Leichhardt () is a suburb in the

Inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...

of 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. Leichhardt is located 5 kilometres 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 ...

(CBD) and is the administrative centre for 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 ...

(LGA) of 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 ...

. The suburb is bordered by Haberfield to the west, Annandale to the east,

Lilyfield Lilyfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lilyfield is located 6 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council. Lilyfield is ...

to the north and Petersham,

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

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 ...

to the south.

History

Aboriginal anthropology

Leichhardt was once an area broadly inhabited by 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, ...

band of the

Dharug 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 ...

(

Eora The Eora (; also ''Yura'') are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales. Eora is the name given by the earliest European settlers to a group of Aboriginal people belonging to the clans along the coastal area of what is now known as ...

) language group. The 'Eora people' was the name given to coastal Aboriginal people around Sydney – Eora means ''from this place'' – local Aboriginal people used this word to describe to Europeans where they came from, and in time the term became used to define Aboriginal people themselves. Wangal country was known as 'wanne' and it originally extended from the suburbs of Balmain and Birchgrove in the east to Silverwater and Auburn in the west. It is unclear how many people were in the tribe; some research indicates in the broader Sydney region there were between 8000 – 10000 indigenous people, but migration over the seasons and violence between tribes would alter this number at different periods. The northern boundary was the Parramatta River. Neighbouring Darug bands were 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 ...

to the east, the Wallumattagal on the northern shore 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 ...

and the

Bediagal The Bidjigal (also spelt Bediagal, Bejigal, Bedegal or Biddegal) people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are modern-day western, north-western, south-eastern, and southern Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...

to the south.

European settlement

Leichhardt is named after the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n explorer

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (; 23 October 1813 – ), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's disappearanc ...

, who in the 1840s was feted for his 4,800 km (c. 3000 mi) expedition in search of an overland route from southern Queensland to

Port Essington Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remot ...

, a British settlement on the far northern coast of Australia (some 300 km to the north of the modern city of Darwin). In 1848, he famously vanished without trace on his attempt to cross the continent from the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

to the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...

on the Western Australia coast. Leichhardt was proclaimed a municipality in 1871. In 1949, it was merged with the municipalities of Annandale and Balmain. In 1967, the municipal boundary was altered to include

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. ...

and parts of Camperdown. In 2003, the municipal boundary was again changed, to exclude Glebe and Forest Lodge, which are now 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 ...

Commercial area

The main commercial area in Leichhardt is located on

Norton Street Norton Street is in the suburb of Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. It is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the main commercial street in the suburb. Norton Street contains a mix of residential buildi ...

, north of

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 ...

(

Great Western Highway Great Western Highway is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the ...

) and parallel to Balmain Road. The Norton Street commercial area contains a mix of residential buildings,

restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

(Italian and others), cafés,

eateries A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appe ...

and individual retail outlets, including several bookstores and grocery shops. There are also hotels, a Palace Cinema and two of the suburb's two shopping centres – MarketPlace Leichhardt and Norton Plaza. Commercial developments are also found along the length of Parramatta Road. The Italian Forum, located just off Norton Street, is notable for its design which seeks to emulate the feel of a Mediterranean town

piazza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

. A pedestrian-only central courtyard featuring outdoors and indoors restaurant dining as well as Leichhardt Library is surrounded by small shops and

boutique A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...

s on the level above, and all overlooked by residential apartments. Norton Street plays host to various events throughout the year, notably the Italian Fiesta in October, which showcases the Italian culture of the area. The second shopping centre, MarketPlace Leichhardt (formerly Market Town), is located towards Haberfield on the corner of Marion and Flood Streets. MarketPlace Leichhardt has free car parking and is home to Woolworths,

Aldi Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

and over 60 specialty stores.

