Skip to main content

The Dictionary of Sydney
Subjects
Built Environment
Urban change and planning
Suburbanisation

Suburbanisation

Subject

Agnes Banks

Allawah

Annandale

Arcadia

Artarmon

Asquith

Atlas of the Suburbs of Sydney

Auburn

Balgowlah

Balgowlah Heights

Bark huts and country estates

Beauty Point (Hornsby)

Beecroft

Bellevue Hill

Belmore

Berala

Berowra

Berowra Heights

Beverley Park

Bickley Vale

Blackheath

Blakehurst

Botany

Bradbury

Bradfield

Bronte

Brooklyn

Brookvale

Camden

Camden West

Camellia

Camp Cove

Canoelands

Carlingford

Carss Park

Castle Hill

Cawdor

Cheltenham

Cherrybrook

Chippendale

Clontarf

Cobbitty

Como

Cowan

Cremorne Point

Cromer

Croydon

Currans Hill

Daceyville

Darling Point

Darlinghurst

Darlington

Dee Why

Denistone

Denistone East

Denistone West

Dulwich Hill

Dural

East Ryde

Eastwood

Elderslie

Ellis Lane

Engadine

Enmore

Epping

Ermington

Fairlight

Fairy Bower

Fiddletown

Forest Glen

Forest Lodge

Galston

Gilead

Gladesville

Glebe

Glenfield

Glenhaven

Glenorie

Gordon

Granville

Grasmere

Greenwich

Haberfield

Harris Park

Homebush Bay

Hornsby

Hornsby Heights

Hunters Hill

Hurlstone Park

Jannali

Katoomba

Kentlyn

Killara

Kirkham

Kirribilli

Kurraba Point

La Perouse

Lane Cove

Laughtondale

Lawson

Leura

Lewisham

Lidcombe

Lilyfield

Lindfield

Malvern Hill

Manly

Maroubra

Marrickville

Marsfield

Matraville

McMahons Point

Meadowbank

Melrose Park

Middle Dural

Millers Point

Milsons Passage

Milsons Point

Minto

Minto Heights

Mortlake

Mount Annan

Mount Colah

Mount Errington

Mount Hunter

Mount Kuring-gai

Mount Wilson

Narellan

Narellan Vale

Naremburn

Neutral Bay

Normanhurst

North Epping

North Ryde

North Sydney

North Turramurra

Northbridge

Oatley

Old Toongabbie and Toongabbie

Oran Park

Paddington

Palm Beach

Parramatta

Pennant Hills

Putney

Pymble

Pyrmont

Randwick

Rosehill

Roseville

Rozelle

Rydalmere

Ryde

Seaforth

Seven Hills

Silverwater

Smeaton Grange

South Turramurra

Spring Farm

St Ives

St Johns Park

Stanmore

Studley Park

Suburban Sydney

Surry Hills

Sutherland

Sydenham

Tamarama

Tennyson Point

Thornleigh

Transcript: Miss Marjorie Tebb remembers a family story about Aboriginal people in the 19th century in Liverpool

Transcript: Mr Peter Serovich remembers the Austral Progress Association

Turramurra

Ultimo

Urban growth in the Cooks River valley

Varroville

Wahroonga

Waitara

Warrawee

Warriewood

Watsons Bay

Waverton

West Lindfield

West Pennant Hills

West Pymble

West Ryde

Western Sydney

Westleigh

Woolloomooloo

Yarrawarrah

Atlas of the Suburbs of Sydney

Macarthur Growth Centre Plan

Growth Centres Commission

Bankstown Soldier Settlement Milperra

Forest Lodge

Jordan Springs

Ropes Crossing

The Ponds

Wentworth Point

Aerial view over Camperdown Cemetery before resumption, July 1946

At the Glebe c1869-74

Chatswood (North Shore Railway Estate), for auction sale on the ground by Richardson & Wrench Saturday May 8th 1897 at 3.30 pm

Cottages at Lidcombe, Auburn or Bankstown 1946

Manuscript map of subdivsion of the village of Ermington c1841

Master-planned estate, west Liverpool 1992

New homes in Western Sydney 2007

New suburb in Sydney's northwest 2006

Newington 2007

Railway Junction Estate, North Shore, for auction sale on the ground, Saturday 17th Octr 1885, 3.30 pm

Street of Californian Bungalows c1925-1950

Suburban houses in Sydney's west 2007

Western Sydney mansions 2006

Mr Peter Serovich remembers the Austral Progress Association, interviewed in 1986

Search

Browse

Browse
- Artefacts
- Buildings
- Events
- Natural Features
- Organisations
- People
- Places
- Structures
- Entries
- Multimedia
- Subjects
- Roles
- Contributors

Connections

Broader Subjects

Urban change and planning

Footer

Home
About
Copyright
Contact

Footer Secondary

Contribute
Donate

Suburbanisation

Agnes Banks

Traditional land of the Dharug people, Agnes Banks was where Europeans first saw a platypus, and was the home of Yellomundi. Land was granted to Europeans from the 1800s, who farmed the rich river flats, but were frequently flooded out. Orchards were planted, and dairy farms established. By the end of the nineteenth century a community had developed with a school, post office and church but no hotel. Still a rural outpost, Agnes Banks is still home to descendants of early settlers.

Allawah

Built on Gameygal country, Allawah was named after the railway went through in 1925, but developed on farmland granted to the Townson brothers in the early colonial period. The suburb prospered in the interwar period, providing many homes for new migrants from Britain.

Annandale

Part of the traditional lands of the Eora people, Annandale was farmed for much of the nineteenth century, before being subdivided into a Victorian townscape. The suburb catered for the well-to-do and the working classes, and from mid-twentieth century has also housed new migrants, and the returning middle class residents who value its heritage buildings and proximity to the city.

Arcadia

Originally Dharug country, Arcadia was named in 1894. Timber-getting in the tall forests gave way to citrus orchards by the late nineteenth century, and the area remains semi-rural.

Artarmon

Cammeraygal country until the 1820s, Artarmon became an area of market gardens and orchards, gradually becoming more closely settled. By the end of the nineteenth century, brickmaking was established, and the railway line brought people and commercial development from 1890.

Asquith

Occupying Dharug and Guringai country, Asquith's early settlement was based on timber and orcharding. Subdivision followed the construction of a railway station in 1915, and Asquith benefitted from the postwar boom in housing and industry.

Atlas of the Suburbs of Sydney

Published by commercial map makers Higinbotham, Robinson and Harrison in the late nineteenth century, the maps of the Atlas of the Suburbs of Sydney provide a portrait of the city's municipalities during a period of rapid growth and suburbanisation.

Auburn

Built on Dharug country, Auburn developed early industries of timber-getting and brickmaking but became an industrial powerhouse after the railway arrived. Postwar immigration has made Auburn one of Sydney's most multicultural areas.

Balgowlah

Known as Kay-ye-my or Jilling to its Aboriginal inhabitants, Balgowlah was settled early by convicts, farmers and market gardeners. Rural until the 1900s, Balgowlah was developed and subdivided after the Spit and Harbour bridges were built.

Balgowlah Heights

Home to the coastal Kuringgai people, much of Balgowlah Heights was virgin bushland until the early-twentieth century. Until this time the area mainly comprised public reserves and harbour defences, until the bush finally gave way to the backyard.

