Brighton-Le-Sands, New South Wales
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Brighton Le Sands (formerly Brighton-le-Sands and also known simply as Brighton or Brighton Beach), 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 ...
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 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 ...
. Brighton Le Sands is located 13 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 ...
, on the western shore of
Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
. Brighton Le Sands is 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 State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
of the
Bayside Council Bayside Council is a local government in New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Sydney, around part of Botany Bay, to south of the CBD. It includes suburbs of South Sydney and the St George area separated by the Cooks River. It compris ...
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.
Lady Robinsons Beach Lady Robinsons Beach is the stretch of beach between the mouth of the Cooks River and the mouth of Georges River on the western shore of Botany Bay in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Originally known as ''Seven Mile Beach'', it was renamed ...
and Cook Park run along the eastern border of Brighton Le Sands, on
Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
. The beach is also commonly referred to as Brighton Beach and is known for its
off-white Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme or yellow that looks like brown. In color theo ...
sand. Brighton Le Sands features a mixture of low density houses, medium density flats, high rise apartments, retail, cafés and restaurants. The Grand Parade runs along the foreshore and intersects with Bay Street, at the commercial centre. The higher density developments are located along these roads.


History

The area between the
Cooks River The Cooks River, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a tributary of Botany Bay, located in south-eastern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The course of the long urban waterway has been altered to accommodate various deve ...
and
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, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...
was originally known as Seven Mile Beach. It was changed to
Lady Robinsons Beach Lady Robinsons Beach is the stretch of beach between the mouth of the Cooks River and the mouth of Georges River on the western shore of Botany Bay in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Originally known as ''Seven Mile Beach'', it was renamed ...
in 1874 to honour Governor Sir Hercules Robinson's wife. Cook Park, established in about 1882, is a strip of reserve land 30 metres inland from the high water mark of the sea. The park is named after Samuel Cook who advocated it as a public pleasure area. The name Seven Mile Beach was last used in the
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
on 28 February 1879, whilst the first use of the name Lady Robinson's Beach by the same newspaper was on 1 June 1877. New Brighton was the name given to his new housing estate by tramway pioneer Thomas Saywell, who had plans to emulate the famous seaside resort
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
in
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 ...
. Land acquisitions began in the 1840s but no significant development of Brighton Le Sands occurred until the railway opened to Hurstville, via Rockdale in 1884. In 1885 Thomas Saywell constructed a tramway from Rockdale to Lady Robinsons Beach, along Bay Street. He was given a 30-year lease on the line. Thomas Saywell also financed and built the public swimming baths, a substantial picnic area called the Shady Nook Recreational Park (1898-1918), a race course and the Brighton Hotel, on the current Novotel site. The developments were a huge success. To avoid confusion with the English Brighton, the district became known as Brighton-le-Sands. From 1900, the tramway was electrified. The tramway passed into government ownership in 1914. The line was closed in September 1949, as the Sydney tramway system was slowly wound down. A bus route replaced the tram route. Brighton Baths attracted a large number of Sydney's weekend holidaymakers. The racecourse operated from about 1897 to 1911. The baths were also popular with punters who could cool off after a stressful day at the races. Brighton Hotel was stripped of its licence in 1892 due to violence and reckless behaviour that found expression in the hotel and its surrounding area. The depression of the 1890s meant that many unemployed workers lived in the district and frequented the hotel, leading to a crisis for the area. The area several kilometres north of the hotel was used during the depression as one of many shanty sites that spread across Sydney, especially in the 1930s. Thomas Saywell offered the use of the hotel to
The Scots College , motto_translation = O that we may be worthy of our forefathers , location = Bellevue Hill, Eastern Suburbs, Sydney , country = Australia , type = Independent single-sex primary ...
.
Albert Aspinall Albert Wood Aspinall (27 December 1839 – 15 December 1903) was an Australian stonemason and builder. He was an expert in constructing round towers and buildings. Early life Aspinall was born in Exley Bank Bottom, Southowram, West Riding of ...
, brother of the first Principal,
Arthur Ashworth Aspinall The Reverend Arthur "Ashworth" Aspinall (23 June 1846 – 9 June 1929) was a co-founder and the first Principal of The Scots College, Bellevue Hill, Sydney, Australia. He was a Congregational and Presbyterian Minister, and a joint founder of the ...
, transformed the ground floor of the building to classrooms and the hotel rooms into the dormitory. In 1895 the principal of the college,
Arthur Aspinall The Reverend Arthur "Ashworth" Aspinall (23 June 1846 – 9 June 1929) was a co-founder and the first Principal of The Scots College, Bellevue Hill, Sydney, Australia. He was a Congregational and Presbyterian Minister, and a joint founder of the ...
, decided to transfer The Scots College to Bellevue Hill. This was to avoid both the proximity of the local racecourse and the distraction the nearby beach was having on his students. By 1900 there were pleasure grounds south of Bay Street, as well as a pony racetrack. Development of the land south of Bay Street for housing began before
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
ost Office Directories Extensive development of the northern area of the suburb occurred after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, in the late 1920s and again in the 1950s. For the first 20 years of the 20th century, a small boat ran a ferry service around Botany Bay, with an important stop at Brighton Le Sands. In 1966 a freak storm hit the coastline, destroying the baths and much of the beach. The expansion of Sydney Airport and Port Botany involved dredging sand from the bay and disrupted sedimentary sand flows. This caused serious damage to the area. Beach restoration projects have attempted to restore the damage done to the coastline in recent years.