Transport

Leichhardt can be accessed by several main roads including

(

, Balmain Road, Marion Street and Catherine Street. The

City West Link City West Link is a link road connecting Parramatta Road and the Western Distributor through the Inner West suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was bypassed by the WestConnex project upon its completion in November 2023. This na ...

runs along the northern border of Leichhardt and is a major arterial road, which is part of the A4 and crosses the

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 ...

to the CBD. Leichhardt is well serviced 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 ...

through city and cross regional services. Leichhardt Bus Depot is located on the corner of William and Derbyshire Street. The following list provides the bus routes in Leichhardt: *437 travels from

Five Dock Five Dock is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay. Location Fi ...

to City QVB via Haberfield,

. *438X, 438N travel from

Martin Place Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.

, Railway Square, Parramatta Road, Leichhardt Town Hall, Haberfield, Abbotsford, with 438N being the all stops early morning and late night service, and 438X the limited stop service. *440 travels from

Bondi Junction Bondi Junction is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 6 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Local government in Australia, local governm ...

Rozelle Rozelle is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 4 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council. Location Rozelle s ...

via Railway Square, Parramatta Road, Leichhardt Town Hall, Rozelle (Terry Street) *445 travels from Balmain (

Darling Street Darling Street is a 3.1 kilometre street in Sydney, Australia running from Victoria Road, Sydney, Victoria Road to Balmain East ferry wharf. It is the main thoroughfare and high street of the suburbs of Rozelle and Balmain, New South Wales, Bal ...

), Rozelle, Leichhardt, Petersham,

Dulwich Hill Dulwich Hill is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 7.5 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Inner West Council. Dulwich Hill stretche ...

Hurlstone Park Hurlstone Park is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Hurlstone Park is located nine kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is mostly in the local government area of the City of Canterbur ...

, Canterbury station, Campsie station *469 travels from Leichhardt to

*480, 483, 461X travel from the

Domain A domain is a geographic area controlled by a single person or organization. Domain may also refer to: Law and human geography * Demesne, in English common law and other Medieval European contexts, lands directly managed by their holder rather ...

(461X),

Railway Square Railway Square is a plaza at the southern end of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia, formed by the confluence of Broadway, Sydney, Broadway, Lee Street, Pitt Street and George Street, Sydney, George Street. The squa ...

(480, 483) to Strathfield station via

(Leichhardt) and Ashfield shops Metro Goods Haberfield Leichhardt aerial

*470 travels from Circular Quay, Forest Lodge, Annandale and

. The southern portion of Leichhardt is serviced by trains at the nearby

Petersham railway station Petersham railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Suburban line, serving the Sydney suburb of Petersham. It is served by Sydney Trains' T2 Leppington & Inner West Line and occasional T3 Liverpool & Inner West ...

, on the

Inner West & Leppington Line The Leppington & Inner West Line (numbered T2, coloured light blue) is a commuter rail service operated by Sydney Trains, serving the inner west and south-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The service commences from the City Circle, headi ...

. The station is an eight-minute walk from Norton Street, along Railway Street. The western and northern portions of Leichhardt are serviced by 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 ...

. Leichhardt North lies on the northern border with Lilyfield, adjacent to the City West Link. Hawthorne, serving the north-west of the suburb, and Marion, near Marion Street, are on the western border with Haberfield. Taverners Hill is adjacent to Parramatta Road and lies in the south-west corner of the suburb. Leichhardt was served by trams from Sydney's former network from 1887 to the 1950s. The Annandale Line ran down Norton Street. The current bus depot at the top of William Street was a 12 road depot, designed to serve a number of planned lines that were never built. Instead, it was used to stored surplus trams in the off peak period, and was rebuilt as the Government Bus Workshops in 1937. A small spur of track remained and was later used by tour trams going through the depot yard nearest Pioneer Park.

Houses

Being situated close to the city, Leichhardt is an area for great capital growth as it very central and has a lot to offer, so housing is not very cheap and is much sought after. The architecture in Leichhardt ranges from

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

single fronted brick homes to modern new homes and apartment blocks.