Bark huts and country estates

In their drive to establish country estates and thriving industries in the Cooks River valley during the nineteenth century, European settlers exploited the water, timber and fertile soils of the Cooks River with little appreciation of the impact of their 'improvements'

Beauty Point (Hornsby)

Dharug country on the western shore of Berowra Creek, gradually settled by Europeans during the nineteenth century.

Beecroft

The Wallumedegal clan were the traditional owners of the land that became Beecroft. The area was part of the Field of Mars common proclaimed in 1804, and remained common land until 1874. Beecroft was subdivided in 1887 after the railway went through, and sold to middle-class people looking for a healthy suburb. Today, bushland remains amid the houses.

Bellevue Hill

Standing on Cadigal country, Bellevue Hill became one of Sydney's most exclusive suburbs, with its large lots and scenic views.

Belmore

Traditional land of the Bediagal people, Belmore was once all forest. Early European settlers cut the timber for firewood and later for railway sleepers, and farmed crops and poultry. In 1869 the district was named Belmore in honour of the new governor of New South Wales. When the railway came through in 1895, subdivision accelerated and after World War I surburban development was rapid. Migration and home units have changed Belmore since the 1960s.

Berala

Traditional country of the Wangal clan, Berala was divided into farm lots after the Europeans came, and the forest was largely cleared for timber and charcoal. Dairy and poultry farms and market gardens began to give way to housing after the railway arrived in 1912, and suburbanisation intensified after World War I.

Berowra

The Guringai were traditional owners of Berowra. The first European landowner was Mary Wall in 1879, and settlement was slow until the railway platform was built in 1887, bringing holiday visitors and bushwalkers.

Berowra Heights

Berowra Heights was created out of Berowra in 1973.

Beverley Park

Part of the traditional country of the Kameygal people, the area that became Beverley Park ran into the wetlands of Kogarah Bay, and was used for market gardening for many years, as it was prone to flooding. It was reclaimed, drained and subdivided after 1937, using funds designed for unemployment relief.

Bickley Vale

Tharawal and Gundungurra country, the area that became Bickley Vale was granted to John Macarthur in 1823, and subdivided into small farms in the 1880s. Much of it remains forest, with few houses.

Blackheath

Gundungurra people knew and travelled through the area of Blackheath before the Europeans came. The town grew from the 1830s as a resting place for travellers over the Blue Mountains, first by road and then by rail after 1868. Land sales in the 1880s led to population growth, and growing interest in walking tracks spurred development in the early twentieth century, when Blackheath became a holiday town.

Blakehurst

Gameygal country until Europeans arrived, the area that became Blakehurst was part of huge grants given to the Townson brothers before 1810, and exploited for timber, charcoal, lime and soda, before farming began. As roads and transport improved in the mid-nineteenth century, settlement moved south. Chinese market gardeners farmed land in Blakehurst, and shipbuilding took place along the waterfront. The township grew fast in the early twentieth century, becoming a residential suburb.

Botany

Visited by James Cook and Joseph Banks in 1770, but rejected as a site for the colony in 1788 by Arthur Phillip, Botany remained an important source of water and a site for varied industry throughout the nineteenth century, before becoming a transport hub in the twentieth. Throughout, a close-knit community has survived.

Bradbury

Dharawal country until the 1810s, when settlers and soldiers moved in, leading to armed conflict, the Bradbury area was subsequently named for William Bradbury, a settler and pub owner. Tanneries and a flour mill were built, amid the dairy farms that dominated the landscape. In the 1960s new suburbs were built as Sydney expanded.

Bradfield

A new subdivision created in 1924, Bradfield was home to world Scouts, the Royal Australian Air Force, and thousands of new migrants, and relocated inner-city dwellers, before becoming the site of the CSIRO's National Measurement Lab. Unusually among Sydney suburbs, it was re-integrated into surrounding suburbs and no longer exists.

Bronte

Built on Cadigal or Biddigal/Birrabirragal land, Bronte grew up on the subdivided estate of Bronte House, completed in 1845. In the late 1880s land was resumed for the park and the beach became public land for recreation. Trams brought bathers and picnickers but Bronte remained undeveloped until the 1920s when more houses were built.

Brooklyn

Guringai country before the Europeans came, Brooklyn was settled by the 1830s though it remained remote until the railway bridge was built in 1885-89. In the twentieth century, Brooklyn was a fishing and tourist town.

Brookvale

Guringai people were traditional owners of the area that became Brookvale, but it was granted and sold to settlers from the 1830s, becoming farms, market gardens and brickyards. The gardens were worked by Chinese and later Italian gardeners. Industrial growth during the 1960s covered the gardens with factories and a bus depot, and some industry remains, amid residential development.

Camden

One of the most important towns in Sydney's hinterland, Camden was shaped by its landed gentry from the time of John Macarthur's original land grant in 1805, until the Macarthur family influence faded in the 1950s. Camden dairy products and farm produce went to the Sydney markets, but the town resisted Sydney-based decisions and remains ambivalent about its proximity to the city.

Camden West

Home to the Tharawal and Gundungurra people, Camden West was part of the area named Cowpastures after escaped cattle were found there in 1795. Granted to John Macarthur in 1823, the land was subdivided into small farms in the 1880s, and dairying became the main industry until the late twentieth century, when new suburbs were made out of Camden West, although much rural land and forest remains.

Camellia

Home of the Burramattagal clan, the area that became Camellia was full of game, birds and fish from the Duck River. When the Europeans came, they farmed with mixed success until Silas Sheather set up Camellia Grove nursery in 1852, breeding new varieties. By 1901, when the suburb was named Camellia, the river and railway had brought heavy industry, and suburban houses for workers in the factories. Much of the suburb has since been redeveloped.

Camp Cove

Camp Cove and the freshwater pond behind it were traditional camping and fishing sites for the Cadigal traditional owners. The Europeans made first landfall there on 21 January 1788, while exploring Port Jackson, but Aboriginal people lived there until the 1840s. The cove later became a water police base, research station and a tourist destination.

Canoelands

A new suburb named for the Dharug canoes made of bark taken from trees in the area, leaving scars.

Carlingford

Burramattagal people were the traditional owners of the area that became Carlingford, which became known for citrus orchards. From 1901 when Carlingford railway station was added to the state railway network, a village grew up there. After World War II, the orchards were displaced by housing.

Carss Park

Built on the land of the Gameygal clan, Carss Park is named for William Carss, the first of the early landowners to actually live on his property, who moved there in the 1860s. By 1917 when the Carss farm was left to the Sydney Sailor's Home, the area was mostly small mixed farms, with bushland and orchards. Public protest prevented the land being sold completely for development, and a portion was set aside for Carss Bush Park.

Castle Hill

Originally Dharug country, the area that became Castle Hill was granted to settlers in the 1790s and some set aside for the Government Farm in the 1800s. Sydney's only convict rebellion started there in 1804. Farming gave way to orchards and later market gardens. By the 1960s Sydney was encroaching, and Castle Hill has since turned into a residential suburb.

Cawdor

A meeting place for Tharawal, Gundungurra and Cubbitch-barta people, the area that later became Cawdor was part of John Macarthur's Camden Park estate by 1825. It was the first village in the Cowpastures, and developed as an agricultural township, based on dairying. Vegetable growing, poultry farming and horse breeding are still important industries.

