Hurstville, New South Wales

Hurstville
Sydney, New South Wales

Hurstville library
Population 26,040 (2011 census)[1]
 • Density 6,200/km2 (16,060/sq mi)
Established 1887
Postcode(s) 2220
Area 4.2 km2 (1.6 sq mi)
Location 16 km (10 mi) south of Sydney CBD
LGA(s) Georges River Council
State electorate(s)
Federal Division(s)
Suburbs around Hurstville:
Beverly Hills Kingsgrove Bexley
Penshurst Hurstville Carlton
Hurstville Grove South Hurstville Allawah
Location map of Hurstville based on NASA satellite images
Memorial Square, Forest Road, Hurstville
Forest Road, Hurstville

Hurstville is a suburb in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges River Council.

Hurstville has become a central business district for the southern suburbs of Sydney. It is a large, multiethnic suburb with a multitude of commercial buildings and high-rise residential buildings dominating the skyline. Hurstville's residential developments are a mixture of low-density housing, medium-density flats, and high-density apartment buildings. As a commercial centre, it features branches of many retail shops as well as numerous banks and other financial institutions.

History

The name "Hurstville" is derived from the English "hurst", meaning "a wooded eminence", and "ville", "town".[2]

Aboriginal culture

Although it is unknown when they first settled in the Hurstville area, the first inhabitants were Australian Aborigines. At the time of the arrival of the First Fleet, the Aborigines residing in the area were of the Eora tribe, whose numbers spanned along the Georges River, from Botany Bay to present-day Liverpool.

European settlement

The first sustained contact, on 20 January 1788, between members of the First Fleet and the Eora, occurred within the boundaries of the present City of Hurstville at Lugarno and Oatley, at Lime Kiln Bay on the Georges River, as recorded by Lieutenant Philip Gidley King in his diary (P.G. Fidlon and R.J. Ryan, eds. The Journal of Philip Gidley King, 1787-1790, Sydney, 1980). While Governor Philip explored the south side of the Georges River around Como, King with a party of one other officer and three marines in a six-oared rowboat aimed for the highest point they could see on the north side, probably at Lugarno, and landed at a place they named Lance Point. Although first contact with the Aborigines led to a small altercation where a spear was thrown and a shot fired, later in the day when the party rowed up Lime Kiln Bay towards present day Mortdale they were greeted in a friendly manner by both men and women, and what could only be described as Australia's first picnic took place as food and drink were shared between the two peoples. After a long summer afternoon of mutual contact and conviviality the British sailors rowed back to their ship moored at Botany Bay (see Haworth R.J. 2012, Journal of Australian Colonial History, vol. 14 pp. 1–28, for a reconstruction of King's boat journey and likely route).

The land of the Hurstville region was granted by the government of the new colony of New South Wales to two men; Captain John Townson and his brother Robert Townson in 1808. Captain John Townson was granted 1950 acres (7.9 km²) of land which is now occupied by the suburb of Hurstville and part of Bexley. Robert Townson was granted the land which is now occupied by Penshurst, Mortdale and parts of Peakhurst. In the same year, in the area now known as Riverwood land grants were made to Jane Trotter, Mary Shepley, Charles Doudall, and James Ryan. Later in 1816 another land grant in the same area was given to Mary Redman.

In 1809, Captain John Townson was granted an additional 250 acres (1 km²) in the area now occupied by Kingsgrove and Beverly Hills. The Townson brothers were not happy with the land that they were given because it was not suitable for the farming of sheep for wool and it is likely that the brothers never occupied their land. In 1812, a wealthy merchant named Simeon Lord bought the land of Captain John Townson and named it Lord's Forest. When Lord died, the land became the property of John Rose Holden and James Holt of the Bank of NSW.

Sproule family

Gladwyn

Gladwyn is an historic, Italianate house at 96 Queens Road. It was built in 1893 by John Sproule, a local builder and alderman of Hurstville Council, who had acquired the land two years previously. It changed hands many times and was known as Gladwyn by 1906. Hurstville Council eventually acquired the house in 1986. It has been restored and adapted for commercial use, as well as serving as the base for the Hurstville Archival Research and Local Studies Centre. It is heritage-listed at state and local level.[3][4]

In 1895, Ann Sproule bought land on the opposite side of Queens Road from the Winn brothers of Newcastle, New South Wales. John Sproule then built Yarra-Mundi in 1897, and lived there until 1904. The house then changed hands a number of times over the years. In 1981 it was acquired by the Danebank Church of England School for Girls. The school later sold the house in 2003 and it was subsequently adapted for commercial use. It is heritage-listed.[5]

Development

A dam with a roadway on top was constructed on the Cooks River at Tempe in 1839. In 1843, the road that was to become known as Forest Road was extended from the dam to a hand-winched punt in Lugarno. On the other side of the river, the road continued all the way to Wollongong; however, it was only suitable for travellers on horseback. The new road opened up the Hurstville region and created a settlement at Bottle Forest, now known as Heathcote.

In 1850, the Lord Forest estate was purchased by Michael Gannon (1800–61), who subdivided it into small farms along what is now Croydon Road and three larger farms that were purchased by Dent, Peake, and Ibbotson.[6] The area became known as Gannon's Forest. The land originally granted to Robert Townson was purchased by John Connell in 1830 and, following his death in 1849, the estate was inherited by his grandsons, Elias Pearson Laycock and John Connell Laycock.

The Gannon's Forest post office opened in 1881. The local school was named "Hurstville" by School Inspector MacIntyre when it was established in 1876. When the railway station opened on 15 October 1884, it took the name Hurstville, from the school. Hurstville municipality was incorporated in 1887 and, in 1988, Hurstville was declared a city. The Centenary Bakery on Forest Road is a historic building that has been preserved and once housed a museum. The St George Regional Museum is now located in another historic building in MacMahon Street.

