North St Marys, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
North St Marys is a suburb
in western
Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
Australia
. North St Marys is located 47 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district
, in the local government area of the City of Penrith
. North St Marys is an extension of the adjoining suburb of St Marys
.
lifestyle governed by traditional laws, which had their origins in the Dreamtime
. Their homes were bark huts called 'gunyahs'. They hunted kangaroo
s and emu
s for meat, and gathered yam
s, berries and other native plants. Little else is known of their customs and there are no known carvings or rock paintings in the area. By 1816, their numbers had been reduced by smallpox
and clashes with the British settlers.
, North St Marys had a population of 3,646, who tended to be a bit younger (33) than the national average (37). Most people were Australian born (71%) with minorities born in England
(3.3%), Philippines
(2.5%), New Zealand
(1.7%), Fiji
(1.2%) and Samoa
(0.8%). The language spoken most commonly, other than English, was Arabic
(2.6%). The median income was $350 per week, noticeably less than the national average of $466. Most houses were either owned outright (25%) or were being paid off (32%) but the number of rental properties (39%) was higher than the national average and over half the rental properties were rented from the Housing Commission.
, represented by Labor's
Allan Shearan
. Federally, it is part of the Division of Lindsay
, represented by Labor's
David Bradbury
.
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 western
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...
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...
. North St Marys is located 47 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 local government area of the City of Penrith
City of Penrith
The City of Penrith is a Local Government Area in Sydney, located about west of Sydney's central business district.- History :The Municipality of Penrith was incorporated on 12 May 1871 under the Municipalities Act 1858. On 3 March 1890, St Marys was separately incorporated, and on 26 July 1893...
. North St Marys is an extension of the adjoining suburb of St Marys
St Marys, New South Wales
St Marys is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. St Marys is located 45 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith....
.
Aboriginal culture
Prior to European settlement, what is now North St Marys was home to the Gomerrigal-Tongarra people who spoke the Darug language. They lived a hunter-gathererHunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
lifestyle governed by traditional laws, which had their origins in the Dreamtime
Dreamtime
In the animist framework of Australian Aboriginal mythology, The Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed The Creation.-The Dreaming of the Aboriginal times:...
. Their homes were bark huts called 'gunyahs'. They hunted kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s and emu
Emu
The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...
s for meat, and gathered yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
s, berries and other native plants. Little else is known of their customs and there are no known carvings or rock paintings in the area. By 1816, their numbers had been reduced by smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
and clashes with the British settlers.
European settlement
The first land grant in the area was made in 1820 to Phillip Parker King, son of the Governor Phillip Gidley King. He named it Triangle Farm but did very little with the land and it remained largely vacant land until the 1940s when it was bought by the Commonwealth Government to house workers at the St Marys munitions factory.Demographics
According to the 2006 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, North St Marys had a population of 3,646, who tended to be a bit younger (33) than the national average (37). Most people were Australian born (71%) with minorities born in England
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...
(3.3%), Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
(2.5%), New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(1.7%), Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
(1.2%) and Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
(0.8%). The language spoken most commonly, other than English, was Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
(2.6%). The median income was $350 per week, noticeably less than the national average of $466. Most houses were either owned outright (25%) or were being paid off (32%) but the number of rental properties (39%) was higher than the national average and over half the rental properties were rented from the Housing Commission.
Governance
At a local government level, North St Marys is part of the east ward of Penrith City Council, represented by Kaylene Allison, Greg Davies, Tanya Davies, Jackie Greenow & Marko Malkoc. At the state level, it is part of the Electoral district of LondonderryElectoral district of Londonderry
Londonderry is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Bart Bassett of the Liberal Party of Australia.-Members for Londonderry:-Election results:...
, represented by Labor's
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
Allan Shearan
Allan Shearan
Allan Francis Shearan is a former Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.Shearan represented Londonderry for the Australian Labor Party from 2003 to 2011.-Notes:...
. Federally, it is part of the Division of Lindsay
Division of Lindsay
The Division of Lindsay is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, and is centred around Penrith. It also includes the suburbs of Castlereagh, Mulgoa and Werrington....
, represented by Labor's
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
David Bradbury
David Bradbury
David John Bradbury is an Australian politician. He is an Australian Labor Party Member of the House of Representatives representing the Division of Lindsay, New South Wales. Bradbury was elected at the 2007 federal election.Bradbury has lived in Western Sydney all his life, and was educated at...
.