Loftus is a suburb, in

southern Sydney Southern Sydney, also commonly referred to as the Southern suburbs, is the southern metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Southern Sydney is a title for the regions and neighbourhoods which fall dire ...

, in the state of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Loftus is 29 kilometres south of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...

, in the

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

of the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

History

Loftus was named after Lord Augustus William Frederick Spencer Loftus, governor of New South Wales between 1878 and 1885. The Illawarra railway line to Sutherland was completed in 1885. The next station south was Loftus Junction, which opened on 9 March 1886. The name was changed to Loftus ten years later and in 1979 the station moved to the present site. The

Sydney Tramway Museum The Sydney Tramway Museum, operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway Co-operative Society, is Australia's oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located at Loftus in the southern suburbs of Sydney. History ...

at Loftus (a non-profit community organisation run entirely by volunteers) was created in 1950, in a large tram yard shed beside the rail tracks that ran across the Princes Highway into the Royal National Park. During the latter years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

this had been an army camp site, with the national park used as a training ground. The public school opened in January 1953. The official post office opened in July 1953 but closed in 1980.

Heritage listings

Loftus has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Illawarra railway:

Loftus Junction railway signal box The Loftus Junction railway signal box is a heritage-listed disused railway signal box on the Illawarra line at Loftus in the Sutherland Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built during 1886. The property is own ...

Demographics

In the 2021 Census, there were 4,190 people in Loftus. 86.2% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 3.1%. 92.7% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 39.0%, Catholic 28.1% and Anglican 15.9%.

Geography

Loftus is a residential suburb with a bushland atmosphere, adjacent to the

Royal National Park The Royal National Park is a state park, protected national park that is located in the Sutherland Shire local government area in Southern Sydney and in the City of Wollongong local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Au ...

that flanks Sydney's south-eastern boundary. The western border is formed by Loftus and Fahy Creeks. Prince Edward Park and Woronora Cemetery form the northern border.

Transport

The

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

runs along the eastern border. Loftus railway station is on the

Illawarra railway line The South Coast Railway (also known as the Illawarra railway or the South Coast line) is a Commuter rail, passenger and Rail freight transport, freight railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry, New South Wales, Bomaderry in New So ...

and is part of the

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the brand name and operator of Railways in Sydney, suburban and intercity train services in and around Greater Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The metropolitan part of the network is a hybrid urban rail, urban-suburban r ...

network and serves as an interchange for

U-Go Mobility U-Go Mobility is a bus company in Sydney, Australia, that operates services in Region 10, which serves South Western Sydney, and Sutherland Shire. It is a 50:50 joint venture between UGL and Go-Ahead Group. History On 22 December 2022, U-Go Mo ...

bus services to the area. Loftus is also home to the

(also known as the South Pacific Electric Railway), which operates the Royal National Park branch line that was constructed in 1886 and closed to suburban trains in June 1991. The service provided by the museum is a most popular means of access to the Royal National Park. The line runs from the museum to

Royal National Park railway station Royal National Park railway station is located in Audley, New South Wales and services travellers to the Royal National Park. It is the terminus of the Royal National Park railway line, formerly part of the Sydney commuter rail network and n ...

Schools

Loftus Public School is located in National Avenue. The Southern Sydney Institute of

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...

, Loftus Campus and the University of Wollongong, Loftus Campus are located next to the railway station. Camp Wonawong is a youth camp located beside Loftus Creek.

Services

Loftus Rural Fire Service
is situated opposite Loftus train station and protects the bush interface of Loftus, Yarrawarrah, Sutherland, Jannali, Como and the Royal National Park.

Sport and recreation

Loftus has various social and sporting clubs which include: *Loftus Yarrawarrah Rovers Football Club *Loftus Zircons Netball Club *1st Loftus Scouts *West Shire Combined Venturer Unit * Loftus Underground Organisation (LUGOS) * Loftus Bandits * Pit Masters *Grommies *Sutherland Loftus United (Rugby League)

Notable residents

Adam Hills Adam Christopher Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. In Australia, he hosted the music quiz show '' Spicks and Specks'' from 2005 to 2011, and again in 2021 onwards, and the talk show '' Adam Hi ...

, comedian

References

{{Sydney Sutherland suburbs Suburbs of Sydney Sutherland Shire