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Croydon is a suburb in the Inner West Australian Suburb Guide: Sydney Inner West Retrieved 7 August 2013. of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of the Sydney central business district. Croydon is split between the two local government areas of Municipality of Burwood and the Inner West Council.
The suburb is nestled between the commercial centres of Ashfield and Burwood. It is bounded by Parramatta Road to the north, Iron Cove Creek to the east, Arthur Street to the south and a number of different streets to the west. To the north are Kings and Canada Bays on the closest reach of the Parramatta River, to the northwest is Concord Hospital and the Olympic Games complex at Homebush Bay. To the south is Canterbury Racecourse. The suburb shares its name with Croydon, a large district and borough in the south of London, England.
The traditional owners of the land on which Croydon is situated are the Wangal people of the Eora nation.
After establishing the colony at Sydney Cove in early 1788, a second settlement was established at Rose Hill (now called Parramatta) later that same year to establish farms to feed the people. Within a year or so, a rough land route had been established between the two settlements, traversing through the territory of the Cadigal, Wangal and Burramattagal people. This rough track later became the main artery of the expanding Greater Sydney and, as the northern boundary of what is now Croydon, influenced modern settlement in the area. The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson 1990, Published in Australia , page 75
The first land grant in the Croydon area was to Captain John Townson in April 1793 who received on Parramatta Road stretching west from Iron Cove Creek and south to what is now Queen Street. Further grants were made in 1794 to: Private J Eades (25 acres on Parramatta Road to the west of Townson's holding); James Brackenrig (30 acres on the other side of Eades's land); Augustus Alt, the first Surveying-general of NSW, (100 acres stretching south from Townson's land to roughly what is now Thomas Street); and Sarah Nelson (15 acres west of the southern corner of Alt's land in the area now known as Malvern Hill). Alt was the first to take up residence on his land, naming it 'Hermitage Farm'. However, his house was burnt down by a group of indigenous people (possibly led by Pemulwuy) in 1797 and he didn't return to Croydon, establishing himself in neighbouring Ashfield, and selling his property to John Palmer.
By 1820 a large part of the area had been subsumed by Joseph Underwood's large 'Ashfield Park Estate'. This property remained largely intact for more than 40 years, until it was subdivided into large blocks after the death of Elizabeth Underwood in 1858. By this time its proximity to the railway made it a desirable area (the station was originally called Fivedock).The Department of Railways Research and Information Section (1966) Railway Quiz (Department of Railways) p11 One of these subdivisions was the 'Highbury Estate', on part of which Anthony Hordern, son of the founder of the great retail firm, Anthony Hordern & Sons, eventually built his house 'Shubra Hall', just beyond the west border of Ashfield. It later became part of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, the current boundaries of which give an idea of the extent of the Hordern property. The College, including Shubra Hall, the main school building and the Meta Street entrance gates, is now listed on the Register of the National Estate.The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, p.2/15
From around 1800 to 1860, development in the area was slow with the gradually being cleared for and grazing land. The area was a haunt of bushrangers in the 1820s with two major thoroughfares, Parramatta Road to the north and Liverpool Road to the south providing regular opportunities for holdups.
In 1855, the Sydney-Parramatta railway was built through the area which led to a housing boom around the stations at Ashfield and Burwood. This in turn led to local governments forming in the two areas with the land divided roughly equidistant between the two centres. In 1874 a new station was built on the boundary of the two areas and was named Five Dock after another settlement to the north. Because Five Dock was actually a long way north some confusion ensued and Ashfield Council renamed the station in 1876 to Croydon after the suburb in London. The suburb remains divided between the two neighbouring councils to this day.
The southern side of Croydon remained largely undeveloped until the early 20th century. The Malvern Hill Estate was subdivided in 1909 and designed as a model suburb like Haberfield with wide tree-lined streets and houses built in the then-modern Federation style (a variation of Arts and crafts). Part of the development was the Strand shopping strip, which has survived intact to this day and is now heritage listed in its entirety.
Since World War I, little has changed in Croydon generally. While there have been some blocks of flats built in that time, they account for only around 10% of dwellings in Croydon and many of them are art deco blocks from the 1930s which fit in with the general heritage feel of the area. Harvest of the Years - Burwood 1794-1974, by Eric Dunlop
Another school for girls is Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney (PLC Sydney), an independent, Presbyterian, R-12, day and boarding school. The school was established in 1888 but did not move to its current Croydon location until 1891. Around 1150 girls currently attend the school. PLC Sydney is similar to the nearby Burwood Girls High School in that the vast majority of girls from both of these schools are not residents of Croydon, but instead travel to school from surrounding suburbs.
Seven bus services pass through Croydon:
Croydon is sandwiched between two major roads: Parramatta Road and Hume Highway. Within Croydon itself, there is only one road bridge (Meta St bridge) over the railway line which connects the north and south parts of the suburb.
Up until 1948, Croydon and neighbouring Croydon Park were also serviced by electric tram services running between Ashfield Station and the respective terminuses at Mortlake and Cabarita Park. These were subsequently replaced by routes 464 and 466.
The Malvern Hill area of Croydon was designed as a model suburb in 1906 by surveyors Atchison and Schleiser. Like the nearby Appian Way area in Burwood and the 'garden suburb' Haberfield, the aim of the development was to have modern houses on large blocks of land with wide streets. Most of the houses are California Bungalows or similar Federation-era designs. Just east of Malvern Hill, in the Ashfield Council part of the suburb, is the grand Gads Hill Villa built by former Ashfield mayor Daniel Holborow and the nearby St James Anglican Church.