Churches and schools

* All Souls

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 ...

Church on the corner of Norton Street and Marion Street * Leichhardt

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Church on the corner of Foster Street and Lords Road * Leichhardt Congregational Church in Elswick Street * Leichhardt Uniting Church in the old

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Central Hall on Wetherill Street * St. Columba and The Holy Souls Parish (

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 ...

) in Elswick Street * St. Fiacre's Parish (Catholic) in Catherine Street * St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Roseby Street * The Parish of St. Gerasimos Church (

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

) in Henry Street Leichhardt has a number of primary schools and one secondary school. *Kegworth Public School, a primary, co-educational public school, established in 1887, is located on Tebbutt Street. *Leichhardt Public School, a primary, co-educational public school, established in 1891, is located on Marion Street. *St. Columba's Primary School, a

, primary, co-educational public school, established in 1898, is located on Elswick Street. *St. Fiacre's Primary School, a Catholic, primary, co-educational public school, established in 1894, is located on Catherine Street. *

Sydney Secondary College Leichhardt Campus The Leichhardt Campus of the Sydney Secondary College is a government-funded, co-educational, dual modality, partially academically selective and comprehensive junior secondary day school, located in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Leich ...

, a secondary, co-educational public school (partially selective; 7–10), established in 2002, is located on Balmain Road.

Landmarks

* Leichhardt Fire Station on the corner of Marion Street and Balmain Road * Leichhardt Hotel (Former) on the corner of Balmain Road and Wetherill Street * Norton Hotel on the corner of Norton Street and Parramatta Road * Old Cyclops Toy Factory on William Street * Palace Cinema on Norton Street The following buildings are listed on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

: *

Leichhardt Town Hall The Leichhardt Town Hall is a landmark civic building in Leichhardt, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It stands at 107 Norton Street. It was built in 1888 in the Victorian Italianate style by architects Drake and Walcott. The Town Hall was the sea ...

, corner Norton and Marion Streets (1888) * Post Office, corner Norton and Weatherill Streets (1888) * Public School Buildings, Marion Street (first building 1891, second building 1897) * Church of England, corner Norton and Marion Streets (1883)

Parks and recreation

*Pioneers Memorial Park is located in

and features large grassed areas, native and formal plantings, a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

and the Bicentennial

Rotunda A rotunda () is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (an example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). ...

. It was formally the location for the

Balmain Cemetery Balmain Cemetery was a cemetery in Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia (the area is very close to the present day Sydney suburb of Balmain). The Pioneers Memorial Park now stands in its place. History When the estate of Balmain was laid out ...

. *War Memorial Park is situated on the corner of Moore and Catherine Streets and features large grassed areas as well as shaded areas and a children's

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

. *36th Battalion Park is situated on the corner of Mackenzie and Hill St and features medium-sized grassed park, electric barbecue, children's play equipment and a half-size

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor ...

. *Blackmore Oval is located off Canal Road and is used to play competitive

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 ...

and Cricket, amongst others, in the local area. it is the home ground for the Leichhardt Wanderers Junior Rugby League and Cricket club. Facilities include cricket nets, public toilets and the clubhouse. *

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 ...

: Home to

NRL 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 ...

team

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 ...

and previously for the

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 ...

team

APIA Leichhardt Tigers APIA Leichhardt Football Club, also known simply as APIA (Associazione Poli-sportiva Italo Australiana), is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Leichhardt, New South Wales, Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. The club was forme ...

. *

Lambert Park (Leichhardt) Lambert Park is a purpose-built soccer stadium in Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia. It is the home ground of APIA Leichhardt, and has been since the clubs inception. The stadium is peculiar in that it runs east to west, rather than nort ...

is located on Marion Street and is the home of

team

Culture

Leichhardt is home to many creative industry workers and is known for its colourful and inventive

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

art, such as the panorama at the Renwick Lane and at the

Hawthorne Canal The Hawthorne Canal, a southern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a heritage-listed artificial waterway located in the western reaches of Sydney Harbour, in the Inner West suburbs of Lewisham, Summer Hill, Haberfield and Leichhardt in N ...

