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The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west 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 ...
,
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 ...
. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of
Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...
(
Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...
), stretching south to the shores of the Cooks River. The western boundary of the Inner West is approximately the A3 arterial road (Homebush Bay Drive / Centenary Drive), which divides the Inner West from the
Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions with ...
region. The Inner West is much larger than the
Inner West Council Inner West Council is a local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Inner West LGA makes up the eastern part of this wider region, and was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merg ...
local government area. The Inner West roughly corresponds with the Parish of Petersham and
Parish of Concord Concord Parish is one of the 57 civil Parish, parishes of Cumberland County, New South Wales, a Cadastral divisions of New South Wales, cadastral unit for use on land titles. It is located to the south of the Parramatta River between Homebush Bay ...
, two cadastral divisions used for
land titles Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, ...
.


Suburbs

The boundaries of the Inner West region are customary, not administrative or legal, and as such are defined differently in different contexts. The northern and southern boundaries are natural and thus generally well defined: they are the
Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...
and the Cooks River respectively. In the west, the upper reaches of the Cooks River flow close to, but do not meet, the Parramatta River, and the western boundary is thus ill-defined. Near the source of the Cooks River and at the point at which the two rivers run closest to each other, a large, uninhabited area stretches between the two rivers, occupied by the Enfield rail yards (now the Enfield Intermodel Logistics Centre), the Chullora rail yards,
Rookwood Cemetery Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating cemetery from the ...
, Flemington Maintenance Depot, and former industrial land stretching north to the shores of Homebush Bay, which is now
Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Parramatta, City of Parramatta Council. It i ...
. This geographical dividing strip has long coincided with council boundaries: the former municipalities of Concord, Homebush and Strathfield lay to its east, while the former municipalities of Rookwood and Bankstown lay to its west. The creek marking the former boundary between Homebush and Rookwood is named "Boundary Creek". Since the new A3 arterial road (Homebush Bay Drive / Centenary Drive) was built along this strip at the end of the 20th century, that road is now often regarded as the more precise boundary line between the Inner West and Greater Western Sydney. Today, council boundaries still largely, though not precisely, follow this line: with small exceptions, the
City of Canada Bay The City of Canada Bay is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Inner West region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The city was formed on 1 December 2000, following the merger of Municipality of Concord, Concord an ...
and the
Municipality of Strathfield The Municipality of Strathfield is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was incorporated on 2 June 1885. The council area was made up of ...
lie to its east, while the
City of Parramatta The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a Local government in Australia, local government area located to the west and north-west of Sydney CBD in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between th ...
, Cumberland Council and the
City of Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown Council, trading as the City of Canterbury Bankstown and stylised as CBCity, is a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Th ...
lies to its west. The eastern boundary is less well defined, as many suburbs immediately to the west of the Sydney city centre are alternatively regarded as part of the Inner West or as part of the city or "inner city" region. Customarily, either the A36 arterial road (Princes Highway/King Street/City Road) or the local arterial route formed by Sydney Park Road, Mitchell Road, Gibbon Street/Botany Road and Regent Street is often seen as the boundary between the Inner West and the inner city/ Eastern Suburbs/inner south region. The Inner West is alternatively defined as corresponding to the Parish of Petersham and
Parish of Concord Concord Parish is one of the 57 civil Parish, parishes of Cumberland County, New South Wales, a Cadastral divisions of New South Wales, cadastral unit for use on land titles. It is located to the south of the Parramatta River between Homebush Bay ...
, two cadastral divisions used for
land titles Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, ...
. This largely agrees with the customary definition above, except for some suburbs immediately to the east or west of the cadastral boundaries. For example, the western boundary of the Parish of Concord largely follows the course of Saleyards Creek, which approximates the boundary between
Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. The name o ...
and Flemington. The parish therefore excludes Flemington even though that suburbs lies mostly east of the A3 road. Conversely, the suburb of
Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
is mostly west of the A3 road but in the Parish of Concord. On the eastern side, Erskineville and Macdonaldtown and
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
are within the Parish of Petersham, but most of neighbouring Redfern and