Cheltenham

The Wallumedegal were the traditional owners of the land that became Cheltenham, but it was made part of the Field of Mars common in 1804, and timber and charcoal were taken from it. When the land was subdivided in the 1890s by William Chorley, covenants prevented buyers from building commercial concerns or unnecessary clearing. The suburb still has bush and is almost entirely residential.

Cherrybrook

Dharug country before the Europeans came, Cherrybrook was created out of West Pennant Hills. It was named after the Harrison orchard, planted on the land cleared for the Castle Hill Government Farm. From the 1940s the orchards were broken up and sold. Further subdivision took place in the late 1970s to produce Hornsby's newest suburb.

Chippendale

Chippendale's progress from Gadigal forest and wetland, to farm and nursery, was followed by industrial development that made it a polluted and deprived suburb. Community, charity and religion helped inhabitants, but poor drainage and unplanned development persisted until the end of the nineteenth century. As the number of factories grew, population fell, and recent migrants moved in. From the 1970s, as the factories closed, Chippendale again became an attractive place to live, drawing students, artists and others who wanted an inner-city life.

Clontarf

Named for a seaside town near Dublin, Clontarf's beach was a popular picnic spot by the 1860s. In 1868, at a picnic in the pleasure grounds, Prince Alfred the Duke of Edinburgh was shot, in an unsuccessful assassination attempt, by Henry O'Farrell who was hanged. Clontarf remained a cheap suburb, with a tent city springing up in the Depression of the 1930s, but a new bridge in 1958 made it more accessible.

Cobbitty

Tharawal and Gundungurra country before the Europeans came, Cobbitty was part of the Cowpastures area, granted to settlers in the 1810s. It became a dairying area, with a butter factory in the village. Nearby Camden Airport was developed in the 1930s and remains in use, among the orchards, small farms and horse-breeding concerns that now dominate.

Como

Dharawal country until the Europeans started moving in in the 1860s, Como's position on two rivers made it an early oyster-gathering spot and tourist attraction. From the 1890s subdivision brought new residents to the area, and Como developed into a suburban village. During the Depression in the 1930s, reclamation and other relief works changed the shoreline and connected Como by road to Sutherland.

Cowan

Originally the land of the Guringai people, Cowan was explored by botanist George Caley in 1805, and its timber harvested for use in coach building. After the railway came through in 1901 it became a popular holiday and picnic spot, with bushland surrounding the town.

Cremorne Point

Once a camping, fishing and ceremonial place for the Cammeraygal people, Cremorne Point was granted to James Robertson in the 1830s and later sold to James Milson. Cremorne pleasure gardens were built there, opening in 1856, with visitors arriving by ferry. From 1903, houses were built, and apartments in the interwar years, as well as guesthouses for holidaymakers. The foreshore was preserved for the public and now has parks, pools and walking tracks.

Cromer

Home to Dharug and Guringai people before the Europeans came, Cromer, then known as Dee Why West, developed slowly from farms and bush, remaining semi-rural until the 1960s. Industrial and residential development led to more services and community facilities, but some bushland remains.

Croydon

Built on Wangal clan land, the Longbottom Government Farm covered most of what is now Croydon by 1821. Other settlers followed the construction of Parramatta and Liverpool roads, but the railway station brought real development from 1875, and subdivision led to suburban development and a village. Brickworks used the clay and shale until their closure in the 1970s.

Currans Hill

Home to the Muringong clan of the Darug people, the country that became Currans Hill was granted to Europeans in the early nineteenth century and agricultural for much of its history after that. It was developed for suburban housing from the 1990s.

Daceyville

Designed as model public housing for working-class families, Daceyville subsequently became home to returned soldiers and war widows. Saved from demolition several times, by community and union action, the suburb is now a living illustration of changes in town planning.

Darling Point

Darling Point, a suburb on the eastern side of Sydney Harbour, was part of the larger territory of the Cadigal clan of the Eora people. With the arrival of road access in the 1830s it was named Mrs Darling's Point, after Eliza Darling, wife of then governor of NSW, Ralph Darling. It has rich history and contains many substantial heritage properties.

Darlinghurst

Used by its traditional owners, the Gadigal people, well into the 1840s, Darlinghurst was a quarry and windmill site before it became popular for the fine villas of the colony's well-to-do, in the 1830s. Subsequent booms and busts raised and lowered the suburb's fortunes, creating the mix of poor and posh, criminal and respectable that have made Darlinghurst one of Sydney's most interesting localities.

Darlington

Traditional country of the Gadigal people, the area that became Darlington was part of Grose Farm, and set aside for the trustees of the Female Orphan School. Its timber was cleared and the fertile land became Thomas Shepherd's Darling Nursery. By the 1880s the whole area was built over with terraces of workers' housing. In the twentieth century, the University of Sydney encroached into Darlington, rebuilding much of it and reducing the population.

Dee Why

Guringai people who lived in this area left rock engravings along the coast and high points. The Jenkins family consolidated grants and purchases and in the 1880s Elizabeth Jenkins passed her land to the Salvation Army, delaying town development until the Salvation Army sold land in the 1910s. Dee Why grew fast after World War II, with flats and units, and some industry established. The beach, lagoon and Stony Range Botanic Garden remain attractions.

Denistone

Wallumedegal country until the Europeans arrived, the land that became Denistone was granted to Europeans in the 1790s and became farms owned by some of the colony's leading families. Subdivision during the twentieth century created a series of pleasant suburban localities in the City of Ryde.

Denistone East

Part of Wallumetta, country of the Wallumedegal before the Europeans came, the area that became Denistone East was granted to settlers in the 1790s, and farmed until the 1880s when subdivision took place. Though the promised railway line did not eventuate, substantial housing development took place, with two public housing estates built after World War II.

Denistone West

Part of the country of the Wallumedegal, Denistone West is a post-World War II suburb largely developed though the Ryde Council Housing Scheme, one of the most innovative schemes of its type.

Dulwich Hill

Traditionally owned by the Cadigal people, the land that became Dulwich Hill was granted to early colonists Thomas Moore and James Bloodworth in the 1790s. Later owned by Robert Wardell, it was known as Wardell's Bush. By the 1860s Chinese market gardens and orchards, as well as small brickworks and potteries dotted the landscape. Subdivision took place in the 1900s after the railway and electric trams came through, and residential density has continued to rise with the building of units for the suburb's diverse population.

Dural

Dharug land before the arrival of Europeans, Dural was settled from the 1820s by timber-getters, farmers and orchardists. With its large blocks of land and remnant forest, Dural remains a semi-rural area.

East Ryde

Wallumedegal country until the Europeans came, East Ryde was part of the Field of Mars common from 1804, until it was resumed in 1874 and sold in the 1880s. A tramline and a railway link, long promised, were never built, and the area remained undeveloped until the 1950s building boom when a large subdivision increased the population enough to warrant a new school in 1961. Further residential development has made East Ryde a popular suburb.

Eastwood

A region of farming estates, before the railway joined it to the city, Eastwood is now a multicultural suburb which retains some of its historic precincts.

