Menai is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

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 ...

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

Menai is named after Menai Bridge, a town on the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The area now known as Menai was originally called Bangor in 1895 by the land's owner, a farmer named Owen Jones, after his birthplace Bangor in Wales. To avoid confusion with Bangor in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, the Postmaster General's Office changed the suburb name to Menai in 1910. Menai Bridge in Wales lies opposite Bangor on the Menai Strait. When Menai expanded, the eastern section became Bangor again. The suburb has been affected by bushfires on several occasions, including the 1994 Eastern seaboard fires and

2017–18 Australian bushfire season The bushfire season of the summer of 2017–18, was expected to have above normal bushfire risks with an elevated fire risk for the most of eastern and south Australian coastal areas. Australia had experienced its warmest winter on record and the ...

Population

According to the of Population, there were 10,419 people in Menai. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.3% of the population. * 78.6% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 2.5%, China 1.4%, South Africa 1.2%, New Zealand 1.1% and North Macedonia 0.9%. * 80.4% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 2.5%, Arabic 2.0%, Mandarin 1.8%, Macedonian 1.8% and Cantonese 1.1%. * The most common responses for religion were Catholic 30.7%, No Religion 25.0%, Anglican 16.5% and Eastern Orthodox 7.4%.

Housing

Menai is a newer suburb, having been developed only since the early 1980s, and as such, nearly all the homes are new 4-bedders with dual bathrooms and double-garages and mostly owner occupied. In fact, the region has one of the highest rates of home ownership in Australia, at over 81%.

Schools

Menai's schools include Menai Primary -6 Aquinas College atholic, 7-12and Holy Family Primary School atholic, K-6 Menai High School -12is not in Menai, but just outside in Illawong.

Sports and Recreation

The Menai Hawks FC are the local representative football club competing in the Sutherland Shire Football Association. Image:Menai community 2.JPG, Menai Community Centre Image:Menai community 3.JPG, Menai Community Buildings

References

{{Sydney Sutherland suburbs Suburbs of Sydney Sutherland Shire