Chester Hill, a suburb of local government area City of Bankstown

City of Bankstown

The City of Bankstown is a city and Local Government Area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, centred on the suburb of Bankstown....

 is located 25 kilometres 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 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...

, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney

Greater Western Sydney

Greater Western Sydney is a term used to describe the western region of the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. The University of Western Sydney defines Greater Western Sydney as comprising 14 local government areas...

 region. Chester Hill shares the postcode of 2162 with the neighbouring suburb of Sefton

Sefton, New South Wales

Sefton, a suburb of local government area City of Bankstown, is located 23 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the Western Sydney region....

.

History

It is regarded by some that the name was derived from the local aboriginal inhabitants, who thought they had discovered a mountain, instead the tribal elder proclaimed it was "just a hill" hence the name "Chester Hill".

The name for Chester Hill is an inversion of Hillchester, an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 locality. 'Chester' is one of the English forms of the Latin word 'castra' meaning a fortified camp. The name for the suburb was conferred by Mrs H. A. McMillan, who first wished to call the place Hillcrest, after an estate near Regent’s Park, and then Hillchester but neither of these names met with official approval.

Originally part of John Thomas Campbell's estate, known as Campbell Hill, it covered 1000 acres (4 km²). Land was used for market gardens and orchards until the opening of the railway line in 1924 when the area developed into residential and light industrial.

Commercial area

Chester Square in Chester Hill is a newly developed shopping centre, catering for the catchment of Chester Hill,Sefton, Birrong and Bass Hill. Directly situated behind the main road of Waldron Road. Amenities in the suburb include the Chester Hill branch of the Bankstown City Libraries, Chester Hill Fire Station and a community centre.

Transport

Chester Hill railway station is on the Bankstown Line of the CityRail

CityRail

CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...

 network.

Schools

There are three schools in Chester Hill, including Chester Hill Public School and Chester Hill North Public School, which cater for years Kindergarten to Year 6, and Chester Hill High School

Chester Hill High School

Chester Hill High School is a high school located in Chester Hill, New South Wales, Australia. It caters for students from years 7 to 12. Classes began on 4 February 1962 with 325 students. The school was officially opened on 1 March 1965 by Jack Renshaw, the Premier of New South Wales...

 which caters for Years 7 to 12. Chester Hill is also home to the main campus of Southern Cross College

Southern Cross College

Alphacrucis is a Christian tertiary college and is the official ministry training college of Australian Christian Churches, the Assemblies of God in Australia. The College has several campuses however the main campus is in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia...

, a pentecostal bible college offering degrees up to Master's level.

Parks and recreation

Parks in Chester Hill include the Terry Lamb Complex

Terry Lamb Complex

Terry Lamb Complex is located on Banool St, Chester Hill, New South Wales. It is the home ground of the Chester Hill Hornets who compete in the Canterbury-Bankstown District Junior Rugby League competition. The complex is named after Terry Lamb who played for the Hornets as a junior...

, which incorporates Frank Bamfield Oval, and Abbott Park which is home to the Chester Hill Youth Cricket Club and Chester Hill Hornets Junior Rugby League club. Recreational amenities also include an RSL club, bowling club and community garden.

Demographics

In the 2006 Australian census, Chester Hill recorded a population of 10,513 with 37.4% being born overseas.http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationList?newgeography=State+Suburb&level1=1&level2=SSC11217&submitbutton=View+QuickStats+%3E&mapdisplay=on&collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=1%7ESSC11217&geography=State+Suburb&method=&productlabel=&producttype=QuickStats&topic=&navmapdisplayed=true&javascript=true&breadcrumb=PL&topholder=0&leftholder=0¤taction=102&action=401&textversion=false&subaction=2]
ChesterHill, like the rest of the Bankstown

City of Bankstown

The City of Bankstown is a city and Local Government Area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, centred on the suburb of Bankstown....

 area, is a very culturally diverse suburb. The largest ethnic groups in Chester Hill are those coming from a Lebanese or Vietnamese background.

Notable residents

• Christian Heim
  Christian Heim
  Christian Heim is an Australian composer and psychiatrist.Heim was born in Sydney and currently lives in Brisbane. He studied under Peter Sculthorpe and has conducted and composed in Vienna, Paris and New York...
  
   - Composer and medical researcher who grew up in Chester Hill.
• Terry Lamb
  Terry Lamb
  Terry Lamb OAM, is an Australian retired professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played 349 games , with Wests , and Canterbury . Lamb was known for his support of the ball-carrier - his ability to be in the right place at the right time netted him 164 tries. This earned him the moniker...
  
   - Former rugby league player with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Australian Test side—a long-term Chester Hill resident.
• Rebecca Rippon
  Rebecca Rippon
  Rebecca Rippon is an Australian water polo player. She was a member of the Australia women's national water polo team that won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics....
  
   - Australian women's water polo player and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games bronze medallist
• Dr Michael Bialoguski - Part-time ASIO
  Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
  The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is Australia's national security service, which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically-motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system, and...
  
   agent who arranged the 1954 defection
  Petrov Affair
  The Petrov Affair was a dramatic Cold War spy incident in Australia in April 1954, concerning Vladimir Petrov, Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra.- History :...
  
   of Soviet diplomat Vladimir Petrov
  Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov (diplomat)
  Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov was a member of the Soviet Union's clandestine services who became famous in 1954 for his defection to Australia.-Early life:...
  
  

Politics

Chester Hill is part of the City of Bankstown

City of Bankstown

The City of Bankstown is a city and Local Government Area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, centred on the suburb of Bankstown....

. The area to the north of the pipeline is part of the City of Parramatta

City of Parramatta

The City of Parramatta is a Local Government Area in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.Initially in 1861 it was formed as Municipality of Parramatta...

. For state elections, Chester Hill is split between the electorates of Bankstown, Fairfield and Auburn. Federally, it lies in the electorate of Blaxland

Division of Blaxland

The Division of Blaxland is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. It is based in the western suburbs of Sydney, and includes the working-class suburbs of Bass Hill, Birrong, Carramar, Chester Hill, Condell Park, Fairfield East, Georges Hall, Guildford West, Old Guildford,...

.