Alfords Point 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 ...

southern Sydney Southern Sydney, also commonly referred to as the Southern suburbs, is the southern metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Southern Sydney is a title for the regions and neighbourhoods which fall dire ...

, 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 ...

. Alfords Point is 28 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 ...

, within 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

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

. Alfords Point shares the postcode of 2234 with neighbouring suburbs of Menai, Bangor and Illawong. Alfords Point is on the southern bank of the

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, that is located in Sydney, Australia. The Georges River is located south and south-west from the Sydney central business district, w ...

. The suburb is nearly completely surrounded by bushland from the Georges River nature Reserve and with Alfords Point Road within its eastern border running south to north onto the Alfords Point Road Bridge across the Georges River towards Padstow. Brushwood Drive is the only road to enter and exit Alfords Point.

History

Jane Alford, widow of John Alford Senior owned of land near here in 1828. Alford was originally the name given to an area of public reserve on the bank of the

. When the Sutherland Shire was officially formed in 1906, the western boundary extended to what is today called Menai (then called Bangor). In 1922, a proclamation was made to allow for an adjustment of the shire boundaries and include the areas which are now Illawong and Alfords Point. The area was formerly attached to the Municipality of Hurstville. Modern Alfords Point began to develop alongside the Menai Town Centre initiative in the late 1970s-1980s with large plots of bushland divided for housing development. The Alfords Point Bridge was built across the

connecting the

with Canterbury-Bankstown. This connected the suburbs of Alfords Point and

Padstow Heights Padstow Heights is a suburb of local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, located 22 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is a part of the South-western Sy ...

. The first bridge opened on 7 September 1973, which only accommodated three lanes. The second bridge was built next to it, opening on 22 August 2008, making it three lanes north and three lanes south. Alfords Point residents have been victim to bushfires, perhaps the most infamous being those of the 1994 Eastern seaboard fires which claimed many homes in the area, particularly those directly neighbouring the Georges River National Park. Other recent bushfires in the area occurred in Summer 1997–98 and Summer 2001–2002, however, damage to property was limited due to improved bush prevention as a result of the 1993–94 disaster.

Demographics

According to the of Population, there were 3,131 people in Alfords Point. 76.1% of people were born in Australia. 70.9% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 6.2% and Arabic 5.8%. The most common responses for religious affiliation 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

31.9%, No Religion 18.4%, Orthodox 14.9% and

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

12.1%.

Commercial area

Alfords Point has a small group of shops on Brushwood Drive adjacent to Alfords Point Public School. Shops include a hair salon, pharmacy, convenience store, Charcoal Chicken & Pizza take-away and the Menai Dance Centre.

Sport and recreation

Alfords Point contains two sporting ovals, one named Casuarina Road Oval positioned on Casuarina Road and the other named Narina Park positioned on Coachwood Crescent, which are used for

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

in local competitions. Narina Park also hosts the Alfords Point Community Centre, which can be hired out from

Sutherland Shire Council Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

. Natural bushland is abundant in this area, as Alfords Point is positioned on the shores of the Georges River and National Park, with many walking tracks and firetrails popular amongst locals in summer.

Education

Alfords Point Primary school K-6 is a community-oriented school that often hosts community events and functions. Alfords Point Pre-School Kindergarten, an early learning centre, is located opposite the shops.

Street names

The street theme of Alfords Point is types of flora; trees and shrubs. Examples include: Brushwood Drive, Lavender Place, Eucalyptus Street.

Notable residents

Steve Waugh Stephen Rodger Waugh (born 2 June 1965) is an Australian former international cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman and a medium-pace bowler, Waugh is considered one of the greatest cricketers of all time. ...

- Former Australian cricket captainSteve Waugh sells Alfords Point home for $1.9 million
Domain 4 July 2015 *

Steve Smith (cricketer) Steven Peter Devereux Smith (born 2 June 1989) is an Australian international cricketer, former captain of the Australia national cricket team, Australian national team in all three formats of the game and the vice-captain of the Australia T ...

- Australian international cricketer

References

{{Sydney Sutherland suburbs Suburbs of Sydney Sutherland Shire