New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
(NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, and far western sub-regions within Sydney's metropolitan area and encompasses 13 local government areas:
Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Great ...
Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...
Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to:
People
*Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman
Places
;Geography
*Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada
* Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
,
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
, Penrith and Wollondilly. It includes Western Sydney, which has a number of different definitions, although the one consistently used is the region composed of ten local government authorities, most of which are members of the
Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils
Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) (pronounced 'wesrock') is one of the oldest Regional Organisations of Councils or ROCs in NSW, Australia. It was formed in November 1973 to represent the councils of Western Sydney and to a ...
(WSROC). Penrith, Hills Shire & Canterbury-Bankstown are not WSROC members. The NSW Government's Office of Western Sydney calls the region "Greater Western Sydney".
Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity occurred in the Sydney metropolitan area from around 30,000 years ago. The
Darug people
The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...
lived in the area that was greater western Sydney before European settlement regarded the region as rich in food from the river and forests.
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
was founded in 1788, the same year as Sydney, making it the second oldest city in Australia. Opened in 1811,
Parramatta Road
Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. Since the 1990s its role has been a ...
, which navigates into the heart of greater western Sydney, is one of Sydney's oldest roads and Australia's first highway between two cities – Sydney central business district (CBD) and Parramatta, which is now the sixth largest business district in Australia. Rapid population increase after World War II saw the settlement of many ex-service men and migrants in the greater west, making it one of the most urbanised regions in the country and an area of growing national importance.
Being the third largest economy in Australia, behind Sydney CBD and
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, the region covers and is one of the fastest growing populations in Australia, with an estimated resident population of 2,288,554 in 2017. Western Sydney has the most multicultural suburbs in the country with 38% of the population speaking a language other than English at home, and up to 90% in some suburbs. Containing about 9% of Australia's population and 44% of Sydney's population, the people of GWS are predominantly of a working class background, with major employment in the heavy industries and vocational trade.
Encompassing significant areas of national parks, waterways and parklands, agricultural lands, natural bushland and a range of recreational and sporting facilities, the region also largely contains remnants of critically endangered native Cumberland Plain Bushland and
World Heritage
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to:
People
*Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman
Places
;Geography
*Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada
* Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...
and
Nepean River
Nepean River (Darug: Yandhai), is a major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River and its associated mouth, the Hawkesbury River, almost encircles the metropolitan region of ...
system is Sydney's firsthand water source and the mainstay of the region's agricultural and fishing industries, and is also major recreational area for the inhabitants of GWS. The heritage-listed
Warragamba Dam
Warragamba Dam is a heritage-listed dam in the outer South Western Sydney suburb of Warragamba, Wollondilly Shire in New South Wales, Australia. It is a concrete gravity dam, which creates Lake Burragorang, the primary reservoir for water supp ...
, the primary reservoir for water supply for Sydney, is located in the greater west.
History
Indigenous settlement
Near Penrith, numerous Aboriginal stone tools were found in Cranebrook Terraces gravel sediments dating to 50,000–45,000 BP. For more than 30,000 years, Aboriginal people from the
Gandangara
The Gundungurra people, also spelt Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gandangara and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shire ...
tribe have lived in the Fairfield area. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the Penrith area was home to the Mulgoa tribe of the
Darug people
The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...
, who spoke the Eora language. They lived in makeshift huts called ''gunyahs'', hunted native animals such as kangaroos, and fished in the Nepean River. The Auburn area was once used by Dharug people as a market place for the exchange of goods between them and
Dharawal people
The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...
on the coast. The area that later became Campbelltown was inhabited prior to European settlement by the
Tharawal people
The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, ...
. For more than 30,000 years, Aboriginal people from the
Gandangara
The Gundungurra people, also spelt Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gandangara and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shire ...
tribe have lived in the Fairfield area. The people of what is now known as Carlingford, a suburb on the eastern peripheries of the greater west, were the Wallumedegal people, who practised fire-stick farming along the northern banks of the Parramatta River, which encouraged animals to graze, thus enhancing the ease of
hunting and gathering
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
. Most of the natives died due to introduced diseases, such as
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, following the arrival of the First Fleet, and the remainder were largely relocated to government farms and a series of settlements.
European colony
Old Toongabbie is noted for being the third settlement set up after the British occupation of Australia began in 1788 after Sydney and Parramatta, respectively. During that year, Governor Arthur Phillip had reconnoitred several places before choosing Parramatta as the most likely place for a successful large farm. The Sydney Cove region originally settled in 1788 turned out to be unsuitable for farming, and after a number of years of near-
famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...
in the colony, efforts were made to relocate
food production
The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditiona ...
inland to hopefully more climatically stable regions. Phillip sent exploratory missions in search of better soils and fixed on the Parramatta region as a promising area for expansion and moved many of the convicts from late 1788 to establish a small township, which became the main centre of the colony's economic life. Nevertheless, poor equipment and unfamiliar
soils
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ter ...
and climate continued to hamper the expansion of farming from Farm Cove to Parramatta and
Toongabbie
Toongabbie is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. One of the oldest suburbs in Sydney, Toongabbie is located approximately 30 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater W ...
.
In February 1793, the Auburn area was established as the first free-agricultural settlement thanks to Governor Phillip's repeated applications to the British government for free settlers, and by the end of that decade Prospect, West Pennant Hills, Baulkham Hills and Greystanes were established. Eighteen months after the landing of the First Fleet, an exploring party led by Captain
Watkin Tench
Lieutenant General Watkin Tench (6 October 1758 – 7 May 1833) was a British marine officer who is best known for publishing two books describing his experiences in the First Fleet, which established the first European settlement in Australia in ...
set out to further findings made by Governor Phillip where, in 1789, they discovered the broad expanse of the
Nepean River
Nepean River (Darug: Yandhai), is a major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River and its associated mouth, the Hawkesbury River, almost encircles the metropolitan region of ...