Elderslie

Traditional country of the Dharawal people, Elderslie developed from land grants given to settlers from 1812. By the 1840s a small village was planned, but was overtaken by the development of Camden across the river. Vineyards, orchards, and market gardens flourished through the nineteenth century. Growth in mining and Sydney's spread have led to more residential development in Elderslie since the 1970s.

Ellis Lane

A new suburb in the Camden area, named for an early landowner, Ellis Lane is no longer farmland, but retains large allotments and a rural air.

Engadine

First inhabited by the Tharawal people, the area later called Engadine was part of the village of Heathcote until bought by Charles McAlister and renamed Engadine after a valley in Switzerland. Subdivisions in the 1910s were offered to soldier settlers, and the construction of a railway platform brought more residents. The 1930s depression saw a large shanty town develop. After World War II, suburban development increased, bringing improved services.

Enmore

Enmore's traditional owners were the Cadigal people. Convicts who became millionaires, retired sea captains, merchants, judges, bushrangers and rock music have all contributed to Enmore's colourful history.

Epping

Wallumedegal land in the area that became Epping was granted to European settlers from 1794, and provided timber, fruit and vegetables to Sydney Town. When the railway came though in 1886, the name Epping was chosen, and subdivision of the rural properties began the process of suburbanisation.

Ermington

Traditional country of the Barramattagal people, the land that became Ermington was granted by Governor Phillip to convicts and marines in the 1790s. It remained semi-rural well into the twentieth century, with orchards, poultry farms and nurseries only giving way to suburban development after World War II.

Fairlight

An early market garden for Sydney, Fairlight developed after the 1850s, with large houses on extensive grounds. It was called after Fairlight House from the 1890s, though only made official in the 1930s. Inhabited by Manly's leading citizens, Fairlight became more accessible when trams came through in the 1910s, and grew between the wars. Shops and denser development followed.

Fairy Bower

Built on the short-lived Fairy Bower pleasure gardens established in 1858 by Charles Hemington, the earliest European residents were fishing families. From 1880, subdivision into housing lots had begun, with little success. More people moved in between the wars in the twentieth century, creating the area's distinctive streetscape.

Fiddletown

Dharug country before the Europeans came, Fiddletown was named for the violin-playing of the area's landowners in the 1890s. The area is still rural.

Forest Glen

Dharug country that was once deep forest, cleared for farms from the 1890s.

Forest Lodge

The inner-west suburb of Forest Lodge was named after a Regency villa built there in 1836, and has seen many changes since its days as an arcadian retreat. The strong working class culture that shaped Forest Lodge for most of the 19th and 20th centuries has given way as new residents have gentrified and developed the area.

Galston

Built on Dharug land, Galston provided ironbark and white mahogany to the growing settlement in Sydney, and orchards and farmland as the land was cleared.

Gilead

Named after an 1812 land grant, Gilead was to grow from an important dairy farming area to one of the largest suburbs in the Campbelltown district.

Gladesville

Established on traditional Wallumedegal land, Gladesville's farms and dairies supplied Sydney. Better transport and postwar housing demand later resulted in rapid expansion.

Glebe

Cadigal and Wangal country that was parcelled out to the Church of England soon after the Europeans arrived, Glebe became a retreat for the gentry and later a gritty working-class enclave. The late twentieth century saw it transformed again into a heritage precinct, saved from redevelopment by resident action.

Glenfield

From a land grant to emancipist James Meehan, Glenfield was to become one of the fastest growing suburbs in the Campbelltown area.

Glenhaven

In a valley originally part of Dharug land, Glenhaven's mix of bush and famland make it a popular area for families.

Glenorie

As timbergetters cleared the land from 1817, Glenorie orchards supplied citrus and stone fruits for the city and abroad. Today it remains an attractive semi-rural area.

Gordon

Traditionally the land of the Kuringgai clan, Gordon grew around the railway station as businessmen sought fine vistas and spacious home sites with easy access to the city.

Granville

A significant meeting place for the Cadigal people, Granville's forests gave way to heavy industry and housing for workers as industrialists were attracted by its road, rail and water access.

Grasmere

Originally home to the Tharawal and Gundungurra people, Grasmere is a rural haven of small landholdings where once were large estates.

Greenwich

From its beginnings as a rural and maritime village built on the traditional lands of the Cammeraygal people, Greenwich developed as roads and water connections improved, into a prosperous, leafy commuter suburb.

Haberfield

Australia's first 'model suburb', from 1901 Haberfield was to help define how Australians sought to house themselves. It is now also a hub of Sydney's Italian community.

Harris Park

Originally home of the Barramattagal, the Toongagal and the Bidjigal people, Harris Park evolved as land was granted to colonists which was eventually broken up for residential subdivisions when a railway station was established in 1880.

Homebush Bay

Originally the land of the Wangal clan, Homebush Bay emerged from the industrial pollution of the twentieth century with the construction of Sydney Olympic Park and one of Sydney's newest suburbs.

Hornsby

Named for a police constable who killed a bushranger, Hornsby expanded rapidly with the construction of the north shore railway line in 1890.

Hornsby Heights

Part of the traditional land of the Dharug people, Hornsby Heights shares its development history with that of Hornsby, though retaining some of its bushland setting.

Hunters Hill

Originally home to the Wallumategal people, Hunters Hill has long been considered a retreat from the city. While the tension between conservation and development has been played out many times, it remains an outstanding garden suburb with many old and architecturally significant buildings.

Hurlstone Park

Originally comprising small farm blocks subdivided by Sophia Campbell, Hurlstone Park was to see a building boom with the development of both rail and tram lines through the area around the beginning of the twentieth century.

Jannali

A bushland suburb that expanded rapidly with improved road and rail access, Jannali remains an affordable commuter village.

Katoomba

Built on the traditional land of the Gundungurra people, the settlement on the western road over the mountains was a lonely outpost until the 1870s when it was named Katoomba and became a mining and tourist town. With the advent of the motor car, Katoomba became even more popular with holiday makers and honeymooners, as well as residents willing to commute to Sydney by train.

Kentlyn

Part of the old Campbelltown common opened for selection in 1894, the area called Kent Farms was subdivided into 5-acre blocks in the 1920s and named Kentlyn in the 1930s. When neighbouring suburbs were densely developed after World War II, Kentlyn was still zoned for 5-acre blocks, and its bushland character remained.

Killara

Built on Kuringgai country, Killara's first European settlement was a convict timber-getting camp established in 1805. In 1821 land was granted to settlers who continued to clear timber and then farm, but Killara remained remote because of bad roads. The railway enabled closer settlement from 1899, and Killara became a garden suburb of large houses and parks.

Kirkham

A picturesque, semi-rural locality on Sydney's rural-urban fringe, Kirkham's identity has been shaped and reshaped by successive generations who have created their own stories, heroes and icons in an ever-evolving landscape.

Kirribilli

Part of the traditional lands of the Cammeraygal people, Kirribilli was granted to an ex-convict, Samuel Lightfoot, while the Cammeraygal still lived there, and despite later grants and leases, there was still a band of Aboriginal people living there in the 1820s, including Bungaree. From the 1840s Kirribilli was subdivided and large villas built, taking advantage of proximity to the city. Small scale waterfront industry continued into the twentieth century, when flats replaced many villas, making Kirribilli one of Sydney's densest suburbs.

