Sutton Forest is a small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the Southern Highlands,

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 ...

Wingecarribee Shire Wingecarribee Shire is the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Southern Highlands (New South Wales), Southern Highlands in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Wingecarribee Shire is around southwest of Sydney a ...

. It is located 5 km southwest of

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. Moss Vale is the administrative centre of Wingecarribee Shire local government area. It is located south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. The Illawarra Hi ...

on the Illawarra Highway. Sutton Forest was originally granted, then owned by Navy Chief officer, Captain John Nicholson who recently emigrated from Scotland to Australia. This privately owned estate was originally 700 acres, this is where John Nicholson lived and died. Sutton Forest is located in an agrarian setting and is surrounded by farms, vineyards and is home to manor homes and estates. It is in one of the oldest areas settled by Europeans in Australia after Sydney and is somewhat reminiscent of an English village due to the temperate Southern Highlands climate and high rainfall. Sutton Forest comprises two churches, an inn, and two specialty shops. In 2004, a proposal to locate Sydney's second airport in Sutton Forest met with fierce opposition from locals. It was one of the first colonial settlements outside Sydney and thus has many heritage buildings such as the Hillview Heritage Hotel which was built in 1850s. It is home to the historical Peppers Manor House, Sutton Forest also known as Mount Broughton.

Etymology

In 1819 it was named by Governor

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...

after

Charles Manners-Sutton, 1st Viscount Canterbury Charles Manners-Sutton, 1st Viscount Canterbury, (9 January 1780 – 21 July 1845) was a British Tory (political faction), Tory politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 181 ...

, a speaker of the House of Commons. The surrounding area is part of the lands administrative unit of the Sutton Forest Parish.

Population

According to the , Sutton Forest had a population of 477. 81.2% of people were born in Australia and 88.4% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were Anglican 33.5%, Catholic 23.5% and no religion 22.0%. At the 2021 census, 504 people were recorded at Sutton Forrest.

Churches

* All Saints' Anglican Church and Churchyard * St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church and Churchyard * Peppers Manor House, Sutton Forest also known as Mount Broughton.

School

* Sutton Forest Public School

Heritage listings

Sutton Forest has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Golden Vale Road:

Golden Vale The Golden Vale () is the historic name given to an area of rolling pastureland in the province of Munster in southwestern Ireland. The area covers parts of three counties: Cork, Limerick and Tipperary. Considered the best land in Ireland ...

* Old Illawarra Highway: Hillview * 217 Oldbury Road: Whitley

Notable residents

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

and

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...

own ''Bunya Hill'', a 45 hectare estate and cattle stud farm within the village.

References

* ''Exploring the ACT and Southeast New South Wales'', J. Kay McDonald, Kangaroo Press, Sydney, 1985

External links

Sutton Forest
Towns of the Southern Highlands (New South Wales) Hume Highway Wingecarribee Shire {{Wingecarribee-geo-stub