Fairfield, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Greater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney is a term used to describe the western region of the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. The University of Western Sydney defines Greater Western Sydney as comprising 14 local government areas...
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...
. Fairfield is located 29 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...
and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Fairfield
City of Fairfield
The City of Fairfield is a Local Government Area in the south-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.- Suburbs in the local government area :Suburbs in the City of Fairfield are:* Abbotsbury* Bonnyrigg* Bonnyrigg Heights* Bossley Park...
and is also partly in the local government area of the City of Holroyd
City of Holroyd
Holroyd is a Local Government Area and suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, located in the Western Sydney region. Originally known as the Municipality of Prospect and Sherwood it was incorporated in February 1872, in 1927 it was renamed the Municipality of Holroyd after Arthur Holroyd,...
.
Fairfield is one of the most multicultural and culturally diverse cities in Australia, with more than half of the residents having been born overseas, mostly in non-English speaking countries. The majority of residents speak a language other than English at home, the most common being Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
, Arabic, Aramaic (Assyrian)
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
, Cantonese
Cantonese
Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
Aboriginal culture
Aboriginal people from the Cabrogal tribe and the Gandangara tribe, have lived in the area for over 30,000 years.European settlement
The earliest recorded visit to the Fairfield District by Europeans is described in William Bradley's Journal where he noted an expedition from Rose Hill to Prospect Creek to determine whether Prospect Creek led to Botany Bay.Governor Phillip left Rose Hill on 7 October 1789, returning on the 10th. Bradley described a place on the Creek where the water changed from fresh to salt with a drop of 4 feet (1.2 m) (due to the tide being out). The location was "Rocky Bridge" in present-day Fairfield Park, directly opposite Oakdene Park. The presence of salt water confirmed Prospect Creek's connection to the sea. Travelling downstream on the western bank of the Creek, the party were hampered from continuing by the junction of Orphan School and Prospect Creeks. At this site Bradley recorded a fight between a kangaroo and one of the party's greyhounds in the Creek, which required one of the party to enter the water to save the dog. That location is near the present-day bend of Riverview Road, Fairfield.
Frenchman Gabriel Louis Marie Huon de Kerrileau, a soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
in the NSW Corps arrived in the colony in 1794, per the 'Surprise', having fled France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and enlisted in the NSW Corps in London. In 1800 he married Louisa Le Sage at St John's, Parramatta, to satisfy the Colonial law. In 1807 he received a grant of 100 acres (40.5 ha) in the centre of Fairfield, which he named 'Castel Paul'. Huon de Kerrileau received additional grants of land. further afield, between 1807 and 1825, including 400 acres (161.9 ha) at Narellan from Governor Macquarie in 1810. By 1814 'Castel Paul' had been combined, by subsequent owners, with several similarly sized grants to form a largely uncleared 700 acres (283.3 ha)estate.
The free settler John Horsley, per 'Broxbornebury', 1814, purchased the estate in that year and named it 'Mark Lodge', after family properties in Essex, England. The Horsley family lived at 'Mark Lodge' until 1840, almost six years after John Horsley's death. The next owner was Dr William Brand, who used 'Mark Lodge' as a country retreat until about 1860. Horsley, a Magistrate and Coroner at Liverpool (1825-1834), and his large family were some of the pioneers of European settlement in the Fairfield District.
Later, a Colonial Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
, Thomas Ware Smart (1810–1881) bought the estate and in the 1860s built the mansion, 'Fairfield House'.
Fairfield railway station was opened in 1856 and has the oldest surviving railway building in New South Wales. Development began in the mid 19th century supported by railway construction in 1856. At the turn of the century the area had a population of 2,500 people and with fertile soils, produced crops for distribution in Sydney. Electricity was connected in 1921. A private railway existed from Fairfield station to the blue metal quarry at Widemere between 1924 and 1945.
Rapid population increase after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
saw the settlement of many ex-service men and European migrants. Large scale Housing Commission development in the 1950s swelled the population to 38,000. By 1979, the population had reached 120,000 and the City was becoming one of the larger Local Government Areas in New South Wales
Local Government Areas of New South Wales
The local government areas of New South Wales, Australia have been subject to periodic bouts of restructuring and rationalisation by the State Government, involving voluntary and involuntary amalgamation of areas...
.