George Bass
George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.
Early years
Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George ...
explored up the Georges River for about 20 miles beyond what had been previously surveyed, and reported favourably to Governor John Hunter of the land on its banks. The earliest recorded white settlement in the Fairfield district is described in William Bradley's Journal where he noted an expedition from Rose Hill to Prospect Creek to determine whether Prospect Creek led to
Botany Bay
Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in t ...
led a group of
Bidjigal
The Bidjigal (also spelt Bediagal, Bejigal, Bedegal or Biddegal) people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are modern-day western, north-western, south-eastern, and southern Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...
warriors, estimated to be at least 100, in an attack on a government farm at Toongabbie, challenging the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
to fight. On 4 March 1804 Irish convicts rose up in Rouse Hill as one, in what was to become known as the
Castle Hill convict rebellion
The Castle Hill convict rebellion was an 1804 convict rebellion in the Castle Hill area of Sydney, against the colonial authorities of the British colony of New South Wales. The rebellion culminated in a battle fought between convicts and the ...
Palladian
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
-style home in the English manner. Originally constructed under Governor Hunter in 1799 to reflect the economic importance of the Parramatta district, the building remains today Australia's oldest public building and was given World Heritage Listing by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
in 2010.
In 1803 a government stock farm was established in what was to become the Riverstone/ Marsden Park area, on the basis of the abundant water supply and good grazing land there, and also in Smithfield, due to its good soil and dependable
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
.
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
Australian continent
The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, Meganesia, or Papualand to distinguish it from the country of Australia, is located within the Southern and East ...
, where European settlers utilised the fertile river flats for agriculture. Governor Phillip Gidley King began granting land in the area to settlers in 1804 with Captain Daniel Woodriff's on the banks of the river the first land grant in the area.
Urban development
Liverpool Hospital
Liverpool Hospital is located in the South Western Sydney suburb of Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia and is a 50-minute drive from the Sydney CBD. It is the second largest hospital in New South Wales (behind Westmead Hospital) and one of t ...
was founded on a portion of land beside the Georges River, making it the second oldest hospital in Australia. Fairfield railway station was opened in 1856 and has the oldest surviving railway building in New South Wales.
Quarrying
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...
in the Prospect area began in the 1820s and naturalist
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
Upper Nepean Scheme
The Upper Nepean Scheme is a series of dams and weirs in the catchments of the Cataract, Cordeaux, Avon and Nepean rivers of New South Wales, Australia. The scheme includes four dams and two weirs, and a gravity-fed canal system that feeds i ...
was commenced in 1880 after it was realised that the Botany Swamps scheme was insufficient to meet Sydney's water supply needs. By the latter part of the nineteenth century coarse-grained
picrite
Picrite basalt or picrobasalt is a variety of high-magnesium olivine basalt that is very rich in the mineral olivine. It is dark with yellow-green olivine phenocrysts (20-50%) and black to dark brown pyroxene, mostly augite.
The olivine-rich p ...
, and other dolorite rock types were being extracted from William Lawson's estate on the west and north sides of Prospect Hill.
Lansvale was a popular recreational site of the early 20th century due to its waterways and meadows. During World War II,
Bankstown Airport
Bankstown Airport is an airport and business park located in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, approximately from the Sydney Central Business District (CBD), Australia and west of Sydney Airport. It is situated on of land and has three pa ...
was established as a key strategic air base to support the war effort and the control of Bankstown Airport was handed to US Forces. Campbelltown was designated in the early 1960s as a
satellite city
Satellite cities or satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a principal city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere suburbs, subdivisions and especially bedroom communities in that they have m ...
by the New South Wales Planning Authority, and a regional capital for the south west of Sydney. Until the 1950s, Liverpool was still a satellite town with an agricultural economy based on poultry farming and
market gardening
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to som ...
. However the urban sprawl of Sydney across the
Cumberland Plain
The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the P ...
soon reached Liverpool, and it became an outer suburb of metropolitan Sydney with a strong working-class presence and manufacturing facilities. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was a large amount of suburban development both in the current suburb of
Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Great ...
and the new suburbs that sprung up around it, which led to civic development in the town centre with the Blacktown Hospital opening in 1965.
In the 1960s and 1970s, migration from south-east Asia as a result of the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
transformed Cabramatta into a thriving Asian community. Also in the 1970s, an influx of Middle Eastern immigrants, namely Lebanese people, settled in
Lidcombe
Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...
,
Bankstown
Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
and the surrounding suburbs. Opened in December 1985, in
Eastern Creek
Eastern Creek is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Creek is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the Blacktown local government area and is part of the Greater Western Sydney regi ...
,
Wonderland Sydney
Wonderland Sydney (originally known as Australia's Wonderland), was an amusement park in Eastern Creek, Sydney, Australia. Officially opened in December 1985 by the Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, the park was the largest in the sou ...
was the largest amusement park in the southern hemisphere until its closure in 2004. In 2015, the Abbott government granted 12,000 extra humanitarian visas to persecuted Christians, largely the Assyrians, in the war-torn Middle Eastern countries, which were admitted to Australia as part of its one-off humanitarian intake, with half of them primarily settling in Fairfield and also Liverpool.
Geography
Topography
The Greater Western Sydney region spans from
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
in the north to Campbelltown in the south,
Lidcombe
Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...
and
Roselands
Roselands is a suburb to the south-western Sydney, south-west of the Sydney CBD, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Roselands is located 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the City of Canterbury-Banksto ...
in the east, with the A3 creating the boundary between the greater west and inner West, to Penrith and the lower parts of the Blue Mountains in the far west. The 151st meridian east passes through the heart of western Sydney, namely in the suburbs of Castle Hill,
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
, Granville, and Revesby, with the suburbs west of those being on the eastern end of the 150th meridian, which is a line that passes through the Russian city of Magadan in the northern hemisphere.
