Penshurst () 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 ...

southern Sydney Southern Sydney, also commonly referred to as the Southern suburbs, is the southern metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Southern Sydney is a title for the regions and neighbourhoods which fall dire ...

, 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 ...

. Penshurst is located 17 kilometres south of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...

it is part of the

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

area, and part of the

Georges River Council Georges River Council is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the St George (Sydney), St George region of Sydney located south of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...

local government area. Penshurst features low to

medium-density housing Medium-density housing is a term used within urban planning and academic literature to refer to a category of residential development that falls between detached suburban housing and large multi-story buildings. There is no singular definition of ...

History

Penshurst was named after

Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Weald, Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, Kent, River Eden, within the Seveno ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

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 ...

. Originally part of the land grant to Robert Townson (1763–1827), the land was acquired in 1830 by John Connell, who left it to his grandsons J.C. and E.P. Laycock. Connell's Bush was subdivided by the Laycocks and the western part sold to

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort Thomas Sutcliffe Mort (23 December 18169 May 1878) was an Australian industrialist who improved the refrigeration of meat. He was renowned for speculation in the local sheep, pastoral industry as well as industrial activities such as his Ice-W ...

. The early work in the area was timber-cutting and small farming. The railway station opened 17 May 1890. A large portion of Penshurst located south of the railway line is referred to as the MacRae's Estate, as it was once owned by the MacRae family. This particular area is now between Laycock Road and Grove Avenue, and Hillcrest and Railway Parade. The original homestead is still present on Laycock Road, along with a caretakers house for the stables. McRaes Reserve used to have a river running through it and the path of that river is now replaced with an underground rainwater system.

Heritage listings

Penshurst has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 663–665 King Georges Road: West Maling * Laycock Road: Penshurst Reservoirs

Commercial area

The main shopping centre is located around Penshurst railway station on Penshurst Street, Bridge Street and The Strand. Commercial developments are also found along Forest Road and King Georges Road. The Penshurst RSL Club is a centre of social activity. The area also contains

The Gamesmen The Gamesmen is an Australian video game, table top games and toy retailer based in Penshurst, New South Wales. It was founded in 1982. Retro Video Game Museum The Retro Video Game Museum is a small permanent display area inside The Gamesmen, ...

Store and Museum, dedicated to

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

since 1982.

Transport

Penshurst railway station Penshurst railway station is on the Redhill to Tonbridge Line and is located approximately two miles north of Penshurst in Kent, in the village of Chiddingstone Causeway in England. It is measured from via . History Penshurst station was op ...

is on the Illawarra Line of the

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the brand name and operator of Railways in Sydney, suburban and intercity train services in and around Greater Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The metropolitan part of the network is a hybrid urban rail, urban-suburban r ...

network. It is approximately 27 minutes from Sydney Central via train. The main roads through Penshurst are

King Georges Road King Georges Road is a major suburban arterial road through south-western Sydney, Australia. It is a constituent part of the A3 route. Route King Georges Road commences at the intersection of Wiley Avenue and Punchbowl Road in Wiley Park ...

and Forest Road.

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 ...

also operates bus services 941 and 943 in Penshurst.

Places of worship

*St Declan's Roman Catholic Church *St John Anglican Church *St Andrew Presbyterian *Penshurst Uniting Church *

Penshurst Mosque The Penshurst Mosque is a mosque in the southern Sydney suburb of Penshurst, in the St George area. The mosque is supervised by the Australian Islamic Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina Inc. History The earliest beginnings of Penshurst Mosque ...

(Australian Bosnian Islamic Society) *Penshurst Jehovahs Witnesses Kingdom Hall *Penshurst Assemblies of God Church *Revival Life Centre *Penshurst General Church of New Jerusalem

Schools

* George's River College Penshurst Campus * Marist College Penshurst * St Declans Catholic Primary School * Penshurst Public School * Penshurst West Primary School * Hurstville Grove Infants School

Sport and recreation

Penshurst local attractions include an Aquatic Centre, a park and tennis courts. Penshurst RSL Junior Rugby League Club, part of the St. George District Junior Rugby League competition, is a

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 ...

club that operates from HV Evatt Park in nearby

Lugarno Lugarno is a suburb situated in the St George area of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the local government area of the Georges River Council, 23 kilometres south of the Sydney central business distr ...

. Penshurst has a local cricket club and play in the St George District Cricket Association and have been established for over 50 years. They are based at Olds Park which also includes their soccer club. Penshurst Park and Hurstville Aquatic Leisure Centre are located on King Georges Road. Parks:
Penshurst Park

McRaes Park

Gifford Park

Demographics

In the 2021 Census, there were 12,592 people in Penshurst. The most common ancestries were Chinese 24.5%, English 16.0%, Australian 14.4%, Nepalese 9.4% and Irish 5.8%. 47.7% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 13.0%, Nepal 8.7%, Philippines 2.6%, Hong Kong 2.4% and New Zealand 1.5%. 42.5% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 11.8%, Nepali 8.9%, Cantonese 8.6%, Greek 3.5% and Arabic 2.7%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were No Religion 29.2%, Catholic 21.4%, Hinduism 9.7%, Eastern Orthodox 6.9% and Anglican 6.8%.

Notable residents

* Ruby Olive Boye-Jones (1891–1990), coastwatcher * Sue Denison, received the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

for services to nursing as a nurse practitioner, and services to the Nundle district *

Colin Fraser Colin Fraser may refer to: * Colin Fraser (Australian politician) (died 1877), Australian politician *Colin Fraser (Canadian politician) (born 1978), Canadian politician *Colin Fraser (ice hockey) Colin Fraser (born January 28, 1985) is a Canadia ...

, rugby league player * John Patrick Hamilton, Victoria Cross recipient * Jack Holland, rugby league player *

Jock Marshall Alan John "Jock" Marshall (17 February 1911 – 20 July 1967) was an Australian writer, academic and ornithologist. Marshall was born in Redfern, New South Wales. Despite having lost an arm in a shooting accident at the age of sixteen, he was ...

(1911–1967), professor of zoology * Jack McCormack, rugby league player * Arthur McGuinness (1878–1970), school teacher and union leader *

Chris Minns Christopher John Minns (born 17 September 1979) is an Australian politician serving as the 47th and current premier of New South Wales since March 2023. He has been the leader of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) si ...

(born 1979), 47th

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...

grew up in Penshurst

References

{{Sydney Georges River Council suburbs Suburbs of Sydney Georges River Council