Kurraba Point

Cammeraygal country until the Europeans came, Kurraba Point is a small locality in Neutral Bay. Part of the Thrupps estate, it was not subdivided until the 1850s, though a quarry was working there in the 1840s. A soap factory, and a ferry depot and engineering works were later industries. By the early twentieth century Kurraba Point was an elite enclave of large houses with water views. Infill housing and the construction of apartments later changed the area.

La Perouse

Traditionally owned by the Kameygal, whose descendants still maintain their connection with the land, La Perouse has a history of both invasion and survival. Unwanted by the early colonists who thought it unhealthy, the area was an Aboriginal camp throughout the nineteenth century, though also used for government purposes, such as quarantine and signalling. During the 1930s Depression, unemployed people set up camp there. Repeated attempts to move Aboriginal people away from La Perouse failed, and since 1984 the reserve has been Aboriginal land.

Lane Cove

Cameraygal country until the Europeans arrived, the suburb of Lane Cove on Sydney's north shore was built after the timber had been felled, and transport links made the land accessible from the city centre. The water of the creeks and Lane Cove River fostered industry along the foreshore.

Laughtondale

Traditionally owned by the Dharug people, Laughtondale was named after John Laughton, who jumped ship in Sydney and became a boatbuilder and orchardist.

Lawson

Long home to the Darug and Gundungurra people, the place that became Lawson was renamed for one of the first Europeans to cross the Blue Mountains. It subsequently became important as a stopping place on the road west, and a holiday destination for Sydneysiders.

Leura

Dharug country for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived in the area in 1813, Leura's early development was based on the railway that passed over the mountains in 1867. By the 1880s large houses were being built there, and tourism boomed in the 1900s. Leura's gardens, trees, views and heritage buildings make it a popular tourist destination.

Lewisham

Cadigal country until large grants were given to settlers in the early colony, Lewisham remained timbered and rural until the mid-nineteenth century. Its Catholic church, cemetery and hospital dominated one side of the suburb, and were the site of an air crash in 1946 when two staff were killed.

Lidcombe

Standing on Dharug land, Lidcombe was settled by 1828 with ex-convicts and free settlers on small grants. With the railway, stockyards and abbatoirs, and the large cemetery, prosperity came to what was then Rookwood. In the twentieth century, industrial development and decline, and new migration have changed the face of the suburb.

Lilyfield

The name Lilyfield was chosen by local residents, possibly to try and obscure the memory of Lilyfield's stinking tanneries and boiling down works, along Whites Creek, which were later moved to Botany. With the smell gone, suburban development spread.

Lindfield

Guringai people were the traditional owners of Lindfield until the timber-getters of the convict camp arrived in 1810. Land grants to farmers and orchardists followed, with more development as the highway north, and later the railway, made transport easier. Suburban development proceeded side by side with dairies and small farms. From the late twentieth century, new medium density development has increased Lindfield's population.

Malvern Hill

A little enclave with a long and colorful history, the area retains the atmosphere of the model village it was designed to be.

Manly

From beginnings as the traditional country of the Cannalgal and Kayimai clans of the Guring-gai people, Manly had a brief spell as a place for the elite to take the waters. The area saw intense development in the 1920s with thousands of flats built, but remains a popular spot with both foreign tourists and local day trippers.

Maroubra

Originally fishing and camping grounds for the local Muru-ora-dial Aboriginal people, Maroubra is now the largest suburb in the area governed by Randwick City Council, in both area and population. However, its early beginnings did not foresee such developments. Industry and the spectacle of dramatic shipwrecks drew Europeans to the area in the late nineteenth century but development didn't begin in earnest until the early twentieth century.

Marrickville

Once the site of a vast swampland, Marrickville became a significant industrial area in the nineteenth century. Today, the industry has largely gone but its multicultural legacy still flourishes in this inner west suburb.

Marsfield

Originally the country of the Wallumedegal, Marsfield is built on part of what became the Field of Mars common, proclaimed in 1804. The common was resumed in the 1870s and sold in the 1880s, when Marsfield was subdivided. The expected tramway was never built, and Marsfield remained semi-rural, with poultry farms and orchards into the 1960s.

Matraville

Marshes, swamps and sandhills in the area that became Matraville were turned into market gardens by the 1840s, and attracted Chinese gardeners in the 1860s. After World War I a model garden village was planned, for disabled servicemen, and built by 1921. It was never a success and only one of the homes remains.

McMahons Point

Part of Cammeraygal country, the headland later called McMahons Point was granted to William Blue in 1817. It was named for Michael McMahon, a local politician and businessman, who advocated such infrastructure as water supply, ferry services and trams. McMahons Point became an industrial area with boatbuilding yards and engineering works along the foreshore. As this industry declined in the later twentieth century, redevelopment of the point led to fierce battles over preservation of heritage.

Meadowbank

Wallumedegal country until the Europeans arrived, the land was granted and sold to settlers, with William Bennett building Meadowbank House in 1835. When the railway linked Strathfield and Hornsby in 1886, Meadowbank was subdivided, attracting professionals who commuted to the city. By the mid-twentieth century, industry and public housing had filled in open spaces, except for parks along the river.

Melrose Park

Traditional land of the Wallumedegal people, the area that became Melrose Park was granted to two ex-marines in 1792. Edmund Lockyer bought the land in 1826 and built a grand house and a private wharf. There was also a government wharf used to transport timber and produce to Sydney. By the end of the nineteenth century the property had been broken up, and further subdivision between the wars and in the 1940s led to the new suburb being named Melrose Park in 1947.

Middle Dural

Dharug country until the Europeans arrived, settlers came to Dural from 1819. In 1890 a school proposal used the name Middle Dural.

Millers Point

Called Ta-Ra by its first inhabitants, the Cadigal, Millers Point was named for the windmills that were built on its heights, and their owner, John Leighton, known as Jack the Miller. By the 1850s Millers Point was a maritime enclave, with almost all residents and employers focused on the wharves and the trade they brought. Through plague, depression and war, the community at Millers Point retained its cohesion, but the changes brought by gentrification are harder to predict.

Milsons Passage

Based on Robert Milson's land, purchased in the 1860s, Milsons Passage grew into a small suburb after subdivision in 1939.

Milsons Point

Offering some of the most beautiful views of the city, this small enclave, just north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, has a long and intimate link with the Harbour and the ways people have travelled across it.

Minto

Built on the land granted to William Redfern by Governor Macquarie, Minto was a dairying and farming village for many decades, until post-World War II development began to encroach on Sydney's rural fringe. New suburban development in the 1980s led to an influx of young families, and Minto was transformed.

Minto Heights

Minto Heights is a new suburb based on the old village of East Minto, which was based on small mixed and dairy farms in the nineteenth century, though most were gone by the 1950s. Zoned as regional open space, the area has not been densely developed, and has become an elite suburb in Campbelltown.

Mortlake

Bennelong's clan, the Wangal, were traditional owners of the area that became Mortlake, but dispossessed when the land was granted to settlers in 1795. By the 1880s, the suburb was dominated by the AGL gasworks, and the railway, coal loading and other infrastructure necessary to support it. When the works closed in 1990 and were redeveloped as Breakfast Point, Mortlake was reduced in size. As other industries move away the area is likely to be redeveloped.

