Toongabbie 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 ...
of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, 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 ...
. One of the oldest suburbs in Sydney, Toongabbie is located approximately 30 kilometres west 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
Greater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, and far western sub-regions within Sydney's metropoli ...
region. Toongabbie is split between 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 State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
s of the
City of Parramatta
The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a Local government in Australia, local government area located west of central Sydney in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between the City of Ryde and ...
, the
City of Blacktown
Blacktown City Council is a local government area in Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1906 as the Blacktow ...
and
Cumberland Council
Cumberland Council is the local authority for Cumberland in England. It is a unitary authority, the structural change order names the new Cumberland Council as only a district council. It will operate as a shadow authority until taking up its pow ...
. The suburb is often locally referred to as "Toonie", "Toonga Bay" and "Bayside".
Geography
To the north across Old Windsor Road the next suburb is
Winston Hills
Winston Hills is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Winston Hills is located 28 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government areas of the City of Parr ...
; to the east is
Old Toongabbie
Old Toongabbie is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta.
History
Toongabbie is derived ...
; to the south-east, the next suburb (and railway station) is
Pendle Hill
Pendle Hill is in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill in the Pe ...
; to the south is
Girraween; to the south-west is
Prospect; and to the west the next suburb (and railway station) is
Seven Hills.
History
Toongabbie is derived from an
Aboriginal word, reported as meaning ''place by the water'' or ''the meeting of the waters''. It was named in June 1792 after
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales.
Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 unti ...
asked the local Aboriginal people what they called the place.
European settlement
![ToongabbiePostOffice1901](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/ToongabbiePostOffice1901.jpg)
Toongabbie is noted for being the third mainland settlement (after Sydney and Parramatta) set up after the
European colonisation of Australia began in 1788, although the site of the settlement is actually in the separate suburb of
Old Toongabbie
Old Toongabbie is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta.
History
Toongabbie is derived ...
.
Governor Phillip established a government farm and convict station on 640 acres (259 ha) in 1791 to grow food for the colony. It was supplement to the farms already established at Rose Hill. By December 1791 there were 500 men working at clearing the land. After eleven years, the government farm was closed and the land was given as grants to settlers and convicts who had done their time. The
Battle of Parramatta
The Battle of Parramatta was a battle of the Australian Frontier Wars which occurred in Sydney on March 1797. In the conflict, Aboriginal resistance leader Pemulwuy led a group of Bidjigal warriors, estimated to be at least 100, in an attack on ...
, a major battle of the
Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars
The Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars (1794–1816) were a series of conflicts where British forces, including armed settlers and detachments of the British Army in Australia, fought against Indigenous clans inhabiting the Hawkesbury River region and ...
, occurred in March 1797 where Aboriginal
resistance leader
Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in th ...
led a group of
Bidjigal
The Bidjigal (also spelt Bediagal, Bejigal, Bedegal or Biddegal) people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are modern-day western, north-western, south-eastern, and southern Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...
warriors, estimated to be at least 100, in an attack on a government farm at Toongabbie, challenging the colonists to fight.
In 1860, the railway was extended to Blacktown but it took 20 years before any arrangements were made for trains to stop at Toongabbie. The first school in Toongabbie
Toongabbie Public School opened on 3 May 1886. By April 1911, the school closed due to low enrolments. The school reopened February the next year and has stayed open ever since.
The first post office in the area was opened after many years of campaigning by local residents in 1887 in a private house on Old Windsor Road and this arrangement continued until the 1960s. The first post master was a Mr Birks and he was paid 25 pounds a year to manage the office and bring the mail bag over from Seven Hills on horseback each day. By 1922 the number of residents and businesses had grown sufficiently to support a second office in a weatherboard cottage in Wentworth Avenue, known as Toongabbie West. A purpose built office was opened in the main shopping area in Portico Parade in 1960 becoming Toongabbie Post Office whilst the old Toongabbie Post Office was renamed Old Toongabbie.
The Emu and Prospect Gravel and Road Metal Company Limited opened a private railway line from Toongabbie to Prospect Quarry on 7 April 1902. Following the inability of the Government railway to supply rail wagons, trains stopped running on the line in 1945, however the rails remained in situ until the early 1960s.