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
are not. The
Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...
also defines a statistical region (Statistical Area Level 4) called "Inner West". This region comprises most of the
Municipality of Strathfield The Municipality of Strathfield is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was incorporated on 2 June 1885. The council area was made up of ...
, Municipality of Burwood and the
City of Canada Bay The City of Canada Bay is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Inner West region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The city was formed on 1 December 2000, following the merger of Municipality of Concord, Concord an ...
, as well as the former Municipality of Ashfield and Municipality of Leichhardt (both now part of
Inner West Council Inner West Council is a local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Inner West LGA makes up the eastern part of this wider region, and was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merg ...
). This region is mostly a subset of the regions in the two definitions outlined above, excluding the inner western and inner southwestern suburbs such as Glebe, Enmore, Petersham and Marrickville, which are instead in the region called "City and Inner South". As it is based on suburb boundaries, it also includes some small areas that fall outside the definitions outlined above, such as the part of the suburb of Strathfield South that lies south of the Cooks River and the parts of several suburbs that lie west of the A3 road. Another customary definition of the Inner West is by local government areas. In this customary definition, the
Inner West Council Inner West Council is a local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Inner West LGA makes up the eastern part of this wider region, and was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merg ...
,
City of Canada Bay The City of Canada Bay is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Inner West region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The city was formed on 1 December 2000, following the merger of Municipality of Concord, Concord an ...
, the
Municipality of Strathfield The Municipality of Strathfield is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was incorporated on 2 June 1885. The council area was made up of ...
and the Municipality of Burwood make up the Inner West. This definition is sometimes used in local government administrative contexts.See, e.g., Inner West Council,
Inner West Youth Alliance
: "''... the Sydney Inner West local government areas of the Inner West, Burwood, Canada Bay and Strathfield''"
This definition excludes the innermost suburbs that are within the
City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...
council area and southern suburbs that are within the
City of Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown Council, trading as the City of Canterbury Bankstown and stylised as CBCity, is a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Th ...
, but includes some suburbs that lie outside the above definitions but are within the Municipality of Strathfield. Commercial sources, especially in the real estate context, sometimes refer to suburbs that are not in any of the definitions above as being in the Inner West. For example,
Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...
is variously considered part of inner city, Eastern Suburbs or inner south Sydney, but is also sometimes referred as part of the Inner West.Domain Property Guide 2016
/ref> Likewise, Wentworth Point is part of
Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions with ...
by any of the above definitions, separated from the Inner West by
Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Parramatta, City of Parramatta Council. It i ...
and the waters of Homebush Bay, and is normally considered part of that region in administrative contexts, but is sometimes referred to as part of the Inner West. The contested meaning of the term "Inner West" is itself considered a cultural phenomenon in Sydney: in reference to this, Michael Koziol, the Sydney editor of the
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
, has written humorously that "the inner west is a state of mind". Based on the above definitions and the former distribution area of the ''Inner West Courier'' local newspaper, the Inner West generally includes the suburbs: * Abbotsford * Annandale * Ashbury * Ashfield * Balmain * Balmain East * Birchgrove * Breakfast Point * Burwood * Burwood Heights * Cabarita * Camperdown * Canada Bay *
Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...
* Concord * Concord West *
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
* Croydon Park * Drummoyne * Dulwich Hill * Enfield * Enmore * Erskineville * Five Dock * Flemington * Forest Lodge *
Glebe A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church. ...
* Haberfield *
Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. The name o ...
* Hurlstone Park * Leichhardt *
Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...
* Liberty Grove * Lilyfield * Marrickville *
Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes, London, Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes ...
* Newington * Newtown * North Strathfield * Petersham *
Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
* Rodd Point * Rozelle * Russell Lea * St Peters *
Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...
* Strathfield * Strathfield South * Summer Hill *
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...
* Tempe * Wareemba Other suburbs sometimes referred to as being in the Inner West, especially in commercial contexts, include: *
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
*
Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...
* Belfield * Campsie *
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
* Earlwood * Wentworth Point


