![South Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/South_Eveleigh_Locomotive_Workshops.jpg)
South Eveleigh, previously known as Australian Technology Park is a retail, business centre and technology park south of the
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...
and north of
Sydney Airport
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...
. South Eveleigh borders
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
and
Eveleigh
Eveleigh is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eveleigh is located about 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney.
...
.
Eveleigh Railway Workshops
The Eveleigh Railway Workshops is a heritage-listed former New South Wales Government Railways yards and railway workshops and now venue hire, public housing and technology park located at Great Southern and Western railway, Redfern, City of ...
emerged on the site in the 19th century and it was transformed into Australian Technology Park in 1995.
South Eveleigh primarily houses start-up hi-tech companies, especially biotech firms, and spin-offs from university research. The Park also houses venture capital companies, banks and legal firms. It was created in 1995, by the
Government of New South Wales
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
, the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
,
University of Technology, Sydney and
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
, and was originally operated by the Australian Technology Park Sydney Ltd up until 2000, then by the
Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority
Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA) was a statutory authority that owned and managed some of the Government of New South Wales most significant Sydney harbour foreshore assets, including Sydney's heritage and cultural precincts at The Ro ...
before operation was passed to the
Redfern-Waterloo Authority. The park has encouraged collaborative ventures that maximise the capacity of companies to take products of market driven research through to the commercialisation phase. The intent of the park is for university scientists and engineers to join with industrial scientists and engineers to apply university research ideas in new products and production processes. As such, researchers have been located alongside companies with the capital and expertise to commercialise and export them with the objective of improving Australia's global competitiveness. The park also includes conference, dining and exhibition facilities.
Australian Technology Park established strategic alliances with the Oxford Science Park, Techneon (Israel Institute of Technology), UCSC Philadelphia and Kyoto Research Park.
Within three and a half years of operation, the Australian Technology Park achieved international status. The Park was also chosen as a benchmark model for Queensland, Victoria and New Zealand, and assisted incubator programs in the region.
In 2015 the site was acquired by
Mirvac
Mirvac is an Australian property group with operations across property investment, development, and retail services. This entity now broadens their clientele and shareholder return on investment by venturing across multiple development sectors, ...
, to become home to
Commonwealth Bank.
History and project development
Originally called Advanced Technology Park, the Australian Technology Park occupies the site of the former
Eveleigh Railway Workshops
The Eveleigh Railway Workshops is a heritage-listed former New South Wales Government Railways yards and railway workshops and now venue hire, public housing and technology park located at Great Southern and Western railway, Redfern, City of ...
. Other sites initially considered for the park were the ACI site in
Waterloo, the Department of Defence site in
Zetland and
Homebush Bay. The three universities (University of Sydney, University Technology Sydney and University of New South Wales) favoured the Eveleigh site.
The actual conception of the ATP dates back to as early as May 1989. In 1998, Professor Trevor Cole, the then Executive Director of The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering of The University of Sydney was asked to document the early years.
In August 1990, the Business Liaison Office of The University of Sydney prepared a comprehensive report detailing some 'perspectives and recommendations for the establishment of a smart city on the then Eveleigh railway yard site' - this followed an overseas study tour to 15 science parks, principally in the USA, but also in the UK (Cambridge), Japan and Sweden.
Image:Eveleigh1.jpg, The National Innovation Centre at the Australian Technology Park
Image:Eveleigh2.jpg, International Business Centre
Image:ATP - Locomotive Workshop - Inside Bay 8.jpg, Inside Bay 8 of the Locomotive Workshop
Image:NSWGR Crane Locomotive 1083 c.jpg, Locomotive Crane Display at Innovation Plaza
Image:Australian technology park main walkway.jpg, Main walkway inside the Locomotive Workshop
NSWGR Eveleigh Workshops a.jpg, Old Boiler House
Image:Eveleigh3.jpg, Sculpture in the grounds
Image:NSWGR Eveleigh Workshops b.jpg, Large Erecting Shop (LES)
The project to create an Australian Technology Park was launched in 1989 when Tom Forgan agreed to provide the related consultancy services to the University of Sydney based on findings from John O’Hara in 1982 on the overseas migration of technology and researchers. The University of Sydney submitted to the
State Rail Authority
The State Rail Authority, a former statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales, operated and maintained railways in the Australian state of New South Wales from July 1980 until December 2003.
History
The ''Transport Authorities Ac ...
on the potential of the Eveleigh site for such a venture. The site was secured in 1993.