Mount Annan

Traditionally owned by the Dharawal and Gundungurra people, the new suburb of Mount Annan is built on land once owned by William Howe, who named the hill after his home town in Scotland. The property was run as a dairy farm until 1978, with land released for housing in the late 1980s. A series of estates have been released aimed at different markets, and new shopping centres have sprung up. The suburb also includes Mount Annan Botanic Garden.

Mount Colah

Dharug and Guringai people owned this area before Europeans came. Mining and farming were early industries, but suburban development in Mount Colah came with the building of a Housing Commission estate in the 1960s.

Mount Errington

Named for a large house built by Oscar Roberts, Mount Errington quickly became Hornsby's 'top end of town', home to businessmen, professionals, writers and artists.

Mount Hunter

Long inhabited by the Tharawal, Gundungurra and Cubbitch-barta people, the area that became Mount Hunter was later a prime dairying area with a thriving village community. The dairy farms are gone, but Mount Hunter retains its rural feel.

Mount Kuring-gai

Set high on the ridge between Cowan and Berowra creeks, Mount Kuring-gai developed around the railway station opened in 1903.

Mount Wilson

Inaccessible to Europeans until the 1860s, the forested area later called Mount Wilson was known to Aboriginal people for generations. The building of the Zigzag railway to Lithgow made Mount Wilson suddenly less remote and land sales coincided with the opening of the railway station. The fertile soil and cool climate attracted gardeners and bushwalkers, and it became a summer retreat for the wealthy, with caretakers living there the rest of the year.

Narellan

Traditional country of the Tharawal and Gundungurra people, the Narellan area was granted to colonists by Governor Macquarie and became a prosperous farming area, though the village remained small, and overshadowed by nearby Camden. From the 1970s, commercial and residential development took place that changed both the village and the surroundings, with extensive new suburbs.

Narellan Vale

Part of the traditional lands of the Tharawal and Gundungurra people, Narellan Vale is a new suburb on land granted to William Howe and William Hovell in the 1810s. For much of its history, it was dairy farms.

Naremburn

Cammeraygal land until the Europeans came, Naremburn still contains shell middens in Flat Rock Creek reserve, but the Aboriginal people were no longer living a traditional life by the 1830s. The town was built in stages from 1853, and grew after the trams reached it in 1896.

Neutral Bay

Built on the traditional country of the Cammeraygal people, Neutral Bay was part of the Thrupp Estate bought in 1816, and sold to Daniel Cooper in 1827. Until the 1860s houses were built on the waterfront, but spread up the hill after Military Road was built along the ridge line. Industry and improved transport brought more residents, as well as shops, pubs and eventually schools to the district. By the 1930s, Neutral Bay was a popular garden suburb. Since the 1960s, high rise apartments have changed the look of the area.

Normanhurst

Wallumedegal country until the Europeans came, the area that became Normanhurst was known as Hornsby until 1895 when the railway came through. Another station was named Hornsby Junction and the station at Hornsby was called Normanhurst.

North Epping

Dharug country that became part of the Field of Mars, North Epping was sold for orchards, nurseries and poultry farms in 1898, and only became suburban and residential after World War II.

North Ryde

Called Wallumetta by the Wallumedegal people who lived there, the area that became North Ryde was part of the Field of Mars common from 1804, with surrounding farms granted to settlers. When the common was subdivided and sold from the 1880s, small blocks led to residential development, gradually driving out the farms and orchards. By the 1960s, the district's increasing commercial expansion led to the farming and picnicking areas being developed into shops, showrooms and an industrial park.

North Sydney

Part of Cammeraygal country, North Sydney was established by the 1840s as a township on the northern shore of the harbour. It became popular with professionals and skilled tradespeople, developing as a commercial centre for the north shore. Postwar development transformed the central business district with high rise and the loss of many nineteenth-century buildings.

North Turramurra

Inhabited by the Terramerragal people until Europeans arrived, the area that became North Turramurra was first called Irish town. Suburban development was slow, because of limited transport and services, until after World War II.

Northbridge

Northbridge, a suburb of Willoughby City Council that borders Middle Harbour on Sydney's north shore, is named for its suspension bridge, Long Gully Bridge, which was first opened in 1892. This article outlines the history of its development.

Oatley

Rich camping grounds for the Kameygal people lined the river where Oatley was later built on the land granted to James Oatley, a convict clockmaker. Fishermen, oyster farmers and railway workers settled in the early subdivision after 1881, but it was not till the 1900s that Oatley developed a proper village with station, school of arts, church and post office. Relief schemes during the 1930s Depression provided improved roads and parks, and full suburban development took place from the 1960s.

Old Toongabbie and Toongabbie

Traditional country of the Darug people, Toongabbie was settled as early as 1792 and quickly became an important farming centre, worked by convicts. Roads and railways shaped the town's growth, as it was increasingly integrated into Sydney's western suburbs.

Oran Park

Dharawal country south west of Sydney that was taken and granted to Europeans who established country estates. Later development included a golf club and racing circuit. In the twenty-first century, suburban development has overtaken the area.

Paddington

Built on Gadigal land in Sydney's east, Paddington has been one of Sydney's most desirable suburbs and one of its least, at different times.

Palm Beach

Traditionally owned by the Guringai people, Palm Beach became a haunt of smugglers and fishermen after Europeans arrived, until the customs house, and subsequently the lighthouse, brought shipping under more control. In the early twentieth century the land was sold for holiday and second homes, reached by ferry. It only gradually became the playground for the rich that it is today.

Parramatta

Named for its traditional owners, the Burramattagal, Parramatta was the site of the second European settlement in Sydney, and an early successful farm. Until the 1850s many governors preferred to live in Parramatta Government House. The railway arrived in 1857 and the town became prosperous, with its own suburbs by the 1870s, business and industrial districts, and large medical and educational institutions.

Pennant Hills

The area that became Pennant Hills was Dharug country before the Europeans arrived. A convict timber-getting camp was set up in 1816, but by 1830 the forest had been felled, and farms and orchards covered the land. When the railway came through in 1887, produce could be taken to market more quickly, and the town grew, catering for travellers and holidaymakers.

Putney

A peninsular suburb on the northern shore of the Parramatta River, Putney's waterside position has influenced its development, recreations, industries and people.

Pymble

Granted to Robert Pymble, a free settler from Hertfordshire, the area which was to become Pymble was farmland and orchards for most of the nineteenth century. Development followed the railway line, and Pymble became a desirable leafy suburb.

Pyrmont

Home to the Gommerigal people until the 1830s, Pyrmont peninsula remained undeveloped until the 1840s despite its proximity to Sydney Town. Quarrying the Pyrmont sandstone became a major industry, changing the natural features of the place. Wharves, factories and haulage provided work for the people who moved in, until the industry moved out, and another transformation began in the 1980s.

Randwick

The City of Randwick in south-eastern Sydney is located on land that was once swamps and heath vegetation. Home to local Aboriginal people for thousands of years, the area remained relatively isolated to Europeans until the mid nineteenth century when Randwick village began to take shape. Little remains of this English-style village with development in post-war years dramatically changing the suburb.

