Engadine 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 ...
in
southern Sydney, 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 ...
. Engadine is located 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
Sutherland Shire.
History
The area was reserved for a national park in 1879, but in 1890 Charles McAlister was able to purchase land here which became known as McAlister's Estate. After an overseas trip, the family renamed their estate 'Engadine' after the
Engadin
The Engadin or Engadine (;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ''Gidegna'' ...
Valley in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. The wildflowers in the valley here and surrounding national parks were reminiscent of the valley and hills in Engadin.
Charles McAlister subdivided his land sometime after 1900. He continued to live in Engadine but later moved to
Cronulla, where he died in 1915.

Originally settled for grazing land, Engadine soon became a destination for camping and day-trips from the inner-Sydney suburbs. It remained isolated until 1920 when the railway station was built (with some funds donated by the local population). Many ex-soldiers settled here after
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and several streets here recall this war and others as well, such as Anzac, Tobruk, Amiens, Bullecourt, Villers Brett, and Nelson.
Dunlea Centre, Australia's original Boys' Town, in the western part of the suburb was modelled on the American
Boys Town institution. The residential school and day programs help children, regardless of their religious background, who have not been able to conform to the rules of society. It was founded in 1939 by
Father Thomas Dunlea who was principal from 1939 to 1951.
The post office was opened on 1 January 1927 and the school opened in September 1932. In the 1960s, the district became more established as a residential area and Crown Land was released for private purchase. The remaining land-parcels were developed in the 1990s, in North Engadine and Woronora Heights.
Landmarks

Engadine is bounded by
The Royal National Park to the east, and
Heathcote National Park to the west. Visitors to the suburb can view across the
Sydney Basin
The Sydney Basin is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion and is both a structural entity and a depositional area, now preserved on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia and with some of its ...
from its southern edge northwards to the Sydney CBD. The area also features rolling sandstone slopes and cliffs in places, with an abundance of native trees throughout. Natural landmarks include 'the Needles' and 'the Blue Lagoon' along the
Woronora River, and the Engadine Wetlands to the east of the railway station.
Commercial area
Engadine is mostly residential with some commercial and light industrial areas. The commercial area is located close to
Engadine railway station and 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 ...
. A
shopping centre
A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...
called Engadine Central includes supermarkets, grocery and specialty shops and
Engadine Library.
Transport
Engadine railway station is on the
Illawarra line of the
Sydney Trains
Sydney Trains is the brand name and operator of Railways in Sydney, suburban and intercity train services in and around Greater Sydney in New South Wales, Australia.
The metropolitan part of the network is a hybrid urban rail, urban-suburban r ...
network. It is located close to 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 ...
. Bus Routes 991, 992, 993 and 996 are served by
U-Go Mobility.
A road built by using soft plastics and glass mixed with recycled
asphalt
Asphalt most often refers to:
* Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete
* Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
has been laid on the Old Princes Highway between Cooper Street and Engadine Road.
Schools
*
Engadine High School
* Engadine Public School
* Engadine West Public School
* Marton Public School
*
St John Bosco College
* St John Bosco Primary School
Churches

*Connect Church
*Engadine Anglican Church
*Engadine Congregational Church
*Engadine Jehovah's Witnesses
*Engadine Presbyterian Church
*Engadine Uniting Church
*Exclusive Brethren
*Heathcote-Engadine Baptist Church
*Salvation Army
*Southern Cross Baptist Church
*St John Bosco Catholic Church
Community
The Engadine community revolves around the town centre which comprises boutique shops, banks, restaurants, cafes, and three of the major supermarkets. At the heart of the township is the Engadine Community Centre which is a public meeting space and houses Essential Community Solutions (ECS). ECS is a not for profit, non-government community-based organization. Established in the 1970s ECS works to enhance community capacity through the provision of programs and services for the aged, youth, children, families, individuals, people with a disability, their carers and the community as a whole.
Engadine District Youth Services (EDYS) provides free community assistance to the local youth, providing a safe, non-judgmental space where Young People can relax with friends, get involved in fun activities and also explore challenges or decisions they may be facing with the support of qualified Youth Workers. Most of the local churches also run community playtime groups for parents with pre-schoolers and also run community youth groups.
Annual free community events include the Rotary Club of Engadine's 'Carols for the People' (Cooper St Park) around Christmas each year since 2007; McAlister Community Fete run by the Lions Club with rides and stalls run at Cooper St Park annually since 1988; and 'Q Club' – a free daily kids program for primary aged kids in the community, running in the second week of the winter holidays at the Baptist Church every year since 1995.
Parks and recreation

Public facilities include public parks, a skate park and gardens.
* Engadine Leisure Centre is a heated outdoor aquatic centre and gym
* Ferntree Reserve and Park, used by Engadine Eagles netball
* Anzac Oval is used for
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
by the
Engadine Dragons,
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 ...
by the Engadine Dragons CC, and
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 ...
by the Engadine Eagles
* Preston Park is 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 ...
by the Engadine Crusaders F.C. and cricket by the Engadine Dragons CC.
* Engadine Lawn Bowls Club
* Engadine Returned Services Club (
RSL)
* Old Bush Road is used for rugby union by the Engadine Lions established in 1994, now featuring teams in the Illawarra and Sydney competitions. Old Bush Road is also used for touch footy in the Summer off-Season.
* Cooper Street Reserve
Services

* Engadine Rural Fire Brigade protects the bush interface and valleys surrounding the Engadine area.
* Engadine Ambulance Station
* Fire and Rescue NSW Engadine (Station 33)
* Engadine District Youth Services
Population
According to the , there were people in Engadine.
*
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups, w ...
made up 1.8% of the population.
* The most common ancestries included
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
44.2%,
English 43.0%,
Irish 13.3%,
Scottish 10.5%, and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
3.8%.
* 84.8% of people were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth included
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
3.7%,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
1.0%,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(excluding
Special Administrative Regions (SARs) and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
) 0.5%,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
0.4%, and the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
0.4%.
* 91.4% of people spoke only
English at home; the next most common lanmgaughes spoken at home included
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
0.6%,
Spanish 0.6%,
Russian 0.4%,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
0.4%, and
German 0.3%.
* The most common responses for
religion
Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
included
No Religion 36.4%,
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 ...
28.6%,
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 ...
18.1%,
Uniting Church 2.2%; a further 3.3% of respondents for this area elected not to disclose their religious status.
Notable people
*
Les Bursill — Aboriginal historian and archaeologist
*
Billy Dib — World Champion Boxer,
IBF Featherweight Champion (2011–2013)
*
Thomas Dunlea — Founder of
Dunlea Centre, Australia's original Boys' Town
*
Robbie Kearns — Rugby League player
*
Rodney Martin — squash player
*
Paul O'Grady — soccer player
*
Robert Stone — (1956–2005), Rugby League player for
St. George Dragons
*
Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak (born 23 June 1975) is an Australian-German writer. He is best known for ''The Book Thief'' and ''The Messenger (Zusak novel), The Messenger'', two novels that became international bestsellers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award in 2 ...
— Author
References
External links
*
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{{Sydney Sutherland suburbs
Suburbs of Sydney
Sutherland Shire