History


Indigenous land

Prior to the arrival of the
First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...
, the Sydney region was home to the
Darug people The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...
. This nation was broken up into a number of Aboriginal clans who tended to live in a certain geographic area. Each clan contained about 50 to 100 people and, to avoid genetic problems, the men would marry women from other clans. So the clans were interrelated and members from one clan would frequently travel in the territory of others, including to hunt, trade and perform ceremonies. They didn't consider themselves owners of the land, rather custodians. What is now the Inner West was formerly home to two clans, the
Cadigal The Gadigal, also spelled as Cadigal and Caddiegal, are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands are located in Gadi, on Eora country, the location of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. However, since the colonisation of Australi ...
, whose land stretched along Port Jackson from South Head to
Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...
, and the
Wangal The Wangal people (; Wanngal or Won-gal) are a clan of the Dharug Aboriginal people whose heirs are custodians of the lands and waters of what is now the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, centred around the Municipality of Strathfield, ...
, whose land was immediately to the west of the Cadigals and stretched to about Homebush Bay. Other clans that would have been regular visitors to the area would have included the Birrabirragal and Muru-ora-dial in what is now the Eastern Suburbs, the Bediagal and Kameygal from the Cooks River area to the south, the Burramattagal from the
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
area to the west, and the Wallumattagal, Cammeraigal and Gorualgal from the northern shores of the Parramatta River.


European arrival

Land grants in the Inner West area began in the late 18th century. By 1814, a stage coach was running between the two major settlements of Sydney (to the east) and
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
(to the west), then further west to
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
. This spurred the development of several settlements along the stage coach route, now
Parramatta Road Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. S ...
. A number of the large land grants in the area were subdivided for commercial and residential development, such as Ashfield Park in 1838. The construction of the
Main Suburban railway line The Main Suburban railway line is the technical name for the trunk railway line between Redfern railway station and Parramatta railway station in Sydney, Australia, but now generally refers to the section between Redfern and where the Main Southe ...
in 1855 spurred further development, especially at the original stations of Newtown, Ashfield, Burwood and Homebush. Many of the original land grants in the area were subdivided for commercial and residential development in the decades following the arrival of the railway, such as the Village of Homebush in 1878. The colony's elite - politicians, judges, industrialists and businessmen - began to build grand homes in the "outer" parts of the Inner West, such as the Arnott family (of the biscuit empire) and the family of David Jones (the retailer), who built various homes in Strathfield. As a result of population growth, local governments formed in the area in the 19th century, such as the
Municipality of Newtown The Municipality of Newtown was a local government area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed as a borough in 1862 and, with an area of 1.9 square kilometres, was centred on the suburb of Newtown, including part ...
in 1862, the Municipality of Petersham, the Municipality of Leichhardt and the Municipality of Ashfield in 1871, the Municipality of Burwood in 1874, the
Municipality of Concord A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...
in 1883 and the
Municipality of Strathfield The Municipality of Strathfield is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was incorporated on 2 June 1885. The council area was made up of ...
in 1885. During the last quarter of the 19th century, Sydney's tram network expanded into the Inner West, and continued expanding into the early 20th century, eventually serving almost all of the Inner West, as far afield as Cabarita, Enfield and Canterbury. In 1895, a suburban railway line was built, branching from the
Illawarra railway line The South Coast Railway (also known as the Illawarra railway or the South Coast line) is a Commuter rail, passenger and Rail freight transport, freight railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry, New South Wales, Bomaderry in New So ...
at
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...
, which provided access to the railway for suburbs in the south of the Inner West, such as Marrickville and Dulwich Hill.


