern" Malley was a fictitious poet and the central figure in Australia's most celebrated literary hoax. The poet, and his entire body of work, were created in one day in 1944 by writers James McAuley and Harold Stewart as a hoax on Max Harris, Angry Penguins, the modernist magazine he...
(1918–1943) purportedly lived in Dalmar St, Croydon. - Sarah Nelson, first settler in the Burwood Council area.
- Sir Bertram Stevens (1889–1973) was premier of NSW from 1932 to 1939.
- Fredrick Wills (1870–1955), artist and photographer and motion picture pioneer
Politics
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Croydon has recently been entirely within the federal electoral division of Lowe
Division of Lowe
The Division of Lowe was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was located in the inner western suburbs of Sydney, on the south shore of the Parramatta River...
and the NSW state electoral division of Electoral district of Strathfield
Electoral district of Strathfield
Strathfield is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It was first created in 1988, and derives its name from the suburb of the same name. Strathfield is an urban electorate, covering 17.94 km² and taking in the suburbs of Strathfield,...
. However, following the recent federal electoral redistribution, the part of Croydon within Ashfield Council has been moved into the federal electoral division of Grayndler
Division of Grayndler
The Division of Grayndler is an Australian Electoral Division in inner Metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales. It is one of Australia's smallest electorates, located in the inner-southern Sydney metropolitan area, including parts of the inner-west...
held by Anthony Albanese
Anthony Albanese
Anthony Norman Albanese , Australian politician, who serves as Leader of the House of Representatives and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in the Gillard Ministry...
.
From a political point of view, Grayndler is considered a safe
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
seat while Lowe is more marginal
Marginal seat
A marginal seat, or swing seat, is a constituency held with a particularly small majority in a legislative election, generally conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat....
, having changed hands a number of times in recent years. Currently it is held by Labor's John Murphy
John Murphy (Australian politician)
John Paul Murphy , Australian politician, is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 1998, representing Lowe and then Reid, New South Wales. He was born in Dunedoo, New South Wales...
. The previous member Paul Zammit
Paul Zammit
Paul Zammit is a former Australian Liberal politician.Zammit was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He was first the state member for Burwood from 1984 to 1988; then, after Burwood was abolished, he became state member for Strathfield from 1988 to 1996...
was elected as a Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
member but quit the party after a change in government policy increased the amount of aircraft noise over the electorate. He unsuccessfully tried to retain the seat as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
.
The state seat of Strathfield is also considered marginal. It was held by the Liberals until a redistribution in 1999 saw Labor's Paul Whelan
Paul Whelan
The Hon. Paul Francis Patrick Whelan is the former New South Wales State Police minister.-Early years and background:...
come into power. The seat is currently held by Virginia Judge
Virginia Judge
Dianne "Virginia" Judge , a former Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Strathfield for the Australian Labor Party from 2003 until 2011.-Early life:...
, also a Labor member.
The Croydon area by itself is considered a fairly safe Labor area. The table to the right shows that when you just look at the polling booths in the suburb of Croydon, Labor has consistently returned around 60% of the two-party preferred vote even when the first preference votes have fluctuated. The Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
vote, while not as large as in other parts of the inner-west
Inner West (Sydney)
The Inner West is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia...
has been steadily increasing in recent years.
External links
- Croydon Public School website
- Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney website
- Burwood Girls' High School website