The creation of the Australian Technology Park was spearheaded by the University of Sydney, University Technology Sydney and University of New South Wales. The project's development was led by an Interim Board (later the Board) that was headed by John Conde, and included John Niland (then Vice Chancellor of the University of New South Wales), Gavin Brown (then Vice Chancellor of University of Sydney), RD Guthrie (then Vice Chancellor of University of Technology Sydney), Bruce Jones,
Peter Fritz
Peter Adalbert Robert George Fritz (born 4 January 1943) is an Australian businessman and philanthropist. He was born in Arad, Romania and migrated to Australia in 1962. He has been Group managing director of the TCG Group of Companies since 19 ...
, AJ Gillespie and Thomas John Forgan. Thomas John Forgan then served as Executive Director of the Park, and was tasked with championing the Park, designing its theme and creating industry interest. Forgan was awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering by the University of Sydney and an Order of Australia Medal in recognition of his outstanding role.
The Australian Technology Park Interim Board engaged Farrel Management to prepare a business plan. A budget of S$22 million over five years was approved by Premier
John Fahey on 29 August 1994.
Public art
![P 038 - Mirvac - South Eveleigh - 28th Nov 2019 - Bronnie Barnett - Playground](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/P_038_-_Mirvac_-_South_Eveleigh_-_28th_Nov_2019_-_Bronnie_Barnett_-_Playground.jpg)
South Eveleigh is home to large scale public art such as The Interchange Pavilion by Chris Fox located at Village Square, Lobby Art by Jonathan Jones, The Eveleigh Tree House and Happy Rain by Nell.
Transport
The precinct is reachable via public transport with parking also available onsite.
Transit Systems
Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group.
History
...
bus route 308 from
Eddy Avenue
Eddy Avenue is a street in the Sydney central business district of New South Wales, Australia. It runs west from Elizabeth Street to Pitt Street outside Central station.
Description
Eddy Avenue runs in a north-westerly direction for 200 metres ...
to
Marrickville Metro
Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local govern ...
stops in front of the South Eveleigh precinct.
Filming
The
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
moved their production studios from
Epping Epping may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Epping railway station, Sydney
* Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
* Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...
in Sydney's north west to South Eveleigh.
Global Television (Australia) also set up studios in one half of the new building.
Criticism and support
Main opposition for the project came from heritage groups, local community, Council of the City of South Sydney, Department of State Development and Department of Planning.
The Department of State Development and Department of Planning expressed concern at the planning stages of the project in relation to the use of the Eveleigh site.
The project received State and Commonwealth political support from John Johnson,
Nick Greiner (then Premier of New South Wales), in addition to
John Button,
Simon Crean
Simon Findlay Crean (born 26 February 1949) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was the Member of Parliament for Hotham from 1990 to 2013, representing the Labor Party, and served as a Cabinet Minister in the Hawke, Keating, R ...
,
Peter Baldwin,
Bob Carr
Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He later en ...
,
Michael Easson
Michael Bernard Easson AM (born 22 March 1955 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), is an Australian businessman and former trade union leader. On 8 June 1998 Easson was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia ( AM).
Trade union wor ...
,
Ross Free
Ross Vincent Free (born 7 March 1943) is a former Australian politician who served as a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the seat of Macquarie from 1980 until 1984, then Lindsay from 1984 until 1996. He ser ...
and
Brian Howe. The project secured funds under the Commonwealth's Building Better Cities Program, and a location from Eveleigh Council. The
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...
also endorsed the park's bid to the Premier for HPCC funding based on its assistance in regional incubator programs. The park has also received funding and support from NSW government, Department of Education Employment Training and Youth Affairs, ETF, SSC,
Roads & Traffic Authority
The Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA) was an agency of the New South Wales Government responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. The RTA directly managed state roads and provided fundin ...
,
Telstra
Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...
and
AGL Energy. In addition, the project received endorsement from the Japanese consulate.
See also
*
Eveleigh Railway Workshops
The Eveleigh Railway Workshops is a heritage-listed former New South Wales Government Railways yards and railway workshops and now venue hire, public housing and technology park located at Great Southern and Western railway, Redfern, City of ...
*
Eveleigh Railway Workshops machinery
The Eveleigh Railway Workshops machinery is a heritage-listed former railway workshops machinery located on the Main Suburban railway line in the inner western Sydney suburb of Redfern in the City of Sydney local government area of New Sou ...
*
Eveleigh Carriage Workshops
The Eveleigh Carriage Workshops were built by the New South Wales Government Railways in 1888 as a depot for its passenger carriage fleet. The workshops are located west of what is now Redfern station on the northern side of the Main Suburban r ...
*
Eveleigh Chief Mechanical Engineer's office
The Eveleigh Chief Mechanical Engineers office is a heritage-listed former engineer's office and now unused building located at Main Suburban railway line in the inner western Sydney suburb of Redfern in the City of Sydney local government a ...
*
Carriageworks
Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Railway Workshops in Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being used for filming, festivals, fa ...
References
External links
*
Science parks in Australia
Buildings and structures in Sydney
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