In 1820s, Peter Cunningham described the country west of Parramatta and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
as "a fine timbered country, perfectly clear of bush, through which you might, generally speaking, drive a gig in all directions, without any impediment in the shape of rocks, scrubs, or close forest". This confirmed earlier accounts by Governor Arthur Phillip, who suggested that the trees were "growing at a distance of some twenty to forty feet from each other, and in general entirely free from brushwood..."
Greater western Sydney predominantly lie on the
Cumberland Plain
The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the P ...
and are relatively flat in contrast to the above regions. The region is situated on a rain shadow, thanks to the Hills District to the northeast, where they tend to be drier than the coast and less lush than the hilly Northern Suburbs. However, there are still a number of ridgy areas on the plain —
Western Sydney Parklands
The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ...
volcanic activity
Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called a ...
, are between high. Highly elevated suburbs, which typically range between in height, include Leppington and Oran Park to the southwest,
Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in t ...
Horsley Park
Horsley Park is a suburb of Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and e ...
Mount Druitt
Mount Druitt is a suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a large ...
to the northwest.
Ecology
The main
plant communities
A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...
in the Greater Western Sydney region are
sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...
grassy woodlands (i.e.
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
s), dry sclerophyll forests and small pockets of wet sclerophyll forests to the northeast as one approaches the
Hornsby Plateau
The Hornsby Plateau is a dissected sandstone plateau lying to the north of Sydney Harbour that rises 200 metres. The plateau is a part of the larger Sydney Basin structure.
Geography
The North Shore and the Berowra Valley National Park are loca ...
. The grassy woodlands contain eucalyptus trees which are usually in open woodlands that have sclerophyllous shrubs and sparse grass in the
understory
In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...
, reminiscent of Mediterranean forests. It has been calculated that around 98,000 hectares of native vegetation remains in the Sydney metropolitan area, about half of what is likely to have been existing at the time of European arrival.
The endemic flora is home to a variety of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
,
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...
bandicoot
Bandicoots are a group of more than 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial, largely nocturnal marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia. They are endemic to the Australia–New Guinea region, including the Bismarck Archipelago t ...
snake
Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...
s and
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
shales
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...
and
sandstones
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) b ...
with low rolling hills and wide valleys in a rain shadow area. Sydney sprawls over two major regions: the
Cumberland Plain
The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the P ...
, a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney Harbour, and the
Hornsby Plateau
The Hornsby Plateau is a dissected sandstone plateau lying to the north of Sydney Harbour that rises 200 metres. The plateau is a part of the larger Sydney Basin structure.
Geography
The North Shore and the Berowra Valley National Park are loca ...
, a plateau north of the Harbour rising to 200 metres and dissected by steep valleys. Sydney's native plant species are predominantly
eucalyptus tree
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of Flowering plant, flowering trees, shrubs or Mallee (habit), mallees in the Myrtaceae, myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the Tribe (biology) ...
s, and its
soils
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ter ...
are usually red and yellow in texture.
At a time in the past, monocline formed to the west of Sydney. The monocline is a sloping bend that raises the sandstone well above where it is expected to be seen, and this is why the whole of the visible top of the Blue Mountains is made of sandstone. Sandstone slopes in the Sydney area are on three sides: to the west the Blue Mountains, and to the north and south, the Hornsby and Woronora
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
Wianamatta Shale
The Wianamatta Group is a geological feature of the Sydney Basin, New South Wales, Australia that directly overlies the older (but still Triassic in age) Hawkesbury sandstone and generally comprise fine grained sedimentary rocks such as shales an ...
Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in t ...
is the largest assemblage of
igneous rock
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma o ...
in Sydney. The oval-shaped ridge was made many millions of years ago when
volcanic
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
material from the Earth's
upper mantle
The upper mantle of Earth is a very thick layer of rock inside the planet, which begins just beneath the crust (at about under the oceans and about under the continents) and ends at the top of the lower mantle at . Temperatures range from appr ...
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...
s are existent on the floodplain of the
Nepean River
Nepean River (Darug: Yandhai), is a major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River and its associated mouth, the Hawkesbury River, almost encircles the metropolitan region of ...
, one being Bents Basin, which is also a recreational area.
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. S ...
drains a large area of Sydney's western suburbs. With 5,005,400 inhabitants (as of 2016) and an urban population density of 2037 people per square kilometre, Sydney's urban area covers , comprising 35% of Sydney and is constantly growing. The south and southwest of Sydney is drained by the Georges River, flowing north from its source near Appin, towards
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
and then turning east towards
Botany Bay
Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
. Minor waterways draining Sydney's western suburbs include South Creek and
Eastern Creek
Eastern Creek is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Creek is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the Blacktown local government area and is part of the Greater Western Sydney regi ...
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: ''Cfa'') with the annual temperatures having an average maximum of and a minimum of , making the region a few degrees warmer than the Sydney CBD. Maximum summer temperatures average at around and winter temperatures are mild, averaging at around , depending on the location. Autumn and spring are the transitional seasons, with spring showing a larger variation than autumn in terms of temperatures.
Rainfall
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
is almost evenly spread throughout the year, although the first few months tend to be wetter, namely February through to April. The months from July through to December tend to be drier (late winter through to early summers).
Thunderstorms
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are somet ...
are common in late summer and early autumn. Winters are pleasantly cool and relatively sunny (especially August), although east coast lows can bring large amounts of
rainfall
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
, especially in June. Most suburbs in the west have an annual
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
that averages at around , in contrast to Sydney CBD's .
Sydney usually experiences a föhn effect that originates from the Great Dividing Range, where the lifting of winds on the windward side of the Blue Mountains forces the air to gradually warm up and lose moisture as the winds descend into the Sydney basin. They may exacerbate fire danger in the warm months, although they usually tend to occur between late winter and early spring when westerly cold fronts become more frequent and would therefore be blocked by the ranges – This phenomenon thereby permits the late winter and early spring period to feature the highest amount of clear days in the year. It should be worth noting that Richmond features the greatest temperature range ever recorded in Australia; to .
