Strathfield South, New South Wales

Strathfield South
Sydney, New South Wales
Strathfield South; Sydney, New South Wales
	Brundah, a Victorian style house on the former Leigh College Campus
	Strathfield South Location of Strathfield South in Greater Sydney
Coordinates	33°53′22″S 151°04′59″E / 33.8894°S 151.0831°ECoordinates: 33°53′22″S 151°04′59″E / 33.8894°S 151.0831°E
Population	3,546 (2016 census)
Postcode(s)	2136
Location	13 km (8 mi) west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)	Strathfield Council
State electorate(s)	Strathfield
Federal Division(s)	Watson
	Suburbs around Strathfield South:

Strathfield South is a suburb, in the Inner West of Sydney, Australia in the state of New South Wales, 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Strathfield local government area.

North Strathfield and Strathfield are separate suburbs, to the north. Strathfield South is located between Liverpool Road (Hume Highway) and the Cooks River, bordered on the east by Coronation Parade and to the west by the Enfield Marshalling Yards.

History[]

Most of Strathfield South is located on two early land grants - the 1808 grant to James Wilshire (later known as the Redmire Estate) and the 1837 grant to Father John Joseph Therry, which became the Village of St Anne's.^{[citation needed]}

Wilshhire's grant was subdivided in 1867 and marketed as the 'Redmire Estate'. Roads in Strathfield South such as Dean Street and Water Street were established in this subdivision. A few early Victorian and Federation style homes survive from this early period of development.^{[citation needed]}

Father John Joseph Therry was granted 19 hectares (47 acres) in March 1837. To finance the building of the original St. Anne's Church (foundation stone laid July 1841) Father Therry offered 1.6-hectare (4-acre) blocks for £25, but insufficient money being available, a further 134 allotments were offered for sale in 1854 and the streets of the subdivision named after Saints or dignitaries of the Church.^[3] St Anne's Church is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.^[4]^[5]

The area around St Anne's Village and to the west of Cooks River was locally known as Bark Huts. Bark Huts was a hotel on Liverpool Road, halfway between Sydney and Liverpool, and a small settlement was established around the hotel.

The Village of St Anne’s and the southern part of the Redmire Estate became known as Druitt Town. This name was given to the area by Joshua Judge Josephson, who owned large areas of land in the area, in honour of his friend Major George Druitt.^[6] Druitt Town Public School opened in 1881. In 1885, the part of Druitt Town north of Liverpool Road (including the school) became part of the newly incorporated Strathfield Council, after which addressed in that part of Druitt Town became listed under "Strathfield" in directories. This area is now the southern part of the suburb of Strathfield. Druitt Town public school was renamed Strathfield South Public School.

The Coronation Parade Arch, built in 1937 and now on the boundary between Enfield and Strathfield South, displays 4 light bulbs in sockets which were originally the holders for the four electricity cables that ran along the former tram line

The remaining part of Druitt Town became part of Enfield Municipal Council in 1889, shortly after which "Druitt Town" ceased to be used: addresses in the suburb instead became listed under the suburb of Enfield. The Druitt Town post office was moved to Enfield. The area was reincorporated into Strathfield Municipality in 1949, after which Strathfield Council renamed the part of former Enfield Municipality between Liverpool Road and the Cooks River as "Strathfield South". Former Enfield Town Hall and the associated war memorial are now located in Strathfield South. Coronation Reserve forms the border between Strathfield South and the suburb of Enfield, and was formerly the site of a tram line that led north to Burwood and Abbotsford and south to Croydon Park and then to Ashfield.

Heritage listings[]

South Strathfield has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

St Anne's Square: St Anne's Roman Catholic Church, South Strathfield^[4]

Population[]

In the 2016 Census, there were 3,546 people in Strathfield South. 50.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 6.8%, India 5.2%, Sri Lanka 5.2% and South Korea 3.7%. 40.6% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Cantonese 6.8%, Mandarin 6.0%, Arabic 5.9%, Tamil 5.4% and Korean 4.7%. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 32.2%, No Religion 18.2% and Hinduism 10.6%.^[1]

Commercial area, schools, churches and parklands[]

South is primarily low-rise residential with a small group of shops located around the intersection of Liverpool Road and Homebush Road. The first high-rise development has now been built on the Hume Highway.

The Catholic parish of St Anne's is located in St Anne's Square. Strathfield South Uniting Church is in Liverpool Road.

There are three schools servicing the Strathfield South area: Strathfield South Public School, Strathfield South High School and St Anne's Catholic Primary School. Strathfield South Public School is the K-6 New South Wales Department of Education and Training school in the area. With over 125 years of history, the motto of Strathfield South Public School is Think of Others. Strathfield South High School is the 7-12 public school. Neither school is in Strathfield South itself: both are situated on the southern edge of the suburb of Strathfield.

Leigh College was from 1915 until 1974 a Methodist Theological College located at 416-420 Liverpool Road. It was the successor to the Wesleyan Theological Institution.^[7]

The area is well serviced by parks such as Ford Park, Dean Reserve and St Anne's Reserve, which runs along the Cooks River. The Bay to Bay Cycle/Walking Path, which runs between Botany Bay and Homebush Bay (Sydney Olympic Park) runs through Strathfield South, along the Cooks River.