Eveleigh is an inner-city 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...

 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...

. Eveleigh is located about 3 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...

 and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney

City of Sydney

The City of Sydney is the Local Government Area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia...

.

History

Eveleigh was named after the estate of Lieutenant J. R. Holden, so called after his birthplace in 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...

. Much of the suburb of Redfern was known as Eveleigh in the early days. In fact, Redfern railway station was originally known as Eveleigh railway station. The Eveleigh railway yards were located immediately south-west of the station.

Following the nationalisation of failed private railways, construction began in the early 1880s on a new workshops complex, occupying an area of over 60 acres (242,811.6 m²), bounded by North Newtown, Erskineville

Erskineville, New South Wales

Erskineville is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Erskineville is located about 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...

, Redfern

Redfern, New South Wales

Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...

, Alexandria

Alexandria, New South Wales

Alexandria is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Alexandria is located 4 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...

 and Chippendale

Chippendale, New South Wales

Chippendale is a small inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Chippendale is located on the southern edge of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...

. Originally the workshops serviced and repaired the growing NSW rail fleet, but in 1908 Eveleigh began manufacturing steam locomotives. By this time more than 3000 people were employed at the site. Many workers lived in the area, but many lived in other suburbs and until the 1980s commuting workers alighted at the purpose-built Macdonaldtown Station, located in the middle of the complex.

Included in the complex was a running shed, opened in 1884, for steam locomotives used in the daily duties of train haulage. Originally of three bays, the first was demolished about 1925 and the remaining two in the early 1960s.

In 1989, part of the site was used to house Paddy's Markets, while the original site at Haymarket

Haymarket, New South Wales

Haymarket is a locality of Sydney's city centre, New South Wales, Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney....

 was being redeveloped.

Eveleigh Workshops

The Eveleigh Workshops are of great significance to Australia's industrial, military and social history. Eveleigh manufactured the first steam locomotives made in Australia, and it contains the most complete set of late nineteenth and early twentieth century light and medium engineering technologies in Australia (much of which is now preserved in an industrial museum in Bays 1 and 2 of the old Locomotive Workshop). The Eveleigh site was also used to manufacture munitions in both World War I and World War II. It is also significant in the history of Australian unionism—in 1892 unions successfully negotiated to establish a six-day working week, and the 1917 General Strike, which began with the 3000 workers at Eveleigh, eventually spread across Australia, involving almost 100,000 nationwide. The locomotive workshop was closed in 1988 and the main rail workshops were moved to Enfield

Enfield, New South Wales

Enfield is a suburb, in the Inner-West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Enfield is located 13 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Burwood Council.-History:...

. 3801 Limited

3801 Limited

3801 Limited is a not for profit company limited by guarantee. It was incorporated on 5 June 1985; A.C.N. 002 951 671. The registered office of the company is at Australian Technology Park.- Establishment :...

 has occupied the Large Erecting Shop since 1986.

Developments

In 1991, the NSW Government

Government of New South Wales

The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...

 established a consortium including the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

, University of Technology, Sydney

University of Technology, Sydney

The University of Technology Sydney is a university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1981, although its origins trace back to the 1870s. UTS is notable for its central location as the only university with its main campuses within the Sydney CBD...

 and UNSW

University of New South Wales

The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 which transformed Alexandria side of the workshops site into the Australian Technology Park

Australian Technology Park

The Australian Technology Park is a business and technology centre in Eveleigh, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia...

. Another section of the old workshops, which faces onto Wilson St, has recently been converted into a large theatre space.

Australian Technology Park

Australian Technology Park

The Australian Technology Park is a business and technology centre in Eveleigh, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia...

 occupies the site of the former Eveleigh railway yards. It is the home of a growing community of researchers, entrepreneurs, incubator businesses, start-ups, mature technology companies and education organisations.

The ATP buildings are also frequently used as locations for advertisements and television programs including MasterChef Australia

Masterchef Australia

MasterChef Australia is a Logie award winning Australian competitive cooking game show based on the original British MasterChef. It is produced by FremantleMedia Australia and screens on Network Ten. Restaurateur and chef Gary Mehigan, chef George Calombaris and food critic Matt Preston serve as...

. So You Think You Can Dance and the auditions of Australian Idol

Australian Idol

Australian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...

. The ATP site will also soon house extensive film and television production facilities including a new digital film making studio built by production company Kennedy Miller Mitchell for the filming of Mad Max 4 and Happy Feet 2

Happy Feet 2

Happy Feet Two is a 3D computer-animated family film film directed by George Miller, who co-directed the original film Happy Feet. The film is a sequel to Happy Feet and stars Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Pink, E.G. Daily, Sofía Vergara and Common. Dr...

. The Seven Network

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

and outside broadcast company, Global Television are housed within four purpose-built high definition television studios.