Barden Ridge is a suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 in southern

Southern Sydney

This article refers to an area the same as a combination of St George and SutherlandSouthern Sydney is a general term which is used to describe the southern metropolitan area of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia....

 Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, in the state of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Barden Ridge is located 31 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district

Sydney central business district

The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...

 in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire

Sutherland Shire

The Sutherland Shire is a Local Government Area in the Southern Sydney region of Sydney, Australia. Geographically, it is the area to the south of Botany Bay and the Georges River...

. Barden Ridge is colloquially known to locals as 'The Ridge'.

Location

Barden Ridge is located on the Woronora River

Woronora River

The Woronora River flows north from near Helensburgh into the Georges River between Como and Illawong.- Crossings :The river is crossed by high level and low level road bridges and a footbridge in Woronora, New South Wales...

, which flows north into the Georges River

Georges River

The Georges River is a waterway in the state of New South Wales in Australia. It rises to the south-west of Sydney near the coal mining town of Appin, and then flows north past Campbelltown, roughly parallel to the Main South Railway...

. 'The Needles', is a body of water (fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

) on the Woronora River, on one of the original roads west from Helensburgh

Helensburgh, New South Wales

Helensburgh is a small town in New South Wales, Australia. Helensburgh is located 45 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and north of Wollongong. Helensburgh is in the local government area of Wollongong City Council and marks the northern end of the Illawarra region...

. On the northern side of the fjord lies the fresh water source of the Woronora River, whilst on the other side is salt water. The water, between two steep hills, remains so cold that even during summer it has been known to have caused heart attacks. While car access has been generally blocked, pedestrian access is still available. This area is also popular for recreational activities such as hiking and mountain biking.

Barden Ridge has shifted from a remote bushland area, when known as Lucas Heights, to an expanding suburb that now contains all the necessary amenities that have established a strong community.

History

Barden Ridge was named after Alfred Barden, whose pioneering family is associated with the Bangor

Bangor, New South Wales

Bangor is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bangor is located 28 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire in the area commonly called Menai...

 area prior to the 1850s. In early times Barden Ridge had been used to identify the geographical location and Lucas Heights was given to the suburb that developed here.

The residential area of Lucas Heights

Lucas Heights, New South Wales

Lucas Heights is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lucas Heights is located 31 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire....

 was renamed Barden Ridge in 1996, to disassociate it from the area containing the nuclear reactor and the waste management centre.

Transport

The nearest train station is at Sutherland on the City Rail Illawarra line and South Coast

South Coast railway line, New South Wales

The South Coast Line is in the intercity region of Sydney's CityRail services. It serves the coastal region to the south of the Sydney metropolitan area including the Illawarra region, most notably the regional city of Wollongong, and extended services reach as far as Nowra in Shoalhaven.- Line...

 lines. Veolia Transport, formerly known as Connex Southtrans operates the local bus service.

In 2005, the Bangor Bypass

Bangor Bypass, New South Wales

The Bangor Bypass, completed in February 2005, was designed to alleviate traffic on the main road through Bangor and Menai as well as increasing travel speed through the area. The bypass project had been planned many years earlier and some residents were surprised when the development finally...

 was completed. It takes motorists directly from Sutherland to Barden Ridge, instead of passing through Menai and Bangor. A new section of the Bypass is under construction and will pass by Barden Ridge improving the current access to the area and Heathcote Road (to the south).

Sport and recreation

The Ridge Sports Complex is a major sporting facility on the western side of New Illawarra Road. It features playing fields and associated amenities buildings, netball

Netball

Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

 courts, a synthetic athletic track and golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 driving range. Also planned for this area are hockey

Hockey

Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...

 fields, a championship golf course and club facilities to service the needs of the sporting and golfing community.Barden Ridge plays host to arguably the best soccer team to walk the face of this earth, the Barden Ridgeback F.C.

Schools

Barden Ridge has two schools: Lucas Heights Community School and Sutherland Shire Christian School

Sutherland Shire Christian School

Sutherland Shire Christian School is a non-denominational, Protestant, parent-controlled private school for co-educational students located in Sydney, Australia. It was founded in 1977 by a group of people who felt a calling to provide their children with an environment in which to gain an...

.

Politics

Barden Ridge comes under the Federal seat of Hughes

Division of Hughes

The Division of Hughes is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1955 and is named for Billy Hughes, who was Prime Minister of Australia 1915-23...

, which is currently held by Liberal MP Craig Kelly

Craig Kelly (politician)

Craig Kelly , an Australian federal politician, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the seat of Hughes, New South Wales for the Liberal Party of Australia, elected at the 2010 federal election....

. In State Government, it comes under the seat of Menai

Electoral district of Menai

Menai is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Melanie Gibbons of the Liberal Party of Australia. Currently, it is the only state seat in the state of New South Wales to have always been represented by a woman.-Members for...

, which is currently held by the Liberal Party MP Melanie Gibbons,. In Local Government, Barden Ridge falls under Sutherland Shire

Sutherland Shire

The Sutherland Shire is a Local Government Area in the Southern Sydney region of Sydney, Australia. Geographically, it is the area to the south of Botany Bay and the Georges River...

E Ward, which has three representatives.