;Summer
Western Sydney is much warmer than Sydney city in summer. During this time, daytime temperatures can be warmer than the city (in extreme cases the West can even be hotter). This is because sea breezes in the City do not penetrate the inland areas. Northwesterlies occasionally bring hot winds from the desert that raise temperatures as high as . Though southerly busters may still end the hot conditions. The humidity in the summer is usually in the comfortable range, though some days can be slightly humid (due to the ocean proximity) or very dry (due to the heat from the desert).
;Autumn
In early autumn, hot days are possible, with temperatures above possible in March, but quite rare. April is cooler, with days above happening on average only 1.1 times during the month. Days cooler than occur more regularly leading into May. In May, days are usually mild, ranging from , but can get quite cold, with maximums of or lower starting to occur. Average minimums fall throughout the season, with the first night below often occurring in April.
;Winter
Winter temperatures often show a higher variation in late winter than early winter, with a day or two in August occasionally reaching above , which is unknown in June and July. Winter nights average , although a few nights per year see temperatures fall below , mostly in July. Nights reaching below more often occur in the far-western suburbs, such as Campbelltown, Camden, Penrith and Richmond. These low temperatures often occur when the night sky is clear and the ground can radiate heat back into the atmosphere. Winter nights, though, are typically a few degrees cooler and frost is not uncommon in some areas, especially those in the far west such as Penrith and Richmond.
;Spring
Spring temperatures are highly variable, with temperatures fluctuating quite often. September will normally see one day reaching above , and extremely rarely, above . Cool days in September can occur, occasionally failing to reach . October and November show high variability, where hot north-westerlies can cause temperatures to rise above , and even above in November, while cool days below are also quite common. The average minimum temperature increases throughout the season, September can still have nights falling below . October and November occasionally have nights falling below .
Climate data
Demographics
Languages
The residents of GWS come from more than 170 countries and speak over 100 different languages and 12% of them, namely the newcomers, do not speak English very well. Cabramatta is made up of 87.7% of people from non-English speaking backgrounds, the highest anywhere in Australia (excluding remote indigenous communities). Other Western Sydney suburbs, such as Fairfield, Bankstown and Canley Vale, are also over 80%.
Although many of these communities are Australian-born (including Arabic speakers, with about 50% born therein), Western Sydney still is the main centre of Australian migration, with 60% of new arrivals settling in greater western Sydney in between 2006 and 2011, with the majority coming from India, China,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. Furthermore, GWS also has more
Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
residents than either South Australia or Victoria, making it the largest indigenous community in Australia. These are some of the largest population groups of Australia's non-English speakers found in Western Sydney:
*62% of
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
Suret ( syr, ܣܘܪܝܬ) ( �su:rɪtʰor �su:rɪθ, also known as Assyrian or Chaldean, refers to the varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) spoken by ethnic Assyrians, including those identifying as religious groups rather than eth ...
speakers
*50% of
Akan Akan may refer to:
People and languages
*Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire
*Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people
*Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan
* Central Tano languages, a language group ...
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
speakers
*43% of
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
speakers
*37% of Tongan speakers
*34% of Samoan speakers
*33% of
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
speakers
*29% of
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
*28% of
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
socially conservative
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...
region in Sydney. Previously, the districts of Ku-ring-gai,
Hornsby Shire
Hornsby Shire is a local government area situated in Northern Sydney ( Upper North Shore), as well as parts of the Hills District, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The shire stretches from the M2 Hills Motorway in the south to the ...
and
The Hills Shire
The Hills Shire (from 1906–2008 as Baulkham Hills Shire) is a local government area in the Greater Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is north-west of the Sydney central business district, and encompasses stre ...
in the north were the most religious areas in Sydney, and were formerly known as being part of Sydney's "
bible belt
The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...
". Today however, the western suburbs have become Sydney's so-called believer belt, with a high proportion of believers found in a band of suburbs that span the cities of Liverpool, Fairfield, Cumberland and Canterbury-Bankstown.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, areas with the highest percentage of Christians were found in the western and south-western suburbs such as,
Bossley Park
Bossley Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bossley Park is located 36 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Bossley Park is part of the ...
Theresa Park
Theresa Park (born 1967) is a New York-based literary agent. She discovered and represents several internationally best-selling authors, including Nicholas Sparks, Debbie Macomber, Emily Giffin, Janice Y.K. Lee, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Cecelia Ahe ...
(81.1%),
Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The settlement is in the unitary authority of Dorset about inland from the English Channel coast. The village, including Chesil Beach, the swannery and subtropic ...
(81%) and
Horsley Park
Horsley Park is a suburb of Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and e ...
(79.6%), with the most popular denominations being
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Old Guildford
Old Guildford is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 28 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.
...
(45.9%).
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
was the common response in the suburbs of Cabramatta, Canley Vale and Canley Heights, with 43.0%, 37.1% and 38.4% adhering to it, respectively. In
Harris Park
Harris Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Harris Park is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta and is part o ...
, to the northwest, Hinduism was the common religion with 44.8% of its inhabitants practicing it.Westmead (40.8%),
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
(28.5%) and Rosehill (24.0%) also had Hinduism as the most common faith.
File:Auburn Gallipoli Mosque.JPG,
Auburn Gallipoli Mosque
The Auburn Gallipoli Mosque is an Ottoman-style mosque in Auburn, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. More than 500 worshippers attend every day and around 2,000 worshippers attend the weekly special Friday prayer at the Auburn Gal ...
Old Guildford
Old Guildford is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 28 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.
...