[''Sydney's Forgotten Quarry Railways'' - Oakes, John, pp. 9–27, ]
In 1908, what was probably the second scout group formed in Australia, 1st Toongabbie Scout Group was organised by Errol Knox (later knighted for his services to journalism). The first scout hall was a barn on his parents' property, "''Montargis''" in Binalong Road. Later, in 1934, the Group moved to its present location in Bungaree Road on donated land which had also once been part of the Knox landholdings.
The first bank branch in Toongabbie, The
Commonwealth Bank
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services including retail, busines ...
, opened in 1957 although bank agencies had operated in the area.
Toongabbie was connected to electricity in the mid-1920s and to town gas and mains sewerage in the mid-1960s. The biggest increase in population occurred after World War II. A sizable area west of the shopping centre, which had previously been farmland and orchards, was subdivided into a housing development called "The Old Roman Estate"; several streets in the area have Roman names, including Marcia St, Lavinia St, Portia St, Lucretia Rd and Portico Parade.
Since the 1990s, many detached homes have been demolished to make way for apartment blocks, especially around the main commercial area of Toongabbie.
Old Toongabbie
To the east of Binalong Road and Reynolds Street is the small suburb known as
Old Toongabbie
Old Toongabbie is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta.
History
Toongabbie is derived ...
, which includes the sites of the original colonial settlement. In the 1990s, this area was reduced, with the part immediately north of Wentworthville, which is also known unofficially as the locality of Constitution Hill, being reclassified as Wentworthville. In 2006, Constitution Hill officially returned, but only as a small area between Bogalara Road and the Cumberland Highway.
Winston Hills
The more northerly parts, north of Toongabbie Creek, became known as
Winston Hills
Winston Hills is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Winston Hills is located 28 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government areas of the City of Parr ...
in the late 1960s. Originally this was simply the name of a large housing development in the area, but a major section of what was once Old Toongabbie was officially renamed Winston Hills in the 1970s, a trend that has been echoed in many other areas of the western suburbs.
Commercial area
Toongabbie's shopping precinct is located in Aurelia Street to the south of the railway line next to the station. The shopping precinct for many years included a small independent suburban cinema, the "Rocket Theatre",
located opposite the railway line, next to the overhead road bridge. It operated from the late 1950s until the early 1970s, when it was demolished and replaced by a row of shops. A small park by the name of Portico Plaza, directly opposite the train station and next to Toongabbie Hotel. A small shopping centre and supermarket, the Piccadilly Centre, was built in the 1960s in the area bounded by the Toongabbie Hotel and the Catholic Church. This operated until 2004 when the Piccadilly shopping centre and surrounding properties were purchased by a developer to eventually build
Portico Plaza
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
, a shopping centre with a
Woolworths supermarket and over 40 specialty shops. During the 2010s, many stores and takeaways catering to South Asian residents began opening in Toongabbie.
Transport
Toongabbie railway station
Toongabbie railway station is located on the Main Western line, serving the Sydney suburb of Toongabbie. It is served by Sydney Trains T1 Western and T5 Cumberland line services.
History
Toongabbie station opened on 26 April 1880. The sta ...
is on the
T1 Western Line 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. The original unstaffed station opened on 26 April 1880 and was upgraded over the years with additional platforms and loading facilities. In the late 1880s the first rail official was appointed to manage the station, a Miss Amy Arnold. The current station was opened in 1946 and the line was electrified in 1955. The overhead road bridge was opened in 1947 (before that there was a level crossing where the western end of the station platforms are now). The train station was upgraded in the late 2010s to include elevators.
To the west, the next station on the line is
Seven Hills and to the east
Pendle Hill
Pendle Hill is in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill in the Pe ...
.
Toongabbie is also served by private buses with connections to Blacktown via
Blacktown Road
The Prospect Highway is an secondary urban road located in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The highway provides a free alternative link from the tolled M2 Hills and the Westlink M7 motorways in the northeast to the ...
, Seven Hills via the
Prospect Highway
The Prospect Highway is an secondary urban road located in the Western Sydney, western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The highway provides a free alternative link from the Road toll (modern), tolled M2 Hills Motorway, M2 Hills a ...
, and both
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 ...
and
Westmead via the
Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway (also known as Broadway from to , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to , and Church Street through Parramatta) is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, ...
. Toongabbie is also served by the
North-West T-way
The North-West T-way is a continuous series of bus-only lanes and bus roadways between Parramatta, Blacktown and Rouse Hill in Western Sydney. Opened in stages between March and November 2007, the T-way was the second bus rapid transit route to ...
