Riverwood, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
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...
. Riverwood is located 18 kilometres south-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 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. Riverwood is split between the local government areas of the City of Hurstville
City of Hurstville
The City of Hurstville is a Local Government Area in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The city centre is located 17km SSW of the Sydney central business district and west of Botany Bay....
and the City of Canterbury
City of Canterbury, New South Wales
The City of Canterbury, previously the Municipality of Canterbury, is a Local Government Area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It lies southwest of the central business district and forms part of the Greater Sydney metropolitan area....
.
History
The area was originally known as Herne Bay and comprised small land grants between 30 and 80 acres (323,748.8 m²). When the East Hills railway line came through the area in 1931, the station was called Herne Bay. The area was subdivided in 1919 and redeveloped in 1942 during World War 2World 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...
, when the Government of Australia
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
and the Allied Works Council establish an army base hospital barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, the 118 General Hospital
118th General Hospital US Army
The 118th General Hospital was a U.S. Army military hospital built in 1942 at Herne Bay, New South Wales. This was the largest military hospital in Australia, during World War II....
. The hospital was built at a cost of one-million pounds and consisted of 490 barrack type buildings containing approximately four-thousand-two-hundred and fifty beds. The hospital was staffed by doctors and nurses from "The Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
" Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Americans, who at the time, were using the Hydro Majestic Hotel
Hydro Majestic Hotel
The Hydro Majestic Hotel is located in Medlow Bath, New South Wales, Australia. The hotel is located on a clifftop overlooking the Megalong Valley on the western side of the Great Western Highway....
in Medlow Bath
Medlow Bath, New South Wales
Medlow Bath is an Australian small town located near the highest point of the Blue Mountains, between Katoomba and Blackheath. It has an approximate altitude of 1050m and is located approximately 115 kilometres west north west of Sydney and 5 kilometres north west of Katoomba...
as a hospital, relocated and moved into the first section of the Herne Bay premises in May 1943. By November, 1700 beds were being utilised. The site was visited by General MacArthur, First Lady Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
’s Band and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
.
In October 1944 the main US hospital left for the liberation of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, although some American patients and staff remained on site until January 1945. In that same month, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
(United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) opened a hospital to treat wounded members of the British Pacific Fleet in the vacated buildings. It received and treated 9003 patients. The Australian army occupied some of the other sections. One of the sections in use was located in Cullens Road, between Canterbury Road and Wiggs Roads Punchbowl and used up until March 1947.
After the war the military departed, and the hospital barrack buildings of timber and corrugated iron (some of which still survive today) were handed over to the Housing Commission from March 1946 and converted into public housing to relieve housing shortages. Some of the street names recall the American presence such as Pennsylvania Road, Kentucky Road, Wyoming Place, Idaho Place, Michigan Road, Montana Crescent, Roosevelt Avenue and Truman Avenue. Now the Herne Bay Hospital is the headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
for the Australian Air League
Australian Air League
The Australian Air League is a not-for-profit, civilian operated aviation youth organisation in Australia. Its objective is to encourage the spirit of aviation and air-mindedness in the youth of Australia. The Australian Air League receives no money or assistance of any government department and...
Riverwood Squadron. The Squadron maintains an active role in community events in Riverwood and the local area. The Sqaudron band attends the Riverwood Festival annually and has members present at Club Rivers' ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
commemorative Dawn service.
The suburb developed an unsavoury reputation for poverty, overcrowding and violence, and its name was later changed to Riverwood in 1957, in large part to remove the stigma associated with living there. This helped to change the reputation of the area. From the 1950s onwards, purpose-built utilitarian public housing apartment blocks and freestanding bungalows replaced most of the former military buildings on the northern side of the railway line, while the southern part of the suburb was mostly privately developed.
Commercial area
The main shopping centre is located on Belmore Road and Thurlow Streets, near Riverwood railway station. Riverwood Plaza is a small shopping centre on Belmore Road that contains Woolworths and Coles supermarkets, specialty shops and a food court.Transport
Riverwood railway station is on the East Hills line of the City Rail network, with PadstowPadstow railway station, Sydney
-Transport links:Veolia Transport runs four routes via Padstow railway station:*metrobus M91 - Parramatta and Hurstville*metrobus M92 - Parramatta and Sutherland*Route 927 - between Bankstown and One Tree Point*Route 962 - between Bankstown and Miranda...
to the west and Narwee to the east.
Landmarks
- Riverwood Library, Belmore Road
- Riverwood Community Centre, Belmore Road
- Club Rivers
- Australian Air League Riverwood Squadron Hall, Former US Army Hospital Building
- Riverwood Skate Park
- Punchbowl Bus Company
- Riverwood Plaza