Guildford St Marys Anglican Church.JPG, St Mary's Anglican Church in Guildford
Society
The region's major city centre is Parramatta, and the rest of the LGAs are growing immensely when it comes population, economic opportunity and environmental diversity. In the early 2010s, urban development has occurred in places like Camden, Campbelltown and Penrith, while Parramatta and Blacktown have grown rapidly. The GWS region overall grew at 2.1% in 2014 and 1.6% p.a. for the past decade. The South-West, such as, Leppington, spanning Liverpool, Camden and Campbelltown councils, had higher number of families. The region's population is projected to reach 3 million by 2036. The more recent suburban developments tend to be less leafy than more established Sydney neighborhoods.These two Western Sydney streets are completely different temperatures — here's why By Mridula Amin from ABC News. Retrieved 28 November 2020
Home to around 1 in every 11 Australians, the 2 million inhabitants of GWS live in 743,940 dwellings with an average household size of 3.02. While Sydney CBD and the Inner West mostly consist of
federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...
-era homes, the west usually features larger modern homes, which are predominantly found in the outer, newer suburbs, starting from the City of Fairfield and
Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Great ...
Bossley Park
Bossley Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bossley Park is located 36 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Bossley Park is part of the ...
,
Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The settlement is in the unitary authority of Dorset about inland from the English Channel coast. The village, including Chesil Beach, the swannery and subtropic ...
Hoxton Park
Hoxton Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hoxton Park is located 38 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool and is part of the Greater We ...
, Harrington Park, and Oran Park to the southwest.
High school retention rates for years 7 to 12 are the lowest in the Sydney metropolitan area, recording 69.5% compared to 95.2% in Northern Sydney. In 2009, twice as many people in GWS aged 15 or older hadn't attended school at all compared to the rest of Sydney and NSW. The region has strong automobile dependency with consequent effects on
air quality
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
, health,
quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
Western Sydney as defined by the WSROC region covers and had an estimated resident population as at 30 June 2008 of 1,665,673. The region comprises the areas administered by the Blacktown City Council,
Blue Mountains City Council
The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains range west of Sydney.
The Mayor of Blue Mountains City Council is coun ...
Cumberland Council
Cumberland Council is the local authority for Cumberland in England. It is a unitary authority, the structural change order names the new Cumberland Council as only a district council. It will operate as a shadow authority until taking up its pow ...
Penrith City Council
The City of Penrith is a local government area in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The seat of the city is located in Penrith, located about west of Sydney's central business district. It occupies part of the traditional lands of the ...
.
Western Sydney is also sometimes used to refer to the whole Greater Western Sydney region, which is the combination of Western Sydney as defined above and the Macarthur Region (also referred to as
South-western Sydney
South Western Sydney is a region of the metropolitan area in southwest Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the predominantly working class area of Greater Western Sydney. The region lies in the Cumberland Plain.
Local governm ...
Wollondilly Shire Council
Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollondil ...
.
Economy
With more than 240,000 local businesses which generated more than $95 billion
gross regional product
Gross regional product (GRP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services produced in a region or subdivision of a country in a period (quarterly or yearly) of time.
A metropolitan area's GRP (gross metropolitan prod ...
in 2009, Western Sydney is a diverse area when it comes to socio-economics, with the two largest industries in the region being
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
and
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...
. Of the 544,000 jobs situated in the GWS, 75% of those who live in the region also work there. The Smithfield– Wetherill Park Industrial Estate is the largest
industrial estate
An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...
in the southern hemisphere and is the centre of manufacturing and distribution in GWS. Lying strategically between the major population growth zones in the north-west and south-west of Sydney, it contains more than 1,000 manufacturing, wholesale, transport and service firms which employ more than 20,000 persons.
While overall a lower
income
Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. Fo ...
area for Sydney, with families who are dependent on
childcare
Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
as both parents work, and higher than average
unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...
and lower than average
salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis.
F ...
levels, it has some exceedingly
high income
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "First World" a ...
suburbs nonetheless. Namely, the suburb of The Ponds, in the City of Blacktown, which is the most highly advantaged suburb in NSW on the
SEIFA
Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (commonly known by its acronym, SEIFA) is a product that enables the assessment of the welfare of Australian communities. The indexes have been created by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the national statisti ...
index of advantage-disadvantage, ahead of suburbs on the North Shore, such as St Ives and
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
. Other affluent suburbs in western Sydney, ranging from
upper middle class
In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...
to
upper class
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in t ...
Lower middle class
In developed nations around the world, the lower middle class is a subdivision of the greater middle class. Universally, the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle ...
and
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...
neighbourhoods are mainly concentrated near the heart of the central business district areas of Fairfield,
Mount Druitt
Mount Druitt is a suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a large ...
Merrylands
Merrylands is a suburb in Western Sydney, Australia. Merrylands is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is in the local government area of the Cumberland City Council.
History
Merrylands was named after the fo ...
Wiley Park
Wiley Park is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wiley Park is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown.
History
The now comprising ...
Roselands
Roselands is a suburb to the south-western Sydney, south-west of the Sydney CBD, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Roselands is located 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the City of Canterbury-Banksto ...
, Carramar, Villawood and Punchbowl. Furthmore, Claymore in the southwest was listed as one of the most socially disadvantaged areas in New South Wales. Nonetheless, the rest of the GWS region is generally made up of a
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...
population, with such even found in both affluent and low income suburbs.
Livability
Due to Parramatta's emergence as "Sydney's second CBD",
livability
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standard ...
in the surrounding western suburbs has been advancing, with
Harris Park
Harris Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Harris Park is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta and is part o ...
being 63rd most liveable area by Domain Group, followed by Parramatta at 110 and Rosehill at 187. Further to the west, Penrith warranted a spot in the top 200 suburbs of the 555 on the list. Seven of the top ten suburbs for home purchasers were more than west of the Sydney CBD, which included areas with high construction activity such as Baulkham Hills, Castle Hill, Liverpool and Blacktown, which has become Sydney's most popular area for home buyers, with more sales than any other suburb.