Commercial area

The main shopping precinct is located along Bay Street and extends to the foreshore on The Grand Parade and down a short length of Moate Avenue. The landmark
Novotel Novotel is a French midscale hotel brand owned by Accor. Created in 1967 in France, the company grew into what became the Accor group in 1983, and Novotel remained a pillar brand of Accor's multi-brand strategy. Novotel manages 559 hotels in 65 ...
Hotel Brighton Beach, located on north-western corner of the intersection of Bay Street and The Grand Parade, also contains a significant amount of commercial and retail space. Many cafés and restaurants are located along The Grand Parade and Bay Street, covering many types of cuisine: Australian, Greek, French, European, Italian, Thai and Japanese.
Take-away A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...
food shops are also abundant, particularly for seafood, chicken, cakes and gelato. Shops and services include supermarket, banks, post office, clothing, jewellery, hair dressers, doctors and fishing supplies. The appearance of a Coles supermarket in Moate Avenue in the late 1990s decimated some of the smaller specialty shops. It also competed with the existing
Flemings The Flemish or Flemings ( nl, Vlamingen ) are a Germanic ethnic group native to Flanders, Belgium, who speak Dutch. Flemish people make up the majority of Belgians, at about 60%. "''Flemish''" was historically a geographical term, as all inha ...
supermarket for two years before the latter closed and in 2005 the local family-run fruit store also folded. The supermarket is part of a high-rise residential development and the incorporation of a car park was a requirement for Coles to be allowed to trade from this site. Developments to the area are planned as part of a multimillion-dollar upgrade called "Destinations Rockdale".


Transport

Brighton Le Sands has very little public transport.
Transdev John Holland Transdev John Holland Buses is a bus operator in Sydney, Australia. A joint venture between Transdev and John Holland, it operates services in Sydney Bus Region 9 in the Eastern Suburbs under contract to Transport for NSW. It is a separate comp ...
provides the suburb with a single hourly bus that runs from Sydney's CBD to
Westfield Miranda Westfield Miranda (previously known as Miranda Fair) is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Miranda in Sutherland Shire of Sydney. Transport The Cronulla line offers frequent services to Miranda Station located outside the centre. We ...
. There is also a two kilometre bus service available to link with
Rockdale railway station Rockdale railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Illawarra line, serving the Sydney suburb of Rockdale in Bayside Council. It is served by Sydney Trains T4 line services. It was added to the New South Wales State He ...
, which forces a lot of residents to catch a lengthy bus ride to Rockdale station. Routes 303 runs from Sans Souci to Randwick via Brighton-le-Sands and
Mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
.
Transit Systems Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group. History ...
route 478 runs from Westfield Miranda to Rockdale railway station via Ramsgate and Brighton Le Sands. Route 479 runs from
Rockdale Plaza Rockdale Plaza is a shopping centre located in the suburb of Rockdale in the St George area of Sydney. Transport The Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line offer frequent services to Rockdale station. Rockdale Plaza has bus connections to ...
via Rockdale railway station to
Kyeemagh Kyeemagh ( ) is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 12 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, on the western shore of Botany Bay. Kyeemagh is in the local government area of the Ba ...
and Brighton-Le-Sands. Historically, starting in 1903, a weekend ferry service connected Brighton-le-Sands, Kurnell, Sans Souci, and La Perouse.


