Sylvania is a suburb in

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 ...

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, south of the Sydney central business district in the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Southern Sydney, southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire comprises an area of and as at the had an estimated pop ...

. It is well known for its large waterfront properties and restaurants. Sylvania is mostly residential but also contains areas of native bushland and some commercial developments on 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 and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hig ...

and Port Hacking Road.

Sylvania Heights Sylvania is a suburb in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire. It is well known for its large waterfront properties and restaurants. Sylvania is mostly residential ...

is a locality in the western part of the suburb.

Sylvania Waters Sylvania Waters is a suburb in southern Sydney located in the state of New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Sutherland Shire. History Politician Thomas Holt (1811–1888 ...

and Kangaroo Point share the same postcode (2224).

History

The traditional owners of Sylvania are the

Dharawal 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, ...

Aboriginal people and their archaeological heritage is evident in a number of registered middens, burial and art sites in rock shelters on the Georges River. After European settlement, this land was acquired by John Connell Laycock as a Crown grant. Thomas Holt (after whom Holt Road is named), a prominent landowner, financier and politician, acquired it a few years later as part of the Holt-Sutherland Estate, some . The name of the suburb relates to its original wooded vegetation. The word "Sylvania" comes from the Latin word '' sylvan'' or '' sylva'' which means "forest land". The native vegetation of the suburb is now fast disappearing, as a result of increased development. Thomas Holt built Sutherland House on the foreshore of Gwawley Bay in 1818, on the eastern side of Sylvania. He established the Sutherland Estate Company in 1881 and a village grew here, with a post office opening in 1883. The school opened in 1884 but closed in 1891 and was not reopened until 1925. Sylvania Heights Public School opened in 1955. 'Sutherland House' no longer stands (only its gate posts survive), but there are a number of heritage-listed buildings in the suburb. They include the original St Mark's timber church (now a Sylvania Public School class room) timber residence in Evelyn Street associated with the Holt Estate; 'Glenn Robin', built by William Glenn Wade on land he acquired in 1949 and completed in 1954; and 'Green Gables' built by Sidney and Clarisse Bayer between 1946 and 1952 on Kangaroo Point.* In 1913 the area bounded by Florida Street, Harrow Street, Mowbray Street and Illawarra Road (now the Princes Highway) was known as the Swastika Estate. Much of the land of Sylvania Waters was 'reclaimed' from Gwawley Bay, effectively destroying the highly integrated mangrove flora of the bay. Sylvania Waters Estate was developed by L.J.Hooker in the 1960s; land offered had water frontages with boating facilities. Streets were named after Australian rivers to emphasise the association with water, such as Shoalhaven, Tweed, Murrumbidgee, Hawkesbury and Barwon. The suburb has been identified as an area that is particularly vulnerable to inundation, should predictions of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in a broader sense also includes ...

and rising sea levels prove correct.

Commercial areas

Southgate Shopping Centre is located on the corner of the Princes Highway and Port Hacking Road. The shopping centre adjoins The Crest Hotel Sylvania and a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...

restaurant. A small group of shops and restaurants is located on

near the foot of Tom Uglys Bridge. Another group of shops known as Sylvania Heights Plaza is located further west along the Princes Highway at Sylvania Heights.

Transport

The

crosses the

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_ ...

over the Tom Uglys Bridge at Horse Rock Point and links Sylvania north to Blakehurst, in the

St George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

area. The suburb is serviced by buses operated by the French-owned

Transdev NSW Transdev NSW is a bus operator in the northern, southern and western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, operating on behalf of Transport for NSW. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Australasia. It is a different subsidiary to Transdev John Holland, whi ...

company.

Schools

* Sylvania Heights Public School * Sylvania High School *Sylvania Public School

Churches

*Our Lady of the Way Catholic Church *St Michael's Orthodox Church *Sylvania Anglican Church *Sylvania Uniting Church Image:Sylvania Catholic Church.JPG, Our Lady of the Way Catholic Church File:30 Belgrave Esplanade, Sylvania, New South Wales (2010-07-25).jpg, House, Belgrave Esplanade

Population

According to the 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of Population, there were 10,479 people usually resident in Sylvania. 72.1% stated they were Australian-born. 2.8% were born in England, 3.4% in China (excluding Taiwan), 1.4% in New Zealand and 1.6% in Greece. English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 70.2% of residents and the most common other languages spoken were Greek 6.8%, Arabic 2.4% and Cantonese 2.3%. The most common responses for religion were

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

26.9%, Anglican 18.5%, No Religion 18.8%, Orthodox 12.9% and Uniting Church 4.1%.

Notable residents

* Edward Duyker, historian and author * Jim Russell, cartoonist *

Dudley Simpson Dudley George Simpson (4 October 1922 – 4 November 2017) was an Australian composer and conductor. He was the Principal Conductor of the Royal Opera House orchestra for three years and worked as a composer on British television. He worked on ...

, composer and conductor *

Glenn Stevens Glenn Robert Stevens (born 23 January 1958) is an Australian economist who was the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia from 2006 to 2016. Early life and education Stevens was born in Sydney in 1958. He graduated from the University ...

, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia *

Angus Young Angus McKinnon Young (born 31 March 1955) is an Australian musician, best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, songwriter, and only remaining original member of the hard rock band AC/DC. He is known for his energetic performances, school ...

, AC/DC Guitarist *

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player and as of recently is working for Stan Sports. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in ...

, Rugby League/Rugby Union Player *

Reni Maitua Reni Maitua (born 11 June 1982) is a former professional rugby league footballer. An Australian and Samoan International representative player, he previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, with whom he won the 2004 NRL Premiers ...

, Rugby League Footballer * Chris Kalantzis, former soccer player