Claymore 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 separ ...

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 Mounta ...

, 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 country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Claymore is located 54 kilometres south-west of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main 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 city centre is often referr ...

, 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 City of Campbelltown and is part of the Macarthur region. The majority of housing in Claymore is owned by

Housing NSW Housing NSW, formerly the Housing Commission of New South Wales and before that the New South Wales Housing Board, was an agency of the Department of Communities and Justice that was responsible for the provision and management of public housing s ...

. The streets are named after Australian artists.

History

The area now known as Claymore was originally home to the

Tharawal people 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, ...

. British settlers began moving into the area in the early 19th century, establishing farms and orchards. By the 1970s, the expansion of Sydney was great enough for developers to look at the area around Campbelltown. The

Housing Commission of New South Wales Housing NSW, formerly the Housing Commission of New South Wales and before that the New South Wales Housing Board, was an agency of the Department of Communities and Justice that was responsible for the provision and management of public housing ...

undertook a large public housing development in the Claymore area. Originally the suburb was to be called Badgally after a local homestead, but the council backed off over concerns that the "Bad" part of the name could give the area a "bad" name. They chose Claymore after another local property, although that was also contentious since the name had very little history in the area. The first residents moved in during 1978.

Demographics

According to the 2016 census, Claymore had a population of 2k people. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 7.9% of the population. * 57.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 5.1% and Samoa 4.3%. * 56.8% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Samoan at 9.1%. * The median age is 23, compared to the national median of 38, with 33.2% of the population aged 14 or under. * The median household income is $698 per week, less than half of the national average median of $1,486. * 94.4% of houses were rented, compared to the national average of 30.9%. There are no houses that were owned outright or with a mortgage. CC-BY icon

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Poverty

In September 2012, an episode of the ABC program

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

entitled "Growing up poor" examined the lives of children in poor families in Claymore. It stated that the suburb had the youngest population in Australia. A report "Down and under" in the

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

101 East series in February 2013 also pointed to the links between poverty and hopelessness, family tensions and violence and lack of opportunities for Claymore's children, where more than half the families have only one parent. In the 2015 Dropping Off The Edge report, Claymore was listed as one of the most socially disadvantaged areas in New South Wales.

Services

Claymore has a

WorkVentures WorkVentures is an Australian independent not-for-profit social enterprise, established in 1979 and, , employing more than 170 people across seven locations in Sydney and Melbourne. WorkVentures also works with partner organisations to deliver ...

Connect Centre and the Kalon House of Welcome is managed by the Catholic church.

References

{{Sydney Campbelltown suburbs City of Campbelltown (New South Wales)