The other major sporting park in Croydon is Blair Park, which borders Burwood Girls High School and is situated just 200 metres west of Centenary Park. It contains one sporting field as well as a playground and a dog off-leash area, both adjacent to the sports field.
Wangal Park, situated directly north of Blair Park, is currently undergoing redevelopment by Burwood Council. The area, which was originally a Clay pit, will feature three , boardwalks, educational signage and various amenities. Stage one of construction was opened in 2015, and works are expected to be complete in 2016.
Croydon is also home to various smaller parks and reserves: Reed Reserve, Froggatt Crescent Reserve, Prowse Reserve, Anthony Street Reserve, and Bridges Reserve.
Croydon still retains many of the characteristics of the broader Inner West region of Sydney, including a high proportion of residents born overseas. 31.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 16.5%, Italy 6.4%, Lebanon 4.3%, and Vietnam 3.4%. The most common ancestries were Chinese 23.2%, Australian 17.5%, English 17.3%, Italian 9.8% and Irish 8.8%. 51.1% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 11.9%, Cantonese 6.0%, Italian 4.7%, Arabic 4.0% and Greek 3.0%. The most common responses for religion were No religion 36.6%, Catholic 28.2%, Anglican 5.9%, Not stated 5.6% and Orthodox 5.0%.
Population growth
The first developments were on the northern side of the station around Edwin and Elizabeth Streets. Anthony Hordern built his grand home 'Shubra Hall' in 1869 while many of the shops along Edwin Street North were built in the 1880s. Many houses in the areas surrounding Edwin Street North and Elizabeth St are also of the Victorian style popular in the 1880s and 90s. The 1880s and 90s also saw the establishment of the suburbs first schools with Croydon Public School in 1884, and the Presbyterian Ladies' College relocating from Ashfield in 1891.John McFarlane (1988). 9780959734010, P.L.C Council, Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney. ISBN 9780959734010
Heritage listings
Croydon has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Infrastructure
Commercial area
Croydon's principal commercial area is located around the railway station. The Strand, south of the railway line, is the primary commercial strip. It features a number of commercial properties, most of which contain residential units above them. A Tabcorp, two real estate agencies, two grocery stores and various restaurants, cafés and bakeries are among the shops on The Strand. The older Edwin Street precinct, north of the line, consists mainly of specialist businesses such as an accounting firm, engineering firm, and printing shop. Some retailers on the southern side of Parramatta Road also fall just inside Croydon's boundaries.
Health
From 1893 to 1994, the Western Suburbs Hospital was situated on the corner of Hume Highway and Brighton Street. After remaining unoccupied for nearly 10 years, it was replaced in the early 2000s with a community health centre and two aged care facilities: Holy Spirit Croydon and The Brighton. Both of these facilities are operated by Catholic Health Australia, and each facility houses over 100 residents.
Education
Croydon has four schools: two primary and two secondary. The suburb's oldest school is Croydon Public School, a primary, co-educational public school, established in 1883. Over 700 students currently attend the school, which is located on Young Street. The suburb's other primary school is Holy Innocents Catholic Primary School, a Roman Catholic, co-educational primary school, established in 1924. It is a much smaller school than Croydon Public School, with a total enrolment of around 200 students. Holy Innocents is located on Queen Street opposite Burwood Girls High School which, despite its name and proximity to Burwood, is in fact situated within the boundaries of Croydon. Currently about 1200 students attend the secondary public school for girls, which was established in 1929.
Transport
Croydon railway station is served by the Inner West & Leppington Line of the Sydney Trains network. Like most stations on the Inner West section of the line, it is served by all-stations services every fifteen minutes in both directions: east to the city and west to Homebush or Parramatta.
Landmarks
Churches
Houses
features many of the inner west's most sought-after addresses due to its grand homes, larger blocks and family friendly streetscapes. As of 2011, the majority of dwellings were separate houses (63.6%). Croydon is a quiet village-like suburb with mostly detached housing built in the early part of the 20th century in what is known as Federation Bungalow or California Bungalow styles. The suburb caters for first-home buyers, while the wealthy may also find homes in the Malvern Hill Estate, a well-established pocket of prestigious homes that rarely come on the market and sell for more than $900,000. As of January 2016, the median house price of Croydon stood at $1,435,000.
Parks
Centenary Park is a large open park with a barbecue area, bike tracks, play equipment, basketball court, two synthetic cricket nets and two playing fields that are used for cricket, rugby and football. Burwood Soccer Club and ACC Cricket Club play some home matches at the park. The Western Suburbs Leagues Bowling Club (Wests Sports) is located next door to the park. Also adjacent is the Bede Spillane Dog Park, situated on the corner of Croydon Road and Queen Street.
Population
Demographics
According to the 2021 census, Croydon had a population of 10,755 people. It did not have the same level of high density housing found in its neighbours Ashfield and Burwood. 55.1% of dwellings were separate houses with 27.0% apartments and 17.2% terraces, semis or townhouses. The median age of people in the suburb was slightly older (42) than the rest of Sydney and a higher percentage of people owned their homes outright (34.7%) than those paying them off (31.4%). Median loan repayments ($2,700 per month) were much higher than the national figure ($1,8635).
Croydon Sydney Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Australia Population 10,612 4,823,991 25,750,198 Median age 40 36 38 Median weekly household income $1,846 $1,750 $1,438 Born in Australia 53.8% 57.1% 66.7%
Notable residents
Notable former and current residents of Croydon include:
Politics
At the federal level, Croydon is partly in the Division of Reid (north of the Hume Highway) and partly in the Division of Grayndler (south of the Hume Highway). Part of Croydon was moved into Reid at the redistribution in 2016 and the rest into Grayndler at the 2024 redistribution. At the state level, Croydon is in the NSW state electoral division of Strathfield.
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