Padstow, 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
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 ...
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 ...
, is located 21 kilometres south-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 ...
, in the state of
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and is a part of the
South-western Sydney
South Western Sydney is a region of the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated in the south-west of the larger Sydney metropolitan area, and is part of the predominantly working class area of Greater Western Sydney. Geograph ...
region. Padstow is a mostly residential suburb bounded on the north by
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 ...
and on the east by
Salt Pan Creek
Salt Pan Creek is an urban watercourse of the Georges River catchment, located in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
Salt Pan Creek rises west southwest of the suburb of Mount Lewis, w ...
, which is a stream feeding into the
Georges River
The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, that is located in Sydney, Australia. The Georges River is located south and south-west from the Sydney central business district, w ...
. The
M5 South Western Motorway traverses the northern end of the suburb, which is also the location of a number of light industrial facilities.
History
Padstow was first named Padstow Park Estate after the town of
Padstow
Padstow (; ) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary, approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...
in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The Cornish Padstow's name means "the holy place of St Petrock" (not to be confused with St Patrick, as they are spelled and pronounced differently), an important Cornish saint. The estate included the grants of Simon McGuigan (130 acres), Joseph Cunningham and Michael Conroy . Timber-getting and farming were the main activities here.
The Padstow Park post office opened in 1927 and the first school opened in January 1929. The railway station opened on 21 December 1931, which encouraged development in the area, especially after
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 ...
. The suburb's name was changed to Padstow in 1939.
[''The Book of Sydney Suburbs'', Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia , page 197]
Commercial area
Padstow shopping centre is located around
Padstow railway station. Most of the shops are located on the southern side, around the Howard Road and Padstow Parade intersection, but more shops are located on the northern side past Memorial Drive on Cahors Road.
Street names
A number of the streets in the vicinity of Padstow railway station have
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian themes as names, including Arab Road, Cairo Avenue, Pyramid Avenue and Sphinx Avenue. To the west of Padstow, on the border with Revesby there is also a group of streets with
outer space related names, such as Uranus Road, Mars Street, Neptune Street, Hydrae Street and Vega Street.
Transport
Padstow railway station is on 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 ...
Airport & South Line
The Airport & South Line (numbered T8, coloured green; commonly called the East Hills Line) is a commuter rail service operated by Sydney Trains, connecting the Sydney central business district with the southwestern suburbs via Sydney Airport.
...
, west of
Riverwood and east of
Revesby. There are several bus routes that pass through Padstow, all operated by
U-Go Mobility
U-Go Mobility is a bus company in Sydney, Australia, that operates services in Region 10, which serves South Western Sydney, and Sutherland Shire. It is a 50:50 joint venture between UGL and Go-Ahead Group.
History
On 22 December 2022, U-Go Mo ...
. These services developed from routes established by
McVicar's Bus Services, which was dissolved in 1978. The 927 travels from One Tree Point (the easternmost tip of
Padstow Heights
Padstow Heights is a suburb of local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, located 22 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is a part of the South-western Sy ...
) to Padstow. The 962 travels from
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 ...
to
Miranda through Padstow,
Illawong,
Menai and
Sutherland
Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...
. The S5 travels from
Milperra
Milperra, a suburb of Local government in Australia, local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is located 24 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South ...
to Padstow. One
Metrobus Metrobus may refer to:
Transport services Bus Rapid Transit
*MetroBus (Bristol), a bus rapid transit system in Bristol, England, United Kingdom
*Metrobus (Buenos Aires), a bus rapid transit system in Buenos Aires, Argentina
*Metrobus (Istanbul), a ...
route travels through Padstow: M91 and, formerly, M92. M91 travels from
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
Hurstville
Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is south of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD and is part of the St George, New South Wales, St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of ...
, via Granville, Chester Hill, Bankstown, Padstow and
Peakhurst. 960, which replaced the M92 service in September 2023, travels from Bankstown to Sutherland via Padstow and Menai.
Demographics
According to the 2021 census, there were 14,017 residents in Padstow. 56.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 7.3%, Vietnam 4.5%, Lebanon 2.4%, India 1.8% and New Zealand 1.7%. 49.2% of residents spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arabic 7.8%, Cantonese 7.0%, Mandarin 6.5%, Vietnamese 5.5% and Greek 3.3%. The most common responses for religion in Padstow were No Religion 25.2%, Catholic 23.3%, Islam 8.9%, Anglican 8.0% and Eastern Orthodox 7.3%.