Industrial and residential development

Due to its central location and easy access by water, rail and road, large scale industrial development occurred in the Inner West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A number of large residences were turned to industrial use, such as Arthur Renwick's Abbotsford House, which became
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
's chocolate factory, and Roland Ducker's Strathroy in Cabarita, which became the paint factory of British Australian Lead Manufacturers (BALM), later Dulux. However, the residential suburbs continued to be popular. For example, Australian prime ministers who lived in the Inner West in this period include
William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988), also known as Billy McMahon, was an Australian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia ...
,
Earle Page Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page (8 August 188020 December 1961) was an Australian politician and surgeon who served as the 11th prime minister of Australia from 7 to 26 April 1939, in a caretaker capacity following the death of Joseph Lyons. ...
,
George Reid Sir George Houston Reid (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was a Scottish-born Australian and British politician, diplomat, and barrister who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1904 t ...
,
Frank Forde Francis Michael Forde (18 July 189028 January 1983) was an Australian politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Australia from 6 to 13 July 1945, in a caretaker capacity following the death of John Curtin. He was deputy leader of th ...
and
Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...
. A number of the high quality residential developments in the period immediately after the
Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Wester ...
are highly regarded ensembles of Australian residential architecture and heritage protected, including the large scale Haberfield "garden suburb" development, which began in 1901, the smaller Malvern Hill Estate in
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
, which began in 1909, and the Hoskins Estate in Appian Way, Burwood, which began in 1903. Suburbanisation accelerated in the interwar years, resulting in the outer suburbs of the Inner West, such as Strathfield, Burwood and Concord, growing in prestige while the dense inner suburbs, such as Newtown, Enmore and Erskineville, declined.


Post-war migration and gentrification

An influx of migrants to Australia following the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
brought a large number of migrants to the Inner West, primarily from European countries. Many migrants were attracted to the area by the availability of industrial jobs, proximity to the city and the good availability of public transport. The change in demographics also brought ethnically distinct shops, cafes and restaurants, giving a cosmopolitan character to the commercial areas of a number of commercial centres in the Inner West. For example, Haberfield and Leichhardt became distinguished by the concentration of
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 ...
businesses, while Petersham became the hub of Sydney's Portuguese community. Continued industrial development and the influx of blue collar workers, including European immigrants, accelerated the disparity between suburbs. In 1977, Strathfield was the most expensive suburb in metropolitan Sydney measured by median house price, while inner suburbs of the Inner West, such as Leichhardt, were cheaper than outer Western suburbs such as
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 19 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Canterbury-Bankstown region. Bankstown is the administrative centre ...
. The pattern of immigrant settlement continued and radiated further west after the end of the White Australia Policy changed the ethnic makeup of Australia's migrant intake. For example, in the late 20th century, Ashfield became a hub for Chinese immigrants, especially those from
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, known as "Little Shanghai". Burwood has likewise become a hub for Chinese immigrants and overseas students. Towards the end of the 20th century, the proliferation of alternative cultures in the inner suburbs such as Newtown led to a wave of gentrification. Along the foreshore and in the outer suburbs of the Inner West, industrial facilities were returned to residential use. The Colgate-Palmolive factory and the Lever Brothers soap factory, both in Balmain, were converted into apartments. Both Abbotsford House and Strathroy House, mentioned above, were restored and returned to residential use, while the factories that were built around them were replaced by upmarket housing developments. Likewise, the flour mills which have long dominated the skyline of Summer Hill was redeveloped for residential use.Munro, Catherine
"Light rail left idling on the track"
''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'', 15 October 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
Reflecting these changes, by 2017, the spread of highly valued residential suburbs of the Inner West had expanded further east. In that year, the seven suburbs that recorded median house prices exceeding $2 million were, in descending order of median price: Cabarita, Strathfield, Burwood, Chiswick, Balmain East, Rhodes and Burwood Heights, covering both the traditionally popular 'outer' Inner West and the newly gentrified, formerly industrial waterfront suburbs.