Commercial area
Fairfield supports a mixture of commercial and residential developments, mostly characterised by medium-density buildings and some new high-rise apartments. Fairfield has two shopping malls: Fairfield Forum and Neeta City. The latter contains a Big WBig W
Big W is one of the largest chain of discount department stores in Australia, with over 150 stores. It is a division of Woolworths Limited, the second largest retailer in Australia. Its main competitors are Kmart and Target, both owned by Wesfarmers....
discount department store as well as a Woolworths supermarket. Fairfield's culturally diverse population is reflected in multicultural local businesses such as over twenty different types of cafés and restaurants that include Bosnian
Bosnian cuisine
Bosnian cuisine is balanced between Western and Eastern influences. The food is closely related to Turkish, Middle Eastern and other Mediterranean cuisines. However, due to years of Austrian rule, there are also many culinary influences from Central Europe....
, Lebanese
Lebanese cuisine
Lebanese cuisine includes an abundance of starches, fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and seafood; animal fats are consumed sparingly. Poultry is eaten more often than red meat, and when red meat is eaten it is usually lamb on the coast and goat meat in the mountain regions...
, Assyrian
Assyrian cuisine
Assyrian cuisine is similar to other Middle Eastern cuisines. It is rich in grains, meat, tomato, and potato. Rice is usually served with every meal accompanied by a stew which is typically poured over the rice. Tea is typically consumed at all times of the day with or without meals alone or as a...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i, Italian
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
, Spanish
Spanish cuisine
Spanish cuisine consists of a variety of dishes, which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep maritime roots...
, South American
South American cuisine
The Amazonia region of South America provides a plethora of fresh fish and tropical fruits. In Peru the Inca Empire and Incan cuisine contribute to the nation's overall cuisine. Potatoes are common, and also plants such as quinoa. The Pacific Ocean, provides a large amount of seafood. Many plains...
and Thai
Cuisine of Thailand
Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand. Blending elements of several Southeast Asian traditions, Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. The spiciness of Thai cuisine is well known. As with other Asian cuisines, balance, detail and variety...
cuisine.
Fairfield's large Assyrian and Iraqi Arab community has had the media describe the suburb as 'Little Iraq' or 'Little Assyria'. More Iraqi/Assyrian businesses have opened in Fairfield, mostly around Ware Street. These businesses include everything from jewellery shops to restaurants, making the area favourite entertainment and shopping hotspot for the Iraqi/Assyrian community. Fairfield also has many Assyrian churches, sporting clubs, cultural associations and health groups. Sydney's Iraqi community congregated in Fairfield to celebrate Iraq qualifying for the Asian Football Cup finals in 2007. More than 7000 people joined in street celebrations around Fairfield on Sunday 29 July 2007 after Iraq won the Asian Cup finals.
Transport
Fairfield railway stationFairfield railway station, Sydney
-Bus services:Fairfield Bus InterchangeWestbus:*824 - to Wakeley.*825 - weekdays and Saturday services - to Greenfield Park*826 - weekdays and Saturday services - to Cabramatta...
is on the Cumberland Line and South line
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...
of the CityRail
CityRail
CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...
network. Trains run frequently from Fairfield to Campbelltown
Campbelltown, New South Wales
Campbelltown is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Campbelltown is located 51 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Campbelltown.- History :Campbelltown...
and the City Circle
City Circle
The City Circle is a system of largely underground passenger railway lines located in the central business district of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that make up the heart of the Sydney passenger railway network. The lines are owned by RailCorp, a New South Wales government agency, and...
. There are two trains a day from Fairfield directly to Blacktown. Fairfield also has a major bus interchange adjacent to the railway station, it provides many bus services several bus companies which include Busabout, Hopkinsons, Veolia and Westbus.
Schools
Public Schools in Fairfield include: Fairfield High School, Fairvale High SchoolFairvale High School
Fairvale High School is a comprehensive coeducational high school located in Fairfield West, Sydney, Australia. Established in 1969, the school is part of the South Western Sydney School Region and the Fairfield School Education Area.-History:...
, Fairvale Public School and Fairfield Public School. Private School
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
s are: Patrician Brothers' College and Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School, which are catholic school
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
s. Patrician Brothers' Primary School was also previously located in Fairfield but closed in 2006.
Climate
Fairfield is slightly warmer and drier than Sydney CBD. Summer weather may come from north-east (hot and humid) or the north west (hot and dryDry
Dry or dryness may refer to:* Lack of water* Prohibiting alcohol * Dryness , the lack of sugar in a drink, especially an alcoholic one * Dryness * Dryness...
). With the winter rain averaging at 169.4mm and summer rain higher at 268.4mm, this makes winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
slightly drier than the summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
months, even though fair amount of rain
Rain
Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
is spread throughout the year.