Landmarks

* Lady Robinsons Beach, Brighton Le Sands Baths * Cook Park, White Oak Reserve, CA Redmond Field Memorial Playing Fields, Tony Baker Reserve, Bicentennial Park East * Bayside Church (Australian Christian Churches), church plant of
Shirelive Church Horizon Church, founded as Sutherland AOG, and formerly more recently Shirelive, is a Pentecostal Christian church affiliated with Australian Christian Churches, the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God denomination. The church's main cam ...
* St Thomas More Catholic Church, St Andrews Uniting Church, St Marks Anglican Church * Brighton Le Sands Primary School * Brighton Le Sands Library (Bayside Library)


Culture


Entertainment

Brighton Le Sands is a popular location for multicultural cuisine and night-time entertainment. The Novotel Hotel has a bar and buffet restaurant. Brighton Le Sands RSL is located opposite in Bay Street. The area has been dubbed 'Little Greece by the Bay' for its many Greek cafés, restaurants and businesses. Restaurants include Mezes, Gecko, Kamari, Eataly le Sands, Café Neptune, Atlantis on the Bay Restaurant, Souvlaki Bar, Botany Bay Seafood, Petar's Seafood, Piccolo's Italian Restaurant, Nakhon Thai, EuroBay, Le Sands Cafe, Bondi Pizza, Hurricanes, Little Sicily and La Rousse French. There is also a very talented family who are experts in the field of magic and perform on the streets at night. The Kiosk, Le Sands Pavilion, Hurricanes Grill and Hogs Breath are on the beach side of The Grand Parade, overlooking the sand and the boardwalk. It was the centre of celebrations after Greece won the Euro 2004 Football (soccer) Cup. Bay Street was also closed at night and a large screen erected during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, however this proved less popular and wasn't repeated for future sporting events.


Attractions

Brighton Le Sands is the site of the Bicentennial Monument which stands in Cook Park, on the Botany Bay foreshore. It commemorates the arrival of the
First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
in Botany Bay in 1788. The Greek Australian Sports Hall of Fame was established to commemorate the
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
. It was originally housed in the old Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol building on The Grande Parade close to the intersection of Bay Street, but was moved further south, when this building was demolished in 2008. A statue of 1896 Greek gold medallist
Spyros Louis Spyridon Louis ( el, Σπυρίδων Λούης , sometimes transliterated ''Spiridon Loues''; 12 January 1873 – 26 March 1940), commonly known as Spyros Louis (Σπύρος Λούης), was a Greeks, Greek water carrier who won the first mod ...
also stands nearby in Cook Park. A shared paved walkway and cycleway runs the length of Cook Park from Kyeemagh to Sandringham (approximately 7 kilometres) and is popular with both walkers, joggers and cyclists especially on weekends. For cyclists it provides access to the Homebush Bay Cycle route (North from Kyeemagh), and the Cronulla to Kurnell cycleway via the Captain Cook Bridge (South), and also forms part of the Sydney Coastal Walk. Every New Year's Eve,
Bayside Council Bayside Council is a local government in New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Sydney, around part of Botany Bay, to south of the CBD. It includes suburbs of South Sydney and the St George area separated by the Cooks River. It compris ...
holds a popular family fireworks display over the water at 9pm which attracts tens of thousands of visitors to Brighton Beach.