The Hurstville train crash on 3 August 1920 resulted in five people killed and fifty injured. It involved the collision of two steam trains, one arriving from Central Railway Station, which plunged into the back of the other, which was stationary at Hurstville railway station, bound for Sutherland.[7]

Commercial areas

Westfield Hurstville before it was redeveloped

Hurstville's commercial area is centred on the main street, Forest Road, on the northern side of Hurstville Railway station. The commercial developments also extend to surrounding streets concentrated from Queens Road to The Avenue and on the southern side of Hurstville Railway station, around Ormonde Parade. The commercial developments extend further along Forest Road, west towards Penshurst and east towards Bexley.

Hurstville has two major shopping centres; Westfield Hurstville and Hurstville Central

Westfield Hurstville is the largest shopping centre in the St George area. It is built over three blocks and stretches from Forest Road over Crofts Street, Park Road to The Avenue. Major stores in the centre includes Aldi, Coles, Woolworths, Kmart, Big W, Target, JB HI-FI, Rebel Sport and EVENT Cinemas. Westfield Hurstville has recently undergone redevelopment in 2015, following the closure of Myer in early 2015.[8] Hurstville Central (formerly Hurstville Super Centre) is a small shopping centre on top of Hurstville Railway station. The centre had undergone total refurbishment in 2008 and features 2,700m2 Coles supermarket and around 38 speciality stores. It links Forest Road with Ormonde Parade.

The administrative offices of the City of Hurstville are located in the Hurstville Civic Centre in MacMahon Street. This street also features a number of historic buildings such as the Friendly Pharmacy, old Fire Station, Ritz Hotel and the St George Regional Museum, which houses the cake decorating collection formerly held at the Australian Cakes and Sugar Art Museum. Hurstville City Library is located nearby on Queens Road.

Hurstville railway station entrance, Forest Road

Arts and culture

The St Clair Recording Studio operated for about a year from December 1965 to December 1966 and recorded the Bee Gees among other musicians.[9] AC/DC played at the Hurstville Civic Centre (Marana Hall/Rivoli Hall) on eight occasions between 1974-1977.

A karaoke place opened in 2011 near the Meridian Hotel, the first ever one in Hurstville.

Transport

Hurstville railway station is a major station on the Illawarra line of the Sydney Trains network. All Suburban and all Intercity trains stop at Hurstville. Hurstville is 20 minutes from Sydney Central railway station on the express service. Hurstville is a major bus interchange with bus services departing from Forest Road and Ormonde Parade. Hurstville is also serviced by St George Community Transport, a HACC funded transport service for the Frail Aged, people with disability and their carers.[10]

Churches

St Georges Anglican Church, St Michaels Catholic Church, Hurstville Presbyterian Church, Hurstville Church of Christ, Hurstville Uniting Church, Hurstville Seventh-day Adventist Church, Hurstville Assemblies of God, Salvation Army, Church of the Living God.

Schools

Landmarks

Parks

Population

Apartments in Forest Road

Demographics

The first European settlers in the area were mostly of British and Irish ancestry. From the late 1960s, Hurstville, like many surrounding areas, became home to migrants from all around the world. The first wave of migrants included Greeks and Italians who began moving south from Sydney's inner-city suburbs. They were followed by more European migrants, including many from the former Yugoslavia, such as Bosnians and Macedonians.

From the 1990s, the Chinese community within Hurstville has grown considerably. Much of this was related to significant migration from Hong Kong during the 1990s and migration from Mainland China during the 2000s. Many local businesses are operated by people of Chinese background, the interests of which are advanced by the St. George Asian Business Association. Hurstville is a hub for Asian groceries, food and services.

According to the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population, there were 26,040 residents in Hurstville. 68.4% stated they were born overseas, with the top countries of birth being China (34.2%), Hong Kong (4.6%), and Nepal (2.7%). English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 21.8% of residents and the most common other languages spoken were Mandarin (26.7%), Cantonese (20.4%), Greek (3.7%), and Arabic (3.6%). The most common responses for religious affiliation were no religion (35.6%), Catholic (15.0%), Buddhism (10.0%) and Orthodox (7.5%). The largest ancestry group was Chinese, reported by 47.5% of respondents, followed by English (7.6%), Australian (6.8%), and other or undeclared ancestry (38.1%).[1]

Notable residents

Sister cities

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Hurstville (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  2. ↑ City of Hurstville - History of Hurstville
  3. ↑ State Heritage Register
  4. ↑ Hurstville Council
  5. ↑ State Heritage Register
  6. ↑ Lawrence, Joan (1996). St George Pictorial Memories: Rockdale, Kogarah, Hurstville. Kingsclear Books Pty Ltd. ISBN 9780908272457.
  7. ↑ Pollon, F. (1990.) The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Angus & Robertson Publishers, Sydney, p. 130.
  8. ↑ Galinovic, Maria (2015-03-13). "Westfield Hurstville gets a new look with $100 million upgrade". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  9. ↑ Hurstville City Council - The St Clair Recording Studio
  10. ↑ http://www.stgct.org.au
  11. ↑ Wikipedia
  12. 1 2 3 4 Australian Dictionary of Biography
  13. ↑ Sweeting, A.J. "Allen, Arthur Samuel (Tubby) (1894–1959)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Shiroishi home page
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Coordinates: 33°58′05″S 151°06′15″E / 33.96811°S 151.10408°E / -33.96811; 151.10408


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