.
Landmarks
Although Toongabbie is relatively densely settled, in recent years programmes of bushland regeneration, and pollution control in local waterways have improved the few and small pockets of vegetation in the suburb. The main waterway is Greystanes or Girraween Creek which flows the length of the suburb from Fox Hills Golf Course in the south to join Blacktown Creek in the north. A one kilometre section of Greystanes Creek has been
channelised as part of a flood-mitigation project. Greystanes Creek often floods heavily during rainy days, sometimes overflowing onto Station Road.
Recreation
There are multiple parks and recreational areas in Toongabbie. Fox Hill Golf Club is located on the western side of the suburb. McCoy Park is located in eastern Toongabbie, next to the border with
Seven Hills, and close to a small row of shops. It contains toilets, a large field, and a playground. It is located by the creek. Toongabbie Sports Club is located along Station Road, containing a bowling club.
Demographics
According to the , 14,337 people lived in Toongabbie. Their median age was 35 years; children aged 0–14 years made up 20.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.6% of the population. 47.9% of people were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth were India 14.5%, Sri Lanka 6.8%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 3.1%, Philippines 2.5% and New Zealand 1.7%.
The most common religions were Catholic 24.0%, Hinduism 22.0%, No Religion 13.8%, Anglican 9.4% and Not Stated 6.9%.
According to the , 13,003 people lived in Toongabbie. Their median age was 35 years; children aged 0–14 years made up 20.1% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 11.6% of the population. 54.8% of people were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth were India 8.9%, Sri Lanka 4.7%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 2.8%, Philippines 2.7% and New Zealand 2.0%.
The most common religions were Catholic 30.1%, Anglican 13.8%, Hinduism 13.5%, No Religion 11.0% and Islam 3.7%.
Notable residents
*
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States.
Beresford's notable films he has directed include ''Br ...
– film director, writer, and producer spent his childhood here
*
Ebanie Bridges
Ebanie Bridges (born 22 September 1986) is an Australian professional boxer. She has held the IBF female bantamweight title since 2022. As an amateur, Bridges competed in the women's bantamweight event at the 2016 and 2017 Australasian Golden ...
– boxer grew up here
*
Karl Filiga
Karlos Filiga ('' né'' McNichol; born 16 October 1988 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for Cronulla-Sutherland in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. Filiga primarily played at o ...
– former professional
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 ...
footballer for the
Cronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...
*
Simon Kennedy – stand-up comedian, actor, radio presenter and voiceover artist spent his childhood here
*
David Klemmer
David Klemmer (born 22 December 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Wests Tigers in the NRL and Australia international level.
He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the N ...
– current
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 ...
player for the
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...
*
Virginia Lette – television presenter and radio announcer spent her childhood here
*
John Larkin – author, winner of the 2012 Victorian Prize for Literature for
The Shadow Girl
''The Shadow Girl'' is a 2011 novel by Australian author John Larkin (author), John Larkin. It was awarded the 2012 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, Victorian Premier's Award for young adult fiction.
References
2011 Australian novel ...
, grew up here
*
Akmal Saleh
Akmal Saleh ( ar, أكمل صالح Coptic: AKMAΛ CAΛΕϨ) (born 21 July 1964) is an Egyptian-Australian comedian and actor. He was born in Egypt and arrived in Sydney with his family in 1975 at the age of 11. He has been performing comedy si ...
– stand-up comedian spent his childhood here
*
Lawrence Thomas - Australian Football Player for most notably Melbourne Victory.
Education
Toongabbie has several schools including Toongabbie Public School, Toongabbie West Public School, Toongabbie Christian College and Metella Road Public School. There are also multiple preschools.
End notes
References
* Sargeant, Doris A. and others, ''The Toongabbie Story'', Toongabbie, 1964 published by the Toongabbie Public School
* ''Toongabbie, The Third Settlement'', John Goode, The third settlement bicentennial committee, 1988, Published in Australia, .
External links
*
Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA
A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright license
A public license or public copyright licenses is a license by which a copyright holder as licensor can grant additional copyright permissions to any and all pers ...
]
{{Sydney_Blacktown suburbs
Suburbs of Sydney
Populated places established in 1792
1792 establishments in Australia
City of Parramatta
Cumberland Council, New South Wales
City of Blacktown