Geography

The geography of the Inner West is defined by the southern catchments of the
Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...
, the northern boundary of the region, and the northern catchment of the Cooks River, the southern boundary. The western boundary of the region is near the source of the Cooks River. The
Hume Highway The Hume Highway, including the sections now known as the Hume Freeway and the Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of t ...
approximately follows the ridgeline between the two catchments. In this region, Parramatta River widens via a series of bays and transitions into the drowned valley that forms
Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...
. This forms a series of large bays along the southern shore, the largest of these being (from west to east) Homebush Bay, Hen and Chicken Bay and
Iron Cove Iron Cove is a bay on the Parramatta River, in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately due west of Sydney's central business district. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Birchgrove, Balmain ...
. The presence of these bays have had a significant effect on patterns of development in the region and the placement of infrastructure such as roads and railways. In between the two rivers, the topography is characterised by rolling hills intersected by shallow valleys through which waterways flow to the two rivers, including Iron Cove Creek, Hawthorne Canal (formerly Long Cove Creek), Whites Creek and Johnstons Creek. These waterways have been drastically altered since the late 19th century by the means of concrete lining. In the 1860s iron Cove Creek was a freely flowing waterway which in places broadened into ponds that made excellent and picturesque swimming holes. It is now barely a trickle lined by residential areas, parkland and fast-food restaurants.


Demographics

The "Sydney - Inner West" statistical area defined by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...
covers most of the Inner West by most customary definitions, but not all of it: suburbs in the eastern and southeastern edge of the customary region which are in the City of Sydney and the former Marrickville Council areas, such as Glebe, Enmore, Petersham and Marrickville, are instead in the region called "City and Inner South". According to the , the Sydney - Inner West statistical area had a total population of 304,771 people. The most common reported ancestries were English 20.7%, Australian 17.8%, Chinese 16.5%, Italian 9.5% and Irish 9.2%, with 57.1% of people having both parents born overseas. 52.8% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were mainland China 7.9%, India 3.4%, Nepal 3.0%, England 2.8% and Italy 2.4%. 54.1% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 8.6%, Cantonese 4.1%, Italian 3.7%, Nepali 2.9% and Korean 2.5%. The median weekly household income was $2,250, which is higher than the New South Wales median of $1,829 and the Australian median of $1,746. The table below summarises historical data for the "Sydney - Inner West" statistical area since it was first defined in the 2011 census. Prior to 2011, the "Inner Western Sydney" statistical area covered most of the Inner West, but excluded the former Leichhardt Council, so the data is not directly comparable.


Housing

The housing stock within the Inner West reflects the distinct waves of development in its history. The inner-most suburbs of the Inner West were developed early in the life of the colony, and preserve stone houses from the Victorian era and earlier. The inner suburbs of the Inner West were largely subdivided in the 19th century for suburban development, and a large number of two-storey terraced houses and one-storey terraced and timber cottages survive in suburbs such as
Glebe A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church. ...
, Newtown and Annandale. Further away from the city, a large number of grand houses of the Victorian era are still standing, though many have been subdivided or are no longer in residential use. After these suburbs were subdivided around the turn of the 20th century,
Federation architecture Federation architecture is the architectural style in Australia that was prevalent from around 1890 to 1915. The name refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the British colonies of Australia collectively became the Commonw ...
dominated the style of suburban houses, simplifying over time to the Australian Californian bungalow style which is still found throughout most of the inner west. While many of the older houses have been replaced by new constructions, a number of areas have retained contiguous areas of housing stock from the early 20th century or earlier, and a number of heritage conservation zones have been created to preserve the character of these areas. During the 20th century, low- to medium-rise apartment blocks began to proliferate, especially along the railway line. These have in turn been succeeded by the construction of medium- to high-rise apartment blocks in the late 20th century, especially around major stations such as Strathfield and Burwood, and in the redevelopment of formerly industrial land throughout the region and especially along the Parramatta River waterfront. Nevertheless, government planning controls seek to preserve the low-density residential land use throughout much of the Inner West. File:YarallaMansion.JPG, Yaralla, in Concord West, built in the 1860s. File:Marrickville3.JPG, A Victorian-style house in Marrickville. File:Burwood Appian Way 9.JPG, ''Cassa Tasso'', an example of Federation-era suburban residential architecture in the Hoskins Estate on Appian Way, Burwood. File:(1)Quiroma in ABeckett Avenue.jpg, Federation bungalow house in Ashfield. File:Breakfast Point Park.JPG, Breakfast Point, a large scale development on former industrial land. File:Apartments in rhodes.jpg, Contemporary style apartment developments in Rhodes.