Railway Underpass. Leichhardt has access to many art and cultural organisations. Commercial galleries are found throughout the area and Boomali Gallery, the Aboriginal Arts Organisation is situated in Flood Street in Leichhardt. The Italian community has a wealth of social and cultural organisations located in Leichhardt, and work is underway everyday to develop the Italian Forum Cultural Centre. Co.As.It. is one of them and they provide a range of culturally and

linguistically Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds and equivalent gestures i ...

appropriate services to enhance the quality of life of the community and to promote the Italian language and culture in

. The suburb was originally considered to be Sydney's 'little Italy', but that reputation has since decreased. Leichhardt is the yearly host of the Italian Festa on Norton Street where local traffic is temporarily closed on Norton and neighbouring streets transforming surroundings into a huge European style outdoor café, celebrating Leichhardt's cultural diversity with an International Food

Fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

, gift stalls, community expos and live entertainment throughout the day. Leichhardt is also known for its café culture with cafés in abundance. The oldest café in the area is Café Sport, which is located on

Population

According to the of Population, there were 15,158 people in Leichhardt. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.3% of the population. * 67.6% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 5.0%, Italy 2.4%, New Zealand 2.4%, China 1.4% and Ireland 1.0%. * 76.3% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 4.0%, Mandarin 1.8%, Spanish 1.8%, Greek 1.3% and Cantonese 1.1%. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 50.5% and Catholic 24.4%. 33.6% of occupied dwellings were terraces, semis or

townhouses A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residenc ...

, 36.5% were separate density housing houses and 29.0% were apartments. The average age of people in the suburb was similar to the rest of Sydney (37) and a lower percentage of people owned their homes outright (23.8%) than those paying them off (34.1%) or renting (40.4%). Median loan repayments ($3,400 per month) were much higher than the national figure ($1,863). Since the middle of the 20th century, Leichhardt has been a centre for the Italian community, reflected in the many Italian-owned businesses in the area. Although it has become less distinctively Italian with the increasing

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

of the suburb and movement of families to suburbs with larger blocks of land, its Italian character is still palpable, particularly in the popular restaurants and cafés of its main street,

. Many residents moved to suburbs further away from Sydney as the city has expanded and larger housing blocks became available.

Politics

* Federal Government: Leichhardt is in the

Division of Grayndler The Division of Grayndler is an Electorates of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. It is currently represented by Prime Minister of Austra ...

in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

. * State Government: Leichhardt is in the

Electoral district of Balmain Balmain is an New South Wales Legislative Assembly electoral districts, electoral district of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly of the Australian state of New South Wales in Regions of Sydney, Sydney's Inner West. It ...

in the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

. * Local Government: Leichhardt is in the

Notable residents

* Brian Blain (1936–1994), actor *

Vanessa Downing Vanessa Downing (born 5 May 1958) also known as Vanessa Ryan, is an Australian actress and singer, voice artist and lawyer Downing was appearing with singing group ''The Madrigals'', an acapella group who were performing at the Sydney O ...

(born 1958), actress * Thelma Forshaw (1923–1995), writer, journalist – attended St Fiacre's Primary School *

Aaron Woods Aaron Woods (born 13 March 1991) is an Australian former rugby league forward who captained Wests Tigers and played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, St. George Illawarra Dragons and Manly Warringah Sea Eagle ...

(born 1991), rugby league player

Gallery

Hawthorne canal - Leichhardt Sydney. 2022.jpg, Hawthorne Canal - 2022 Leichhardt Sydney NSW Australia - 2022 - 1.jpg, Greenway path - Leichhardt 2022

References

External links

Inner West Council websiteSYDNEY.com – Leichhardt
{{Authority control Suburbs of Sydney Inner West Council