This is mainly due to the immense cultural activities and high affordability in the region, and also the development of new restaurants, high-rise apartments,
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
s, local employment,
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...
, ferry access and education. Regarding this, ''Allworth Homes'' director Stephen Thompson states, "While the outskirts of Sydney were once considered undesirable, improved infrastructure coupled with soaring house prices has meant many property seekers are looking further afield for their homes, including high-income earners". With
Western Sydney Airport
Western Sydney International Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, also known as Western Sydney Airport or Badgerys Creek Airport, is a new international airport currently under construction within the suburb of Badgerys Creek, New South Wales, Australia. ...
opening in the mid 2020s, Penrith is slated to become another CBD, with the airport creating 35,000 jobs by 2035.
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
is mainly concentrated in the outskirts of the Greater Western Sydney area, such as in suburbs of Kemps Creek,
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
Bringelly
Bringelly is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Northern Road between Penrith and Camden. It has a public school. Bringelly is also the name of a local hill.
History
Bringelly was a name given to ...
Horsley Park
Horsley Park is a suburb of Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and e ...
, among others, which lie in a
countryside
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...
adjacent to the footsteps of the Blue Mountains westwards of these country plains.
Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The settlement is in the unitary authority of Dorset about inland from the English Channel coast. The village, including Chesil Beach, the swannery and subtropic ...
, Cecil Hills and Glenmore Park were farms through until the 1980s when it was decided to redevelop them for housing. The area around the site of Regentville has remained largely rural, if hemmed in somewhat by the modern residential suburbs of
Jamisontown
Jamisontown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 56 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney ...
and Glenmore Park.
In the 1800s, John Blaxland built an original wooden
weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
at "Grove Farm" (now known as Wallacia) for a sandstone
flour mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
and additional
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
. The land was also used for
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
farming until 1861 when wheat
rust
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO( ...
infected the entire crop. The rural regions were chiefly one of
dairying
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
and
grazing
In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...
during the 19th century, but in the early 20th century – because of its rural atmosphere and proximity to Sydney –
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
developed as people opened their homes as
guest houses
A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use ...
. Today, the rural areas include a number of
orchards
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...
meadow
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...
s.
Vegetable farming
Vegetable farming is the growing of vegetables for human consumption. The practice probably started in several parts of the world over ten thousand years ago, with families growing vegetables for their own consumption or to trade locally. At fir ...
and
fruit picking
Fruit picking or fruit harvesting is a seasonal activity (paid or recreational) that occurs during harvest time in areas with fruit growing wild or being farmed in orchards. Some farms market "You-Pick" for orchards, such as the tradition of Apple ...
are common activities.
Transport
The
M4 Western Motorway
The M4 Motorway is a dual carriageway partially tolled motorway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is designated as the M4 route. The M4 designation is part of the wider A4 and M4 route designation, the M4 runs parallel/below grou ...
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
in western Sydney, that stretches from in the east, where it connects with the
Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway (also known as Broadway from to , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to , and Church Street through Parramatta) is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurs ...
/
Parramatta Road
Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. Since the 1990s its role has been a ...
as the A4 to in west. It continues as the Great Western Highway as the A32, passing the southern fringe of the Parramatta central business district, moving due west across western metropolitan Sydney to Penrith, north of the central business district, crossing the Nepean River via the 1867 Victoria Bridge.
Cumberland Highway
The Cumberland Highway is a long urban highway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The highway links the Pacific Highway (A1/B83) and Pacific Motorway ( M1) at Pearces Corner, Wahroonga in the northeast with the Hume Highway (A22/ ...
Wahroonga
Wahroonga is a suburb in the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Ku-ring-gai Council and Hornsby Shire. ...
in the northeast with the Hume Highway (A22/A28) at
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
in the southwest.
The
M5 Motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...
is the primary route from to the Sydney CBD, with its terminus being in the south of an interchange near Prestons where the M5 meets the Westlink M7 and the M31 Hume Motorway.
The A6 is a major arterial road that provides a link from the northern and western suburbs to the centre western suburbs –
Bankstown
Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
Lidcombe
Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...
and
Bankstown
Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
.
Henry Lawson Drive was conceived of as a scenic drive to follow the north bank of the Georges River in Sydney's southwest.
The
Light Horse Interchange
The Light Horse Interchange is a motorway interchange located in Eastern Creek, Sydney, Australia at the junction of the M4 and M7 motorways. The interchange is the largest in the southern hemisphere and was opened to traffic in December 200 ...
is a motorway interchange located in Eastern Creek at the junction of the M4 Western Motorway and the Westlink M7 that was opened to traffic in December 2005 due to the population boom in Sydney's western suburbs.
Politics
Greater Western Sydney local government authorities agree on the broad definition of greater western Sydney, but divide the region based on the regional organisations of councils. The
Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils
Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) (pronounced 'wesrock') is one of the oldest Regional Organisations of Councils or ROCs in NSW, Australia. It was formed in November 1973 to represent the councils of Western Sydney and to a ...
(WSROC) includes the local government areas of
Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Great ...
,
Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...
Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to:
People
*Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman
Places
;Geography
*Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada
* Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
,
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
and Penrith. The Macarthur Regional Organisation of Councils (MACROC) includes the local government areas of Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly. In
government administration
The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to the jurisdiction under which it operates. In general terms, administration can be described as a decision making body.
United States
In American usage, the term ...
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
Bankstown
Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
Mount Druitt
Mount Druitt is a suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a large ...
,
Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Great ...
,
Holsworthy
Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...
,
Bankstown
Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
, Auburn, Hawkesbury.
