Woolwich 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 ...

on the Lower North Shore of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, 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 ...

. Woolwich is located 11 kilometres north-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 ...

, 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

Municipality of Hunter's Hill The Municipality of Hunter's Hill or Hunter's Hill Council is a local government area on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was first proclaimed in 1861, which includes the suburbs of H ...

. Woolwich sits on the

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

between the

Lane Cove River The Lane Cove River, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river winds through a bushland valley and joins Parramatt ...

and the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...

, jutting out from

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government in Australia, local ...

History

The suburb's name is derived from its namesake

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

, by the banks of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

had been known as the 'Thames of the

Antipodes In geography, the antipode () of any spot on Earth is the point on Earth's surface diametrically opposite to it. A pair of points ''antipodal'' () to each other are situated such that a straight line connecting the two would pass through Ea ...

' and other nearby suburbs were also named after Thames localities of

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

and Henley. The area's Aboriginal name is 'Mookaboola' or 'Moocooboola', which means ''meeting of waters''. An early settler was John Clarke, who bought land here in 1834 and is responsible for naming Clarke's Point. Samuel Onion was another early land owner with an ironmongery business and he gave the suburb its first name 'Onion Point' in 1835. The world's first, union-led green ban was placed on the suburb.

Jack Mundey John Bernard "Jack" Mundey (17 October 1929 – 10 May 2020) was an Australian Communist Party of Australia, communist, Trade union, trade unionist and environmental activist. He came to prominence during the 1970s for leading the New South Wa ...

and his followers in the

Builder's Labourers Federation The Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) was an Australian trade union that existed from 1911 until 1972, and from 1976 until 1986, when it was permanently deregistered in various States and territories of Australia, Australian states by the fed ...

did not support the destruction of local habitat. They eventually won their battle and 'Kelly's Bush' remains today. 61 properties in Woolwich are listed on the NSW State Heritage Register, including the Woolwich Pier Hotel and the Woolwich Wharf. There are also notable heritage items of local significance dotted across the peninsula, including St John’s Anglican Church built in 1908. It has a simple gabled form from the Victorian Gothic revival style. The church became Hunter’s Hill Theatre in more recent years and was sold in 2012 to become a residential house. More recently, the Church underwent a significant renovation b
Arc Architects
and Interior Architecture b
Michiru Higginbotham
completed in 2020.

Population

Demographics

In the of Population and Housing, the population of Woolwich stood at 833 people, 52.5% female and 47.5% male, and with a median age of 52 years. 70.9% of people were born in Australia and 80.6% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 31.9%, No Religion 27.5% and Anglican 17.8%. Woolwich's median weekly household income was $2,931, compared with $1,746 in Australia. According to the Australian Taxation Office statistics for the financial year of 2016–2017, the postcode of 2110 (

) had an average taxable income of $156,069 making it the 10th wealthiest suburb in Australia. The most common response for occupations was Professionals with 40.7% of all responses. 68.6% of the suburb's occupied private dwellings were family households.

Politics

Woolwich has been part of the federal

Division of Bennelong The Division of Bennelong is an Electorates of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named after Benn ...

since 2024. This seat was won by Jerome Laxale of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

at the 2025 Federal Election. Prior to that, Woolwich was in the federal

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

. The former

Treasurer of Australia The Treasurer of Australia, also known as the Federal Treasurer or more simply the Treasurer, is the Federal Executive Council (Australia), minister of state of the Australia, Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing government revenu ...

Joe Hockey Joseph Benedict Hockey (born 2 August 1965) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament for Division of North Sydney, North Sydney from 1996 Australian federal election, 1996 until 2015. He was the Treasurer ...

, held this seat from the 1996 federal election to 2015. For NSW state elections, Woolwich is in the

Electoral district of Lane Cove Lane Cove is an New South Wales Legislative Assembly electoral districts, electoral district of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Anthony Roberts of th ...

. As of 2003 this seat is held by Liberal MP

Anthony Roberts Anthony John Roberts (born 19 April 1970) is an Australian politician. Roberts is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Lane Cove for the Liberal Party since 2003. He is the longest-serving Member of the Legislativ ...

, who was last re-elected in the 2007 state election except for the March 2011 NSW State election.

Gallery

File:Woolwich Hotel Sydney.JPG, Woolwich Pier Hotel File:Woolwich Ferry Wharf in 2024.jpg, Woolwich ferry wharf provides access to the Cockatoo Island ferry services which run services between

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping terminal, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern edge of the ...

and Cockatoo Island. File:WoolwichLCRiverfromLonguevilleWharf.JPG, View from Longueville Wharf File:Woolwich Docks.JPG, Woolwich Docks File:Pontoon at Woolwich Baths, NSW - Sunrise May 2020.jpg, Woolwich Baths

Schools

Marist Sisters' College, Woolwich and Woolwich Public School. File:Woolwich Public School.JPG , Woolwich Public School File:MaristSistersCollegeWoolwichfromLonguevilleWharf.JPG, Marist Sisters' College, Woolwich from Longueville Wharf

References

External links

*
Discover Hunters Hill
{{Geography of Parramatta River Suburbs of Sydney Municipality of Hunter's Hill Lane Cove River