Rosehill

Where the Parramatta and Duck rivers meet was also a meeting place for the Cadigal and the Wategora, Barramattagal and Bidjigal clans of the Dharug, before Europeans arrived and took the land. John Macarthur established Elizabeth Farm which remained intact until it was subdivided as Rosehill in 1880. The railway and river frontage made the area attractive for industry, some of which remains.

Roseville

The Guringai were traditional owners of the area that became Roseville, though grants were given to Europeans from the 1820s. Orchards and timber were important industries until the railway spurred subdivision and development from the 1890s. By the 1920s there was a thriving suburb with services, churches and schools.

Rozelle

Late to be subdivided, Rozelle became a suburb of workers' cottages, allowing inhabitants to live near their work in the various industries along the harbour shore. During the twentieth century, rapid deindustrialisation, and the growing value of proximity to the city and the harbour changed the suburb and its people greatly.

Rydalmere

Originally Burramattagal country, the area that became Rydalmere was granted to Philip Schaeffer, who planted vines, and the land was later acquired by Hannibal Macarthur who built a grand house, later a Catholic girls' school. The area was named Rydalmere in 1886 when it was subdivided, but remained semi-rural, with orchards and poultry farms until industry moved in from the 1940s.

Ryde

Wallumetta to its traditional owners, the Wallumedegal, the land that became Ryde was settled early and provided food to the growing town. From the 1870s, subdivision started, and the railway brought more development from 1886. In the twentieth century, Ryde became suburban and one of Sydney's earliest shopping centres was built there in 1957.

Seaforth

Subdivided in 1906, Seaforth was a new suburb built on the hill above sheltered beaches popular with campers and picnickers.

Seven Hills

Traditional country of the Toongagal and Weymaly clans, the land that became Seven Hills was granted to settlers before 1820, and the original forest became farms, orchards and small farms by the 1860s. The district was famous for its oranges and stone fruit, and in the early 1900s tourists visited in spring to see the blossom. Fruit growing declined by the 1920s, giving way to poultry and dairy farming. After World War II, extensive public housing provision turned the area into residential suburbs.

Silverwater

Wangal country before the Europeans came, the area that became Silverwater was part of a grant made to John Blaxland in 1807, and stayed in the family until 1860. It was broken up into small farms, and later residential blocks, but dairies remained into the 1930s. Industrial development took place along the river from the 1900s, and some of this land has since become Wilson Park.

Smeaton Grange

Belonging to the Tharawal and Gundungurra people before the Europeans came, the area now called Smeaton Grange was granted to explorers William Hovell and Charles Throsby, and later sold to an associate, James Fitzpatrick. The land was farmed successfully into the twentieth century, and the Smeaton Grange house was later used as a religious retreat and part of a Catholic school. Smeaton Grange is now an industrial estate.

South Turramurra

Terremerregal country until Europeans arrived South Turramurra developed slowly, with orchards and chicken farms lasting into the 1950s.

Spring Farm

A new suburb growing along the Nepean River, Spring Farm's history is as agricultural as its name.

St Ives

Traditional land of the Guringai people, the area that became St Ives was cleared by timber-getters, and later planted with orchards and market gardens. It remained rural until the 1950s, when immigration brought numbers of Italian, Jewish and later South African migrants. While housing density has increased, there are still areas of bushland in St Ives.

St Johns Park

Traditional country of the Cabrogal people, St Johns Park was first used by Europeans as part of the Orphan School land grant. By the end of the nineteenth century, agriculture was well established, with a sizeable Italian community already growing grapes.

Stanmore

Cadigal people walked the ridge line, which later became Stanmore Road, before the Europeans arrived. The land was granted to officers of the New South Wales Corps in 1792, and became farms, orchards and grazing land. Subdivided in the 1880s and 1890s, Stanmore developed around the railway station with Victorian villas and Federation houses. In the twentieth century, the suburb's fortunes declined, but by the 1970s gentrification was beginning to change Stanmore again.

Studley Park

Dharug people were traditional owners of the area that became Studley Park, but it was granted to various settlers by Governor Macquarie in the 1810s. It changed hands many times in the nineteenth century, and one owner, William Payne, built a grand house called Studley Park House. It was later used as a school, army school and golf club. The stables are now the Camden Golf Club, and much of the property is the golf course.

Suburban Sydney

The process of suburbanisation is arguably one of the most important developments in Sydney's post-invasion history. Kilometres of suburbs have for decades dominated the physical evolution of Sydney and its ideological underpinnings.

Surry Hills

Surry Hills, on Cadigal land, provided grazing, garden produce, timber, stone and clay to the new colony, and wealthy colonists built country houses there. Subdivision from the 1830s made it one of Sydney's most populous districts by the 1890s. Poor drainage and building rapidly created slum conditions, rife with crime and poverty. Demolitions and remodelling by city and state governments made some improvements, but after World War II, when industry moved out and residents shifted to newer suburbs, Surry Hills became attractive to new migrants and was revitalised.

Sutherland

Tharawal people were the traditional owners of the country before Europeans arrived. It became Thomas Holt's South Botany Estate, out of which were carved the Royal National Park and a railway, both of which brought daytrippers and residents to Sutherland. A series of speculative land companies subdivided, and by 1900 a thriving town had grown.

Sydenham

Part of the rich lands of the Cadigal people, Sydenham was late to develop because of the Gumbramorra Swamp which covered most of the western part. It grew into a thriving industrial and workers' suburb with a few large villas, but was gutted in the late twentieth century by the effects of aircraft noise from Sydney Airport. The demolition of 152 houses created Sydenham Green, a large park.

Tamarama

Marked with the rock carvings and middens of its traditional owners, Tamarama became the site of pleasure gardens and amusements in the early twentieth century.

Tennyson Point

Originally the country of the Wallumedegal, Tennyson (later Tennyson Point) was highly regarded as a vantage point for the regattas and world championship rowing that took place on the Parramatta River.

Thornleigh

Named for John Thorn, to whom the land was granted as a reward for capturing bushrangers, Thornleigh became an orchard and dairy district, with a quarry that provided rock for the railway line that went through in the 1880s. Citrus fruit and vegetables grown in Thornleigh went to the Sydney markets by rail.

Transcript: Miss Marjorie Tebb remembers a family story about Aboriginal people in the 19th century in Liverpool

Miss Marjorie Tebb was born in 1920 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Here she remembers her great grandfather's story about Aboriginal people in the Liverpool area, presumably from the nineteenth century.

Transcript: Mr Peter Serovich remembers the Austral Progress Association

Mr Peter Serovich was born in Yugoslavia in 1908, came to Australia in 1925, and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Here he remembers the necessity for a Progress Association for the young and undeveloped suburb of Austral.

Turramurra

Traditional country of the Terremerregal people, Turramurra was mainly farms and orchards until the railway opened it up for commuters in 1890. Reputed to have a climate 'as bracing as the Blue Mountains', it attracted well-off residents who built elegant homes.

Ultimo

Originally the country of the Gommerigal people, the Ultimo estate of surgeon Harris was a rural retreat until the 1840s when industry gradually encroached and subdivision in the 1860s. Quarries and woolstores provided work, but life was hard for Ultimo's residents. Postwar economic changes took away the manual work, and like other inner-city neighbourhoods, Ultimo has become a wealthier area, with rich cultural and educational institutions.