Schools

The Inner West is the location of several tertiary institutions such as the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
at the eastern end in Camperdown, and a major campus of the
Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation ...
and the Catholic Institute of Sydney at the western end in Strathfield. A relatively high proportion of the population consists of tertiary students, both in the areas around these institutions, and in the suburbs further away that are well connected to educational institutions by public transport. The Inner West has a high concentration of public and private secondary schools, many of which were established in the 19th century. Government high schools located in the Inner West include the selective secondary schools
Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, New South Wales government run, Mixed-sex school, co-educational, Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective, secondary school, secondary day school, ...
and
Sydney Secondary College Sydney Secondary College is a multi-campus Urban area, urban Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, dual modality, partially Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective ...
, and the public comprehensive high schools
Ashfield Boys High School Ashfield Boys High School is a government-funded comprehensive single-sex secondary school for boys, located on Liverpool Road, in Ashfield, an inner western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1962, the school ...
, Burwood Girls High School, Concord High School (Sydney), Homebush Boys High School and Strathfield Girls High School, and the specialist high school
Newtown High School of the Performing Arts The Newtown High School of the Performing Arts is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive and specialist secondary day school in the suburb of Newtown in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is among a few performing arts and vis ...
. Alexandria Park Community School is a government school with both a selective stream and a comprehensive stream. Private schools in the Inner West include the Presbyterian Ladies' College in Croydon,
Meriden School Meriden, An Anglican School for Girls is an independent Anglican single-sex early learning, primary, and secondary day school for girls, located in Strathfield, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 189 ...
, St. Patrick's College and Santa Sabina College all in Strathfield, MLC School in Burwood, Trinity Grammar School in Summer Hill (preparatory school in Strathfield),
Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...
in Stanmore, Rosebank College in Five Dock and The McDonald College in North Strathfield.