Fairfield is usually a few degrees warmer than Sydney on summer days and a few degrees cooler on winter nights. There could be a temperature differential of 5 degrees Celsius in summer due to sea breezes in the City, and in extreme cases there could be a 10 degrees differential.
NOTE: Fairfield is a large suburb, therefore some areas in it may be adjacent to the climate of the top or bottom table.
Environment
Much of the original bushlandBushland
Bushland is any area in Australia that is predominantly indigenous flora and fauna.Bushland is the term commonly used by conservation protection groups and other environmental groups as a blanket term for natural vegetation, which may cover any kind of habitat from open shrubby country with few...
cover within the City has been cleared through past land management
Land management
Land management is the process of managing the use and development of land resources. Land resources are used for a variety of purposes which may include organic agriculture, reforestation, water resource management and eco-tourism projects.-See also:*Sustainable land management*Acreage...
practices. A few small areas of this original bushland remain, including examples of Cumberland Plain vegetation, which is listed under the Threatened Species Conservation Act.
Eight creeks
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
, 80 kilometres in length, have their headwaters in Fairfield City and flow into 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...
and Hawkesbury Nepean catchments. The impact of development over the past 50 years has resulted in severe degradation of the natural habitat in the creek banks and water quality
Water quality
Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which...
has been assessed as very poor in recent years. Strategies are being implemented so that this trend is being reversed.
Air quality in the City is heavily impacted upon by an insufficiently integrated public transport system, creating an over reliance upon private vehicles for moving people and freight.
Demographics
According to the 2006 Australian Bureau of StatisticsAustralian 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...
, the suburb of Fairfield had a population of 15,483 people, the majority of whom (60%) were born overseas. The largest groups were born in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
(18%) and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
(7.5%), with the most common languages spoken other than English being Aramaic (Assyrian)
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
(15%), Arabic (14%) and Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
(9%). The number of Assyrian speakers in Fairfeld represented a tenth of the Assyrian speaking population of Australia. The median family income of people living in Fairfield ($740 per week) was much lower than the national average ($1171).
Notable people
- Les HillLes HillLes Hill is an Australian actor. The first of two children born in the Hill family.-Acting career:Hill is best known for his role as Blake Dean on the television soap opera Home and Away from 1990–1993 and as underworld figure Jason Moran in the 2008 series Underbelly...
, Australian Actor - Justice CrewJustice CrewJustice Crew are an all-male hip-hop dance and pop music group based in Sydney. They are most notable for winning the fourth season of Australia's Got Talent in 2010. The group consists of Emmanuel Rodriguez, Samson Smith, Len John Ruela Pearce, John Len Ruela Pearce, Lukas Bellesini, Paulie...
, winners of Australia's Got TalentAustralia's Got TalentAustralia's Got Talent is an Australian reality television talent show which premiered on 18 February 2007 on the Seven Network. The show was based on the Got Talent series format that originated in the United Kingdom with Simon Cowell...
in 2010 - Harry KewellHarry KewellHarold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...
, Australian Socceroos player - Mark BosnichMark BosnichMark Bosnich is a retired Australian football player and football pundit. He represented Australia 17 times and played for English Premier League clubs Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea.-Manchester United :...
, Australian Socceroos player - Jelena DokićJelena DokicJelena Dokić is an Australian female professional tennis player.During the height of her career, she played for Serbia and Montenegro and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 on 19 August 2002. After several family-related difficulties , she slowly slipped down the rankings in 2006...
, Australian tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player
Culture
Fairfield has two local newspapers, The Fairfield Advance and the Fairfield Champion. Fairfield Advance and Fairfield Champion are issued every Wednesday.Politics
Fairfield is led by Fairfield City Council, with Nick Lalich as Mayor, Joseph TripodiJoseph Tripodi
Joseph Guerino "Joe" Tripodi , a former Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Fairfield for the Australian Labor Party between 1995 and 2011. He was Minister for Finance, Infrastructure, Regulatory Reform, Ports and Waterways...
as State MP, and Chris Bowen
Chris Bowen
Christopher Eyles "Chris" Bowen , an Australian federal politician, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives, initially elected to represent the seat of Prospect in western Sydney for the Australian Labor Party at the 2004 federal election...
and Julia Irwin
Julia Irwin
Julia Claire Irwin , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from October 1998 to July 2010, representing the Division of Fowler, New South Wales...
as Federal MPs for the seats of Prospect and Fowler respectively.
External links
- Fairfied City Official Site
- 2001 Census Information.
- Fairfield Advance Local Newspaper
- Fairfield Champion Newspaper