Western Sydney is considered a particularly crucial region in federal politics, and the region's social conservativism has been credited with forming policy on migration and the treatment of
asylum seeker
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...
s by both major political parties. Western Sydney voted 'no' in high margins in the
Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the postal service between 12 September and 7 November 2017. Unlike voting in ...
held in 2017. 12 of the 17 divisions that voted 'no' nationally were from Western Sydney. Despite this, Western Sydney is largely dominated by
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
, while the conservative
Christian Democrats
__NOTOC__
Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
draw much of their support from the large and devout Arab Christian and Assyrian populations. Western Sydney can therefore be described as an economically
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
but very socially
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
region, at least compared to the other regions of Sydney.
Media
The city is also served by several local radio stations, including those from Sydney.
FM stations, Community:
* SWR Triple 9 (Blacktown) – 99.9 kHz
* Vintage FM (Penrith) – 87.6 kHz
*
2GLF
2GLF is a Community radio station located in Liverpool, a suburb of Sydney. It is on 89.3 FM and caters to the communities of Liverpool and Fairfield LGA's.
Etymology
''GLF'' is an acronym which is the first letter of the two cities and commun ...
(Liverpool, Fairfield) – 89.3 kHz
* 2BACR (Bankstown) – 100.9 MHz
* Alive 90.5 (Parramatta, Hills, Holroyd) – 90.5 MHz
* 2MCR (Macarthur)
FM stations, Commercial:
* WSFM 101.7 – 101.7 MHz
* Edge 96.1 – 96.1 MHz
* C91.3 (Campbelltown) – 91.3 MHz
Television:
Greater Western Sydney is also served by 5 Sydney television networks, three commercial and two national services:
* Nine Network
*
Network 10
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
*
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
The region hosts many professional sporting teams in a wide range of codes. The
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
has four teams based in the region; the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...
,
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...
,
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrit ...
and
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
association football club is also based in this region of Sydney. The region also hosts
Macarthur FC
Macarthur Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in South Western Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in Australia's premier soccer competition, the A-League, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). On 1 ...
of the A-League.
Greater Sydney Rams
The Greater Sydney Rams, originally known as the Western Sydney Rams, is a former rugby union team from Australia that was disbanded in 2018. The Rams won the minor premiership in the 2007 Australian Rugby Championship (ARC), and then competed ...
now represent the region in the
National Rugby Championship
The National Rugby Championship, known as NRC, was an Australian rugby union competition. It was contested by eight teams, seven from Australia and one from Fiji. The tournament ran from 2014 until 2019 before being disbanded in 2020 following t ...
. The
Sydney Thunder
The Sydney Thunder are an Australian franchise professional cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League. Along with the Sydney Sixers, the Thunder are the successors of the New South Wal ...
play at the Big Bash League (cricket). Other sporting teams include:
*
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
:
Sydney Blue Sox
The Sydney Blue Sox are a professional baseball team, and one of eight foundation teams in the re-formed Australian Baseball League (ABL). The team plays their home games at Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP), one of the two venues used ...
*
Ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
NRL Grand Final
The NRL Grand Final determines the champions of the National Rugby League club competition. It is a major sport event in Australia. Since 1999, it has been contested at Stadium Australia in Sydney. The first year it was held at Stadium Austral ...
, the Sydney 500 auto race and the Sydney International tennis tournament.
Previously the region was represented in Australia's professional
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
Sydney Entertainment Centre
Sydney Entertainment Centre (later known as Qantas Credit Union Arena) was a multi-purpose arena located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished in 1970 to make way for the ...
, an eastern Sydney venue, have since moved to the Sydney Superdome at Sydney Olympic Park and market towards the whole metropolitan area of Sydney.
Education
Major education facilities include:
*
Western Sydney University
Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...
, a multi-campus
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
that is ranked in the top 300 in the world in the 2021
THE World University Rankings
The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...
and 18th in Australia in 2021.
* TAFE NSW campuses across Western Sydney (including
OTEN The Open Training and Education Network, often abbreviated OTEN, is an Open education service offered by TAFE NSW. It was rebranded as TAFE Digital during the OneTAFE restructure at the beginning of 2018. Students may enrol from anywhere in Austral ...
) and South Western Sydney
*
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 ...
Raging Waters Sydney
Raging Waters Sydney, formerly Wet'n'Wild Sydney, is a water park in the greater western Sydney suburb of Prospect, New South Wales, Australia, that opened on 12 December 2013. The park was announced on 11 September 2010 and was the third Wet' ...
water park
A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
*
Sydney Motorsport Park
Sydney Motorsport Park (known until May 2012 as Eastern Creek International Raceway) is a motorsport circuit located on Brabham Drive, Eastern Creek (40-kilometres west of the Sydney CBD), New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the Western Sy ...
Eastern Creek
Eastern Creek is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Creek is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the Blacktown local government area and is part of the Greater Western Sydney regi ...
New South Wales State Heritage Register
The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...
as a site of State significance
*The Blue Mountains, which is situated on the outskirts of greater western Sydney.
*
Western Sydney Parklands
The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ...
, a major urban parkland which features many attractions such as picnic areas and lookouts, Calmsley Hill Farm,
Blacktown Olympic Park
Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP) (formally known as Blacktown Olympic Park) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australian r ...
Western Sydney Regional Park
Western Sydney Regional Park is a large urban park and a nature reserve situated in Western Sydney, Australia within the suburbs of Horsley Park and Abbotsbury.Fairfield Showground, a multi-purpose indoor-outdoor venue situated in
Prairiewood
Prairiewood is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.
Pra ...
.
* Bents Basin, a protected nature reserve, a state park and a
swimming hole
A swimming hole is a place in a river, stream, creek, spring, or similar natural body of water, which is large enough and deep enough for a person to swim in. Common usage usually refers to fresh, moving water and thus not to oceans or lakes.
...
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
and storage reservoir.
* Lower Prospect Canal Reserve, a heritage-listed former farm and public water supply canal and now bushy corridor and nature reserve stretching 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi).
* Linnwood, Guildford, a heritage-listed former residence, school, local history museum and children's home and now historical society located in Guildford.
