Russell Lea is a small suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, 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. Russell Lea is located 8 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the

City of Canada Bay The City of Canada Bay is a local government area in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The city was formed on 1 December 2000, following the merger of Concord and Drummoyne councils. The city covers an area of and as at the ...

. Russell Lea sits on the western shore of

Iron Cove Iron Cove is a bay on the Parramatta River, in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately due west of Sydney's central business district. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Birchgrove, Balmai ...

, on the

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 ...

. It is a quiet tree-lined suburb with large waterfront homes as well as more traditional

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 ...

homes.

History

Russell Lea takes its name from one of its original settlers, Russell Barton, who was a pastoralist, mine owner and politician. He developed the "Russell Lea Estate" on a grant. Russell Lea was once encompassed in the Five Dock Farm estate of surgeon John Harris. In 1790 this outspoken Irishman arrived in the infant colony, for which he displayed an instant dislike. However his rapid acquisition of Crown land may have served to change his tune. After being appointed court magistrate in 1794, Harris received in the

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 ...

region which now bears the name

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 ...

. Subsequent to this he received land at Ultimo and South Creek, earning him the distinction of being one of the principal landholders in New South Wales. It was in 1806 that Harris added Five Dock Farm to his holdings. All land between Iron Cove and Hen and Chicken Bay, totalling some , was granted to Harris from the Crown. Harris was called to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for the trial of Governor William Bligh soon after. Siding with the rebellious

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying th ...

, Harris found it necessary to resign his military post. At age 60 he returned to Sydney, accompanied by his 24-year-old bride Eliza. Two years prior to the surgeon's death in 1838, Harris sold Five Dock Farm to the prominent Sydney auctioneer Mr Samuel Lyons. Although a modest residence stood on Harris' land, it appears he preferred to reside at his Ultimo Place mansion or Shanes Park, South Creek. It was at the latter that the surgeon died in 1838. Aged 84, the widowed Harris had achieved a prominent public profile, leaving an estate worth an estimated 150,000 pounds. Samuel Lyons proceeded to subdivide Five Dock Farm into substantial estates. This made way for the grand mansions, some of which spawned suburbs of their own. These included Drummoyne House, Abbotsford, and Barton Russell's grand residence Russell Lea. Russell Barton was born in

Penge Penge () is a suburb of South East London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross. History Penge was once a small hamlet, which was recorded under the name Pence ...

near London in 1830. As a young man he accompanied his family to the colony, settling a station in the then remote state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. In 1855 he married Miss J. M. Davie, and within a decade acquired two stations on the Barwon River. Barton could turn his hand to any task. In addition to stock handling, farming, horse breaking and shepherding, Barton proved himself adequate as a butcher, blacksmith, builder, carpenter, contractor and stonemason. In 1874 he invested in the

Cobar Cobar is a town in central western New South Wales, Australia whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier H ...

mine, eventually rising to serve as its managing director. Displaying much skill in this industry, Barton was soon elected to no less than 11 mining company boards. From 1880 to 1886 Barton served as parliamentary member for Bourke. It was during this time he erected the imposing Victorian Italianate mansion Russell Lea, whose estate occupied the suburb which bears its name. Transportation improvements in the late nineteenth century occasioned residential development in the Drummoyne municipality. By 1874 a regular horse bus serviced the local residents, and in 1881 the original Gladesville Bridge was completed. Not only did this connect the Drummoyne region with the inner Sydney suburbs, it served as the sole roadway between

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...

and the lower Parramatta River environs until the opening of the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

in 1932. The Gladesville Bridge was followed closely by the

Iron Cove Bridge The Iron Cove Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge that carries Victoria Road (A40) across Iron Cove, linking the Sydney suburbs of Drummoyne to Rozelle in the City of Canada Bay local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Curren ...

, spanning Iron Cove in 1882. In 1890, a tramway was connected between Five Dock and

Leichhardt Leichhardt may refer to: * Division of Leichhardt, electoral District for the Australian House of Representatives * Leichhardt Highway, a highway of Queensland, Australia * Leichhardt Way, an Australian road route * Leichhardt, New South Wales, inn ...

. By 1902, when the local government bodies of Five Dock and Drummoyne were merged into the Borough of Drummoyne, the regional population stood at 2,800. Russell Barton's Russell Lea estate survived intact until 1913, when it was subdivided and auctioned by Hardie and Gorman.

Landmarks

*Russell Lea Infants School is one of the oldest landmarks in the area. *Cambell park, a large soccer field home to Abbotsford Juniors Football Club *The main roads running through Russell Lea are Lyons Road and Hampden Road.

Population

In the , Russell Lea has a population of 5,001 persons, of whom 2,621 (52.4%) were female and 2,380 (47.6%) were male.

References

External links

* {{Geography of Parramatta River Suburbs of Sydney City of Canada Bay