Churches
* South West Christian Church
* St Therese Catholic Church
* Padstow Baptist Community Church
* Trinity Christian Church
* Padstow Chinese Congregational Church
* Lifegate Church, Padstow
* Padstow Anglican Church
* Grace Christian Church (formerly Padstow Uniting Church)
Schools
Padstow has five schools – four public schools and one Catholic school. All are K-6, with students then moving to high schools in the nearby suburbs of
Revesby,
Picnic Point,
East Hills or
Milperra
Milperra, a suburb of Local government in Australia, local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is located 24 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South ...
. Padstow North Public School is located on Watson Road, with an access from Halcyon Avenue. Padstow Park Public School is located on Faraday Road but is bounded by Doyle Road and Segers Avenue. Padstow Park Public School gains its title from the original name of the suburb. It is the oldest school in the suburb.
St Therese Primary School is on Chamberlain Road but also has an entrance from Harvey Avenue- it is a single-stream primary school which was opened in 1962. The presbytery for the church is also on Harvey Ave.
Caroline Chisholm is a special needs school for students aged 4–18 requiring moderate to high support. Caroline Chisholm is in Napoli Street.
Sport
The suburb is home to two junior football (soccer) clubs: Padstow United, whose home ground is Playford Park at the intersection of Gibson, Cahors, Watson and Sphinx Roads, and the Padstow Hornets, who play at Stuart Street Reserve on Stuart Street. In the 1960s, the suburb also supported additional football clubs including the now defunct clubs of Padstow Pirates Soccer Club (later renamed South Bankstown Soccer Club), the Padstow Hotspurs Soccer Club and the Padstow RSL Junior Soccer Football Club.
The Padstow Pirates and South Bankstown Soccer clubs used Playford Park as their home ground. Padstow Park, which is on the corner of Davies Road and Banks Road, is the home ground of the Padstow Panthers Junior Rugby League Club. It was also the home ground of the now defunct St Lukes Junior Rugby League Club and the Padstow RSL Junior Soccer Football Club. Padstow is also home to Doug Frost Swim School, where
Ian Thorpe
Ian James Thorpe (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle swimming, freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the medley swimming, individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the se ...
first began swimming.
Padstow Bowling & Recreation Club situated in Iberia Street has two first class synthetic greens and keen supporter of Zone 12 NSW Bowling Association.
Politics
For federal elections, Padstow is located in both the marginal Liberal
federal electoral division of
Banks
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
As banks ...
which seat is currently held by
Zhi Soon
Xian Zhi Soon ( zh, 孙先志) is a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Banks for the Australian Labor Party. At the 2025 Australian federal election, he defeated the sitting member David Coleman, who h ...
, of 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
2025 Australian federal election
The 2025 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 3 May 2025, to elect members of the 48th Parliament of Australia. All 150 seats in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives were up for election, along with 40 ...
and the safe Liberal seat of
Division of Hughes
The Division of Hughes is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales.
History
The division was created in 1955 and is named for B ...
, previously held by
Craig Kelly
Craig Kelly (born 29 September 1963) is an Australian conservative politician who represented the division of Hughes as a Liberal Party (and later United Australia Party) MP from 2010 until his defeat at the 2022 federal election.
Kelly in ...
, who lost the seat after defecting to the
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...
.
For
NSW state elections, Padstow is located in the state
electoral district of East Hills
East Hills is a state electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is represented by member Kylie Wilkinson. In 2019, Wendy Lindsay succeeded Glenn Brookes after he stood down.
Geography
On its ...
. As of 2023, this seat is held by
Kylie Wilkinson
Kylie Anne Wilkinson is an Australian politician. She was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing East Hills for the Labor Party in 2023.
Career
Wilkinson set up a women's shelter for victims of domestic violence ...
.
References
External links
Padstow, Cornwall, UK– Most recent functioning edition from the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Padstow, New South Wales
Suburbs of Sydney
City of Canterbury-Bankstown