Urban growth in the Cooks River valley

Urbanisation, industry and pollution transformed the once lush Aboriginal hunting grounds and picturesque locale of the Cooks River valley into the inner city suburban sprawl we know today

Varroville

Named for Varro Ville, the country estate of Robert Townson, Varroville remained a rural retreat well into the twentieth century, with dairy farming the main economic activity.

Wahroonga

The early timber-getters of Wahroonga gave way to orchardists and country mansions for commuters after the railway came through. In the twentieth century, infill housing increased the population, though there is still little commercial development.

Waitara

Named for a river in New Zealand, Waitara was not closely settled until after World War I, when orchards gave way to homes and shops.

Warrawee

Built on Guringai land, Warrawee was cleared by timber-getters and became orchards and residential land by the 1870s. Subdivision followed the railway in 1900, but commercial development was not allowed, and some of Sydney's best domestic architecture is displayed in Warrawee houses built before World War II.

Warriewood

Once a great swamp, Warriewood became important to Sydney's food supply, with so many greenhouses it was known as Glass City by the 1940s. Now subdivided, many of the street names recall tomato varieties once grown on the land.

Watsons Bay

Known as Kutti to the Cadigal people, Watsons Bay became crucial to the early colony's maritime life, with the signal station, pilot station and lighthouses nearby. Fishing was important too. At the same time, grand houses, hotels and public buildings were built for the upper classes. From the mid-nineteenth century, regular ferry services brought tourists and day-trippers to Watsons Bay's tea rooms, hotels and tourist attractions.

Waverton

Still bearing the traces of its traditional Cammeraygal owners, Waverton became part of Alexander Berry's estate and later an industrial area.

West Lindfield

One of the earliest areas of the North Shore to be settled, West Lindfield was built on Guringai land, prized by the Europeans for its tall timbers and fertile river flats.

West Pennant Hills

Built on Dharug land, West Pennant Hills was an early timber-getting district, later covered with orchards and dairy and poultry farms.

West Pymble

One of the later suburbs on Sydney's north shore, West Pymble remained semi-rural into the 1950s, with original settler families remaining important in the district. War service homes began changing things in the 1950s, bringing a whole new group into the bushland surroundings.

West Ryde

Built on Wallumedegal land, West Ryde was mostly rural estates until the railway arrived, and with it, subdivision and development, in the 1880s. Housing development was fast and varied, with a commercial centre growing near the railway station. West Ryde has also been crucial to Sydney's water system, with two pumping stations built there.

Western Sydney

Western Sydney is a region of great diversity and complexity: a patchwork of cultures, language, ethnicity, personal histories, religion, education, income and status. On the rural foundation of the large estates granted to early settlers, development in the twentieth century has proceeded in waves, with infrastructure and facilities generally lagging behind population growth. Despite ethnic complexity and socio-economic disadvantage, the region has maintained a sense of stability and social cohesion.

Westleigh

A new suburb built on Dharug land, Westleigh was mostly orchards and bushland until development in the late 1960s.

Woolloomooloo

Woolloomooloo's chequered history includes its past as a Gadigal hunting ground and ceremonial space, its subsequent use for farming and country housing for Sydney's elite, and its evolution into an area of workers cottages and maritime industry. From the 1970s new residents joined with unions and locals to preserve Woolloomooloo from developers.

Yarrawarrah

Known as North Engadine until 1971, Yarrawarrah's cheap land, isolation and influx of camp-dwellers during the Depression made it a poor relation of surrounding suburbs. Development after the 1960s releases of Crown land has resulted in a pleasant bushland suburb.

Atlas of the Suburbs of Sydney

Series of late-nineteenth-century commercial maps of municipalities created by Sydney map publishers Higinbotham, Robinson and Harrison.

full record »

Macarthur Growth Centre Plan

Civic improvement plan centred on Campbelltown.

full record »

Growth Centres Commission

Commission to establish the North West and South West Growth Centres to streamline the supply of greenfield land for urban development and coordinate the delivery of infrastructure.

full record »

Bankstown Soldier Settlement Milperra

Land bought by the New South Wales government and set aside for soldier settlement in April 1917.

full record »

Forest Lodge

Inner city residential suburb between Glebe and Camperdown. It is named for the 1836 house of Ambrose Foss, chemist and druggist.

full record »

Jordan Springs

Outer western residential suburb gazetted in 2011. The conveyance of the land in 1887 from William Pitt Faithful to Henry Montague Faithful noted the site as "Jordon [sic] Springs".

full record »

Ropes Crossing

Western residential suburb, formerly Defence land and site of the Ropes Creek train line between 1942 and 1986. It was separated from St Marys in 2005 and is now being developed.

full record »

The Ponds

North-western residential suburb named after the waterways flowing through the area, including Second Ponds Creek. It was gazetted as a suburb in 2007.

full record »

Wentworth Point

Western residential suburb built on a reclaimed industrial site on the southern shore of Parramatta River. It was created from part of the former suburb of Homebush Bay in 2009.

full record »

Aerial view over Camperdown Cemetery before resumption, July 1946

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 388/Box 014/Item 066]

(Town planning series: aerials, July 1946, ACP Magazines Collection, Mitchell Library )

At the Glebe c1869-74

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a325028 / SPF 1028]

(Mitchell Library)

Chatswood (North Shore Railway Estate), for auction sale on the ground by Richardson & Wrench Saturday May 8th 1897 at 3.30 pm

full record »

By

Richardson & Wrench

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[MAP Folder 42, LFSP 557]

Cottages at Lidcombe, Auburn or Bankstown 1946

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_11425 / Home and Away 11425]

Manuscript map of subdivsion of the village of Ermington c1841

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Maps Collection)

Master-planned estate, west Liverpool 1992

full record »

By

Gabrielle Gwyther

Contributed By

Private collection

New homes in Western Sydney 2007

full record »

Image courtesy of

[0711-1465-82]

New suburb in Sydney's northwest 2006

full record »

Image courtesy of

[0610-0704-67]

Newington 2007

full record »

Image courtesy of

[0710-2930-85]

Railway Junction Estate, North Shore, for auction sale on the ground, Saturday 17th Octr 1885, 3.30 pm

full record »

By

Richardson & Wrench

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[MAP Folder 127, LFSP 2003]

Street of Californian Bungalows c1925-1950

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a173020 / PXE 789 (v.10), 20]

Suburban houses in Sydney's west 2007

full record »

Image courtesy of

[0706-0599-01]

Western Sydney mansions 2006

full record »

Image courtesy of

[0610-0704-80]

Mr Peter Serovich remembers the Austral Progress Association, interviewed in 1986

full record »

Mr Peter Serovich was born in Yugoslavia in 1908, came to Australia in 1925, and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Here he remembers the necessity for a Progress Association for the young and undeveloped suburb of Austral.
Transcript

INTERVIEWER: You said you joined the Progress Association. What progress did they make?

PETER: Well, they were trying to build the roads up, and get things done, like a school. In those days there was only two little rooms, when we first came here there were two little rooms. They brought another room from La Perouse, so there were three old rooms. Gradually the Parents and Citizens [Association] tried, from the Department of Education, to improve it, and then they built the big room. Gradually they worked it out, and lately they've spent a lot of money on Austral school.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mr Peter Serovich for 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith.)

Urban change and planning