Jesmond ( ) 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 ...

of the

City of Newcastle The City of Newcastle is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The City of Newcastle incorporates much of the area of the Newcastle metropolitan area. The Lord Mayor of the City of Newcastle Council is Co ...

LGA LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. Covering , the facility wa ...

, located about west of the

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

CBD in the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...

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 ...

. It is both a commercial centre and dormitory suburb of Newcastle. Residents include Australian and international students attending the University of Newcastle in adjacent Callaghan. The suburb also has numerous aged housing facilities. The suburb is very multicultural due to many international university students. According to the 2006 Census there were 2,442 people in 1,144 dwellings (in 2001 there were 2376 people in 1140 dwellings).

History

The Aboriginal people, in this area, the Awabakal, were the first people of this land. Jesmond's original European settler name was "Dark Creek." Jesmond was the location of orchards and steam saw-mills. A village was established in the area by 1883 with around 600 residents. A soap works was established in the area in the 1880s. There is some contradiction as to the source of "Jesmond" as the suburb's name with different sources attributing it to the suburb under the same name in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

in the North of England and "Jesmond Dene", a park in

Jesmond Jesmond ( ) is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, situated north of the city centre and to the east of the Town Moor. Jesmond is considered to be one of the most affluent suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, with higher aver ...

. Jesmond was highly impacted by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

which forced many to live in a shanty town called "''Hollywood''". This shanty town was located on an old railway track which led to

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

it stretched from about 600 m into bushland near the Jesmond roundabout . Up to forty families lived and was sometimes referred to as Doggville.

Schools

Jesmond has access to a number of schools, including Heaton Public School, Jesmond Public School and the Jesmond Senior Campus of Callaghan College.

Shopping and transport

Jesmond's commercial centre is situated on Blue Gum Road. There are a number of mixed businesses as well as a large shopping mall. The area serves Newcastle with a district centre function and as a transport junction with main roads in east–west and northern directions. Jesmond Central shopping centre (formerly Stockland Jesmond) is on Blue Gum Road, approximately west-north-west of the Newcastle CBD. The centre includes major stores such as Woolworths, Aldi and Big W, as well as over 60 specialty stores. The centre has parking for over 900 cars.

Recreation and sport

Jesmond Park and Heaton Park are Jesmond's two main public parks for sport events, complemented by the facilities at Callaghan Campus (Y11-Y12 only). Jesmond Park, situated with a bushland setting to its southern boundary, is a popular destination for family barbecues and wedding photography given its extensive rose garden. Jesmond Football Club, "The Rams", are the local soccer team based at Jesmond Park. The club was founded in 1928 and has a long and proud history. Heaton Park also features an oval-shaped concrete skateboarding bowl.

Notes

References

{{City of Newcastle suburbs Suburbs of Newcastle, New South Wales