*
Auburn Gallipoli Mosque
The Auburn Gallipoli Mosque is an Ottoman-style mosque in Auburn, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. More than 500 worshippers attend every day and around 2,000 worshippers attend the weekly special Friday prayer at the Auburn Gal ...
Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Great ...
.
*
Westfield Parramatta
Westfield Parramatta is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Parramatta in Greater Western Sydney.
Transport
The North Shore & Western, Inner West & Leppington and Cumberland Line offer frequent services to Westfield Parramatta.
Westfi ...
, Parramatta.Westfield Group – Westfield Property Portfolio
* Old Government House, a
historic house museum
A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...
and tourist spot in Parramatta, was included in the
Australian National Heritage List
The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and ...
. Moreover, the house is Australia's oldest surviving public building.
* Prospect Hill, a historically significant ridge in the west, listed on the NSW State Heritage Register.
*
Lake Parramatta
Lake Parramatta is a heritage-listed man-made reservoir and a recreational area located in North Parramatta, City of Parramatta, in the Western Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia. The masonry arch-walled dam across Hunts Creek was ...
, a man-made reservoir, a swimming spot and a recreational area located in
North Parramatta
North Parramatta is a suburb of the City of Parramatta, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 24 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta.
History
The Darug peo ...
waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...
Neoblie
Neoblie is a heritage-listed former residence at Great Western Highway, Mount Druitt, City of Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia. It was built by Charles or James Paull. The property is owned by Blacktown City Council. It was added to the Ne ...
, a heritage-listed former residence at
Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway (also known as Broadway from to , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to , and Church Street through Parramatta) is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurs ...
in
Mount Druitt
Mount Druitt is a suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a large ...
.
* The Manse, a heritage-listed former residence and now
community museum
A community museum is a museum serving as an exhibition and gathering space for specific identity groups or geographic areas.
In contrast to traditional museums, community museums are commonly multidisciplinary, and may simultaneously exhibit the ...
Elizabeth Farm
Elizabeth Farm is an historic estate located at 70 Alice Street, Rosehill, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Elizabeth Farm was the family home of wool pioneer, John and his wife Elizabeth Macarthur. The estate was commenced in ...
, an historic estate located in Rosehill.
* Comfort Lodge, heritage-listed former residence and boarding house in Rosehill.
* Elizabeth Farm Reserve, a heritage-listed public reserve on former farmland also in Rosehill.
*
Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
The Rosehill Gardens Racecourse is located in the Western Sydney suburb of Rosehill, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is operated by the Australian Turf Club. Rosehill holds horse races for thoroughbred gallopers on a grass s ...
Crest Theatre
The Crest Theatre is a historic theatre located in downtown Sacramento, California.
History
It originally opened in 1912 as the Empress Theatre, and at that time was used as a vaudeville palace. It later became the Hippodrome. On September 14, ...
Chipping Norton Lake
Chipping Norton Lake is a artificial lake and regional park located in the Sydney suburb of , New South Wales, Australia. It is a part of the Georges River system. Chipping Norton Lake is managed by City of Liverpool (New South Wales), Liverpool ...
, an important recreational area for Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown Council and Fairfield City Council.
* Georges River National Park
*
Macarthur Square
Macarthur Square is a large indoor/outdoor shopping centre located in the south western Sydney suburb of Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia. The shopping centre was opened by the Lend Lease Corporation and GPT Group on 10 September 1979. T ...
, a shopping complex in Campbelltown.Herron Todd White Property Advisors ''The Month in Review'' , 1 February 2004.
*
Bankstown Reservoir
Bankstown Reservoir is a heritage-protected water tower and a local landmark situated in the suburb of Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney CBD, the reservoir is elevated and was built on reinforced concrete p ...
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...
Western Sydney Parklands
The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ...
Gallery
Image:Wentworthville Presbyterian Church.JPG, Presbyterian Church Wentworthville
Image:ParramattaTownHallfixedperspective.jpg,
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
Town Hall
Image:Prospect Reservoir Sunset.jpg, Prospect Reservoir
Image:Bicentennial_Park_5.JPG, Bicentennial Park at Sydney Olympic Park
Image:Bankstownreservoir.jpg,
Bankstown Reservoir
Bankstown Reservoir is a heritage-protected water tower and a local landmark situated in the suburb of Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney CBD, the reservoir is elevated and was built on reinforced concrete p ...
Laccolith
A laccolith is a body of intrusive rock with a dome-shaped upper surface and a level base, fed by a conduit from below. A laccolith forms when magma (molten rock) rising through the Earth's crust begins to spread out horizontally, prying apar ...
(
Monterey Pine
''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico ( Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the f ...
forest)
File:Blandoaktree.jpg, The Bland Oak tree
File:WilliamLawsonDr.jpg, Entrance to Prospect Reservoir recreational area
File:Zengardengate.jpg, Auburn Botanic Gardens
File:Bentsbasin.jpg, Rocky rapids of Bents Basin
See also
*
Cumberland Plain
The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the P ...
*
Darug people
The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...
Regions of New South Wales
In the state of New South Wales, Australia, there are many areas which are commonly known by regional names. Regions are areas that share similar characteristics. These characteristics may be natural such as the Murray River, the coastline, or the ...
**
Regions of Sydney
The metropolis of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia, is informally subdivided into a number of geographic regions. These areas sometimes, but not always, roughly coincide with official boundaries of suburbs, local government authorities, or ...
*
Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils
Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) (pronounced 'wesrock') is one of the oldest Regional Organisations of Councils or ROCs in NSW, Australia. It was formed in November 1973 to represent the councils of Western Sydney and to a ...
*
Local government areas of New South Wales
This is a list of local government areas (LGAs) in New South Wales, sorted by region. As of there were 128 local government areas in New South Wales, listed below in alphabetical order by region. There is also the Unincorporated Far West Reg ...
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