Blakehurst 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 ...

18 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 ...

, 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

Georges River Council Georges River Council is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the St George (Sydney), St George region of Sydney located south of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...

. It is part of the

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

area. Blakehurst is connected to Sylvania, in 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 ...

, to the south, by Tom Uglys Bridge over 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 ...

. Tom Uglys Point is the southernmost part. The eastern border runs along Kogarah Bay and the western border runs along Kyle Bay.

History

Blakehurst was named after William Blake, road assessor and postmaster for

Cooks River The Cooks River, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a tributary of Botany Bay, located in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The course of the urban waterway has been altered to accommodate various developme ...

in 1863. Blake ran a small farm in this area that was originally part of a land grant of to Robert Townson in 1808. A punt was established in 1864 at Tom Uglys Point or Punt Point. A few tales have been told about the origin of the name possibly being mispronunciation by local Aborigines of the names of two locals, Tom Huxley or Tom Woguly. However, it is now believed that it was named after an Aboriginal man from the south coast called 'Towwaa' or Toweiry', who later lived and died at the point. His nickname was Tom Ugly. Tom Uglys Bridge was originally known as Georges River Bridge when it first opened in 1929. The second crossing at this location was opened in 1987.

Heritage listings

Blakehurst has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 9 Stuart Crescent: Thurlow House

Commercial area

A small shopping strip is located on the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

near the intersection with King Georges Road. Commercial developments also extend north along these two main roads. A bus service runs between

Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is south of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD and is part of the St George, New South Wales, St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of ...

and Miranda via Blakehurst and Sylvania. Tom Uglys Point features a couple of small reserves, fishing spots, a marina, seafood restaurants and a number of take-away seafood shops.

Transportation

Blakehurst is approximately a 50-minute commute to the

Sydney CBD 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 ...

via public transport and about a 40-minute drive. The nearest railway station is in nearby

Schools

There are both public and catholic schools in Blakehurst. Mater Dei Primary School is a Catholic-run primary school. Blakehurst High School, Blakehust Public School and Bald Face Public School are public schools.

Sport and recreation

Blakehurst has many sporting teams including the

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

team, The Blakehurst Blues. Past famous players and locals include ex-Wallaby star Phil Kearns and current Waikato forward Toby Lind. Kogarah Bay Sailing Club and marina is located on Princes Highway.

Demographics

According to the , there were 6,652 people usually resident in Blakehurst. 63.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 8.6%, Greece 2.9%, Hong Kong 2.4% and Lebanon 2.0%. 49.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 11.9%, Mandarin 8.1%, Cantonese 7.8%, Arabic 5.4% and Macedonian 2.3%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were Eastern Orthodox 22.9%, Catholic 21.9%, No Religion 21.8% and Anglican 7.5%.

Notable people

* Billy Wilson, rugby league player

References

External links

* C-By-SA {{Sydney Georges River Council suburbs Suburbs of Sydney Georges River Council