Notable residents

*
Michael Dransfield Michael Dransfield (12 September 1948 – 20 April 1973) was an Australian poet active in the 1960s and early 1970s who wrote close to 1,000 poems.
, poet, grew up in Brighton Le Sands *
June Salter June Marie Salter AM (22 June 193215 September 2001) was an Australian actress and author prominent in theatre and television, best known for her character roles. Biography June Salter was born in Bexley, New South Wales, the youngest of six ...
, actress, grew up in Brighton Le Sands and was educated at the local primary school * Albert Landa, pianist, grew up in Brighton Le Sands and was educated at the local primary school


Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 8,325 residents in Brighton Le Sands. 49.7% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were Greece 4.8%, Egypt 2.9%, China 1.9%, New Zealand 1.8% and Italy 1.5%. 42.4% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 13.8%, Arabic 6.9%, Spanish 4.0%, Italian 2.5% and Macedonian 2.2%. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 24.8%, Eastern Orthodox 20.6% and No Religion 15.0%. Brighton Le Sands attracts many young and single residents to the suburb with its beach and entertainment lifestyle. It is known for its large
Greek-Australian Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greeks, Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had ...
community which is reflected in many of the businesses.


Politics

Brighton Le Sands is in Ward 5 of 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 ...
of the
City of Rockdale The City of Rockdale was a local government area in southern and St George regions of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The city centre was located south of the Sydney central business district, on the western shores of Botan ...
, the
federal government 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-governin ...
division of Barton and
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
Electoral district of Rockdale Rockdale is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. Suburbs within the electoral district include Arncliffe, Banksia, Bardwell Park, Bardwell Valley, Beverley Park, Bexley, Bexley Nort ...
. The local government area City of Rockdale has merged with City of Botany Bay to become "Bayside".


Storm damage

Several times the bridge over Muddy Creek at Bestic Street has flooded to the extent of making it impassable, or even washing the bridge away. Similar problems arose for the bridge over the creek at Bay Street. The floods were particularly bad when water cascading down the hills on the two streets coincided with a high tide in the creek. Wind storms would deposit sand on The Grand Parade and The Esplanade making them impassable and eroding the sand dunes. Periodically wave damage would erode the beach. The worst damage to the beach occurred on 13 June 1966 (''Sydney Morning Herald'', 15 June 1966).


Brighton Le Sands Primary School

The initial school building, opened in 1917, was located on the west side of Crawford Road between Kurnell Street and Kings Road. As the population of the suburb increased land was resumed further south on Crawford Road, between Kings Road and O'Neill Street, on which two buildings were constructed in the 1930s: an infants' school to cater for the first three years of schooling and the main upper primary school.


Medical services

The Pacific Private Hospital was located initially on The Esplanade. By 1930 the hospital had relocated to Queens Road. Bigger facilities were built on the south east corner of the intersection of Bay Street and West Botany Street by 1936. A private
convalescent hospital Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a source of ...
, ''East Lynn'' run by Matron Maudie Shaw, opened at 13 Henson Street in the mid-1930s soon after the extension of Henson Street past Reading Road. Matron Shaw's husband was in the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
. Many of the patients were overseas sailors recuperating from illness or accidents. These sailors were waiting until they were well enough to return home or to rejoin their ships when the ships were next in port. By the 1950s the number of sailors needing convalescence had reduced greatly. The hospital now catered to a wider range of needs within the local population. Matron Shaw retired in the 1960s. By 1925 a doctors surgery had been opened on the south west corner of the intersection of Crawford Road with Bay Street. Adelaide Croucher,
chiropodist Podiatry () or podiatric medicine () is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and leg. A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), or a podiatrist, is a healthcare ...
, conducted a business in her own home from the mid-1940s. Initially this was at 17 Francis Avenue, then later from 6 Carinya Avenue. She also visited many clients in their own homes. On Wednesdays she worked at the local hairdressing salon on Bay Street. As people sat under the hairdryer they would have their feet attended to as well.


See also

* History of Brighton Le Sands, New South Wales


References


External links


Greek Immigration to Australia

Spokey Blokeys (podcast) - Brighton Le Sands (Episode 7)
{{Coord, -33.959, 151.157, format=dms, type:city_region:AU-NSW, display=title Suburbs of Sydney Botany Bay Bayside Council