Penshurst () 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 larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

southern Sydney Southern Sydney is the southern metropolitan area of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Southern Sydney includes the suburbs in the local government areas of Georges River Council and part of Bayside Council (collectively known ...

, in the state of

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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Penshurst is located 17 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 c ...

and is part of the

St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...

area. Penshurst features low to

medium-density housing Medium-density housing is a term used within urban planning and academic literature to refer to a category of residential development that falls between detached suburban housing and large multi-story buildings. There is no singular definition of m ...

. It has a predominantly older population however it is increasingly being populated by a new generation of migrant families who are attracted by its proximity to

Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...

History

Penshurst was named after

Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, within the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The village is situa ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Originally part of the land grant to Robert Townson (1763–1827), the land was acquired in 1830 by John Connell, who left it to his grandsons J.C. and E.P. Laycock. Connell's Bush was subdivided by the Laycocks and the western part sold to

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort Thomas Sutcliffe Mort (23 December 18169 May 1878) was an Australian industrialist who improved the refrigeration of meat. He was renowned for speculation in the local pastoral industry as well as industrial activities such as his Ice-Works in ...

. The early work in the area was timber-cutting and small farming. The railway station opened 17 May 1890. A large portion of Penshurst located south of the railway line is referred to as the MacRae's Estate, as it was once owned by the MacRae family. This particular area is now between Laycock Road and Grove Avenue, and Hillcrest and Railway Parade. The original homestead is still present on Laycock Road, along with a caretakers house for the stables. McRaes Reserve used to have a river running through it and the path of that river is now replaced with an underground rainwater system.

Heritage listings

Penshurst has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 663-665 King Georges Road:

West Maling West Maling is a heritage-listed former residence and now ecclesiastical centre and administration building located at 663-665 King Georges Road, Penshurst, Georges River Council, New South Wales, Australia. Its design is attributed to Richard ...

* Laycock Road:

Penshurst Reservoirs The Penshurst Reservoirs are heritage-listed reservoirs located at Laycock Road, Penshurst in the Georges River Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. They were designed and built during 1895 by the NSW Public Works Depa ...

Commercial area

The main shopping centre is located around Penshurst railway station on Penshurst Street, Bridge Street and The Strand. Commercial developments are also found along Forest Road and King Georges Road. The Penshurst RSL Club is a centre of social activity. The area also contains

The Gamesmen The Gamesmen is an Australian video game, table top games and toy retailer based in Penshurst, New South Wales. It was founded in 1982. It is one of the country's last independent game stores. Retro Video Game Museum The Retro Video Game Museum ...

Store and Museum, dedicated to

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

since 1982.

Transport

Penshurst railway station Penshurst railway station is on the Redhill to Tonbridge Line and is located approximately two miles north of Penshurst in Kent, in the village of Chiddingstone Causeway in England. It is measured from via . History Penshurst station was ope ...

is on the

Illawarra Line The South Coast Railway (also known as the Illawarra Railway) is a commuter and goods railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry in New South Wales, Australia. Beginning at the Illawarra Junction, the line services the Illawarra a ...

of the

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban- suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...

network. It is approximately 27 minutes from Sydney Central via train. The main roads through Penshurst are

King Georges Road King Georges Road is a major arterial road in Sydney, Australia, running through the local government areas of the Georges River Council and City of Canterbury-Bankstown. King Georges Road begins at a junction with the Princes Highway at Bla ...

and Forest Road.

Punchbowl Bus Company Punchbowl Bus Company is an Australian bus company operating services in Sydney Region 5, servicing the Hurstville, Roselands, Bankstown, Strathfield and surrounding suburbs. It also operates bus services in Goulburn and Crookwell in the Souther ...

also operates bus services 941 and 943 in Penshurst.

Places of worship

*St Declan's Roman Catholic Church *St John Anglican Church *St Andrew Presbyterian *Penshurst Uniting Church *

Penshurst Mosque Penshurst Mosque is a mosque in the southern Sydney suburb of Penshurst, in the St George Area. The Penshurst Mosque was acquired in 1986 by the Bosnian community at 445-447 Forest Road, Penshurst. For nearly 30 years the Mosque has been s ...

(Australian Bosnian Islamic Society) *Penshurst Jehovahs Witnesses Temple *Penshurst Assemblies of God Church *Revival Life Centre *Penshurst General Church of New Jerusalem

Schools

George's River Girls High School
*

Marist College Penshurst Marist Catholic College Penshurst (established 1953) is a co-educational high school located in Penshurst, a southern suburb of Sydney, Australia. The school currently caters for approximately 1000 students from Years 7 to 12. Since 2020, the s ...

St Declans Catholic Primary School

Penshurst Public School

Penshurst West Primary School

Hurstville Grove Infants School

Sport and recreation

Penshurst local attractions include an Aquatic Centre, a park and tennis courts. Penshurst RSL Junior Rugby League Club, part of the St. George District Junior Rugby League competition, is a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

club that operates from HV Evatt Park in nearby

Lugarno, New South Wales Lugarno is a suburb in the St George area of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the local government area of the Georges River Council, 23 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. Si ...

. Penshurst has a local cricket club and play in the St George District Cricket Association and have been established for over 50 years. They are based at Olds Park which also includes their soccer club. Penshurst Park an
Hurstville Aquatic Leisure Centre
are located on King Georges Road. Parks:
Penshurst Park

McRaes Park

Gifford Park

Population

Demographics

In the 2016 Census, there were 12,786 people in Penshurst. The most common ancestries were Chinese 20.4%, English 13.2%, Australian 12.1%, Nepalese 5.9% and Irish 5.3%. 47.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 13.8%, Nepal 6.6%, Hong Kong 2.5%, Philippines 2.2% and India 2.2%. 42.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 12.0%, Cantonese 9.3%, Nepali 6.9%, Greek 3.5% and Arabic 2.9%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were No Religion 25.2%, Catholic 23.3%, Anglican 8.4% and Hinduism 8.1%.

Notable residents

Jessica Abbott Jessica Abbott (born 22 July 1985) is an Australian swimming (sport), swimmer. Career Abbott first competed for Australia at the 2000 Oceania Swimming Championships in Christchurch where she won gold in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay along ...

(b. 1985)—Australian swimmer and medalist at 2002 Commonwealth Games * Ruby Olive Boye-Jones (1891–1990)—coastwatcher *

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a R ...

* Tony Currenti * Sue Denison - received the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for services to nursing as a nurse practitioner, and services to the Nundle district * Arthur McGuinness (1878–1970)—schoolteacher and union leader *

Jock Marshall Alan John "Jock" Marshall (17 February 1911 – 20 July 1967) was an Australian writer, academic and ornithologist. Marshall was born in Redfern, New South Wales. Despite having lost an arm in a shooting accident at the age of sixteen, he w ...

(1911–1967)—professor of zoology *

Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...

* Fleur Mellor, Olympic gold medallist, 1956

References

{{Sydney Georges River Council suburbs Suburbs of Sydney Georges River Council