Transport

Public transport in the region includes trains, buses, ferries and light rail. The Inner West is bisected by the
Main Suburban railway line The Main Suburban railway line is the technical name for the trunk railway line between Redfern railway station and Parramatta railway station in Sydney, Australia, but now generally refers to the section between Redfern and where the Main Southe ...
, the main trunk 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.
BMT BMT or bmt may refer to: Medicine * Bone marrow transplantation, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation Science and technology * 5-hydroxyfuranocoumarin 5-O-methyltransferase, an enzyme * Bangladesh Meteorological Department, the national ...
, CCN, T1, T2, T3 and T9 services operate along this railway line, though many only serve limited stops. To the east, these services provide access to and 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 ...
, while to the west of Strathfield they progressively branch out into
Northern Sydney Northern Sydney is a large metropolitan area in Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the north shore of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River. The region embraces suburbs in Sydney's north-east, north and inner north west. Northern Syd ...
,
Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...
and beyond. The
Illawarra railway line The South Coast Railway (also known as the Illawarra railway or the South Coast line) is a Commuter rail, passenger and Rail freight transport, freight railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry, New South Wales, Bomaderry in New So ...
, used by Sydney Trains SCO, T4 and T8 services to the
Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...
and Southern Sydney, passes through the southeastern part of the Inner West, with stations at , and . Connecting to the Illawarra railway line at Sydenham is the
Bankstown railway line The Bankstown railway line is a suburban railway which traverses the Inner West (Sydney), Inner West and Canterbury-Bankstown areas of Sydney. West of it is used by Lidcombe & Bankstown Line, T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown services, while east of Bank ...
, which heads westward through the southern part of the Inner West as far as before crossing the Cooks River. This section of the Bankstown railway line has been temporarily closed since September 2024 for conversion works to enable Sydney Metro M1 services to operate over it. The Sydney Metro West
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...
rail line is under construction. When completed, it will provide a further connection for suburbs in the north of the Inner West, to Sydney CBD in the east, and to
Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Parramatta, City of Parramatta Council. It i ...
and
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
in the west. There are various bus routes provided largely operated by
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 ...
.
Sydney Ferries Sydney Ferries is the public transport ferry network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales. Services operate on Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour and the connecting Parramatta River. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government ...
operates services in the inner harbour and Parramatta River, with a number of wharves serving suburbs in the northern part of the Inner West. The Sydney RiverCat services in particular are designed to navigate the relatively shallow waterways on the Parramatta River route, connecting the Inner West with northern Sydney across the river, Parramatta in the west, and the Sydney CBD in the east. The
Inner West Light Rail The Inner West Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, running from Central railway station, Sydney, Central railway station through the Inner West to Dulwich Hill railway station, Dulwich Hill and serving 23 sto ...
connects Central to the Inner West via Pyrmont, with stops in Glebe, Lilyfield, Leichhardt, Lewisham and , an interchange with the Bankstown railway line.
Parramatta Road Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. S ...
is a major arterial road that runs through the middle of the Inner West, connecting it with the major centres of Sydney City in the east and Parramatta in the west. At Summer Hill, Liverpool Road (the
Hume Highway The Hume Highway, including the sections now known as the Hume Freeway and the Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of t ...
) branches from Parramatta Road and proceeds in a southwesterly direction towards Melbourne. The M4 road largely runs as a motorway tunnel under the Inner West, partly parallel to Parramatta Road. The M4 tunnel has a major junction near Haberfield, with one branch joining the surface road Parramatta Road, another joining the A4 surface road towards the Sydney CBD, and a third branch continuing east as a tunnel under the northern and eastern portion of the Inner West to connect with
Anzac Bridge The Anzac Bridge is an eight-lane cable-stayed bridge that carries the Western Distributor (A4) across Johnstons Bay between Pyrmont and Glebe Island (part of the suburb of Rozelle), on the western fringe of the Sydney central business dis ...
and the M8 motorway via the Rozelle Interchange. Ongoing projects will eventually extend the tunnel further north to connect to the future Western Harbour Tunnel, and south to provide a direct connection to Sydney Airport. Although still playing only a small part in the overall transport task, use of bicycles for transport has increased significantly in the Inner West since the 1990s. Denser populations and shorter distances mean cycling is often quicker and more convenient than driving or taking public transport. A network of bicycle paths, signed bicycle routes on local streets and other aids to safe and convenient cycling is developing. Main bicycle routes include two north–south routes: one located in the western part of the Inner West called the Cooks River cycleway or "Bay to Bay" cycleway, which connects Ryde to the north with the Cooks River valley and Botany Bay to the southeast, and another located further east called the Greenway which connects
Iron Cove Iron Cove is a bay on the Parramatta River, in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately due west of Sydney's central business district. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Birchgrove, Balmain ...
in the north to the Cooks River valley where it joins the Cooks River cycleway, an east–west route from Five Dock to the Anzac Bridge cycleway, a northwest route from
Gladesville Bridge Gladesville Bridge is a heritage-listed concrete arch road bridge that carries Victoria Road over the Parramatta River, linking the Sydney suburbs of Huntleys Point and Drummoyne, in the local government areas of Canada Bay and Hunter's Hi ...
to
Anzac Bridge The Anzac Bridge is an eight-lane cable-stayed bridge that carries the Western Distributor (A4) across Johnstons Bay between Pyrmont and Glebe Island (part of the suburb of Rozelle), on the western fringe of the Sydney central business dis ...
, and a southwest route from Marrickville to the city via Newtown. Groups of local bicycle user groups (BUGs) provide help for new cyclists, under the parent banner of Bicycle New South Wales.


Government

In the state parliament, the region is represented by the electoral districts of Balmain,
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, Drummoyne, Newtown, Strathfield and Summer Hill. The split of these seats amongst the three largest parties has been relatively consistent. Since 2015, when the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
regained Strathfield from the Liberal Party of Australia, and Summer Hill and Newtown were contested for the first time, the split has remained the same, with Drummoyne represented by the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, Canterbury, Strathfield and Summer Hill represented by the Australian Labor Party, and Balmain and Newtown represented by
The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *The Greens – The Green Alternative, Austria *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * The Greens (Benin) *The Greens (Bulgaria) * Greens of Bosnia and He ...
. In the federal parliament, the area is represented by the electorate of Grayndler and part of the electorates of Reid (which also covers a small part of Greater Western Sydney),
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
(which also covers the city centre) and Watson (which also encompasses a substantial section of the Canterbury-Bankstown area). All four federal seats have been held by the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
since the 2022 federal election, when the Labor Party won the division of Reid from the Liberal Party which had held it since 2013.


Local Government areas

The four
local government areas 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, province, division, or territory. The ph ...
of the Municipality of Burwood,
City of Canada Bay The City of Canada Bay is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Inner West region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The city was formed on 1 December 2000, following the merger of Municipality of Concord, Concord an ...
,
Inner West Council Inner West Council is a local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Inner West LGA makes up the eastern part of this wider region, and was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merg ...
and
Municipality of Strathfield The Municipality of Strathfield is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was incorporated on 2 June 1885. The council area was made up of ...
are sometimes referred to in local government contexts as the "Inner West local government areas". Prior to the amalgamation of Marrickville, Leichardt and Ashfield Councils into Inner West Council, Marrickville Council was often excluded from official definitions of the "Inner West" region. As a result, a number of government sources that use definitions of the "Inner West" based on the earlier council boundaries include the councils listed above, but exclude the Marrickville Council area. These include the definition used by the
Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...
Bureau of Statistics, and the
New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...
Department of Planning and Infrastructure, and local media. The northeastern part of the
City of Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown Council, trading as the City of Canterbury Bankstown and stylised as CBCity, is a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Th ...
and the western part of the
City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...
are also often included in the Inner West region.


Health services

The Sydney Local Health District of NSW Health serves the Inner West, covering Burwood, Canada Bay, Inner West and Strathfield councils, the western part of the City of Sydney, as well as the former City of Canterbury part of Canterbury-Bankstown. The public hospitals within the Sydney Local Health District are: * Balmain Hospital * Canterbury Hospital * Concord Repatriation General Hospital *
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a large teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School at the ...
* Sydney Dental Hospital The Sydney Local Health District also administers the Yaralla Estate and Rivendell (former Thomas Walker Hospital).


Sport

The Inner West is represented in the
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...
by the
Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...
, a merger of the Balmain and Western Suburbs clubs. Some residents in the region also subscribe their loyalty to the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...
. In the tier below known as the
New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...
, the area is represented by the
Newtown Jets The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, New South Wales, Newtown, a suburb of Inner West (Sydney), Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after t ...
and Wests Magpies. In rugby union, the area is represented by Sydney Uni (the University of Sydney) and West Harbour in the Sydney grade competition. In soccer football,
Leichhardt Oval Leichhardt Oval is a rugby league and soccer stadium in Lilyfield, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently one of three home grounds for the Wests Tigers National Rugby League (NRL) team, along with Campbelltown Stadium and Western Syd ...
is the home of the
A-league A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
team
Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...
. The Inner West also has many semi-professional soccer teams playing in the various divisions of the NSW State Leagues. The most high-profile club is
NSW Premier League The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, one of the two organising bodies in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Lea ...
side APIA Leichhardt Tigers.


Religion

In the 2021 Census, the most common responses for religion in the Sydney - Inner West statistical area (which, as noted above, covers most but not all of the Inner West by most customary definitions) were No Religion, 37.2%, Catholic 25.8%, Hinduism 6.5%, Anglican 5.7% and Not stated 5.6%. The Inner West contains a large number of religions buildings and institutions. For example, concentrated in the Strathfield-
Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. The name o ...
area are the Catholic institutions the
Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation ...
, the Catholic Institute of Sydney and the Seminary of the Good Shepherd. Strathfield is also home to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul of the
Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
as well as the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Diaspora - ANZ
/ref> The heritage-listed Chinese temples Sze Yup Temple is located in
Glebe A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church. ...
. Beit Maroun, the residence of the archbishop of the
Maronite Church The Maronite Church (; ) is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The head of the Maronit ...
in Australia, is located in Strathfield, while St Maroun's College is located in Dulwich Hill.


References


External links

*
Inner West Live - Community Blog by local Inner West people
{{coord missing, New South Wales Regions of Sydney