Rookwood, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
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...
. Rookwood is located 17 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 Auburn Council
Auburn Council
Auburn Council is the governing body of a local government area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, about 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district...
.
Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery is the largest multicultural necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
is the largest cemetery in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
.
History
Rookwood was named from a title of an 1834 novelRookwood (novel)
Rookwood is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth published in 1834. It is a historical and gothic romance that describes a dispute over the legitimate claim for the inheritance of Rookwood Place and the Rookwood family name.-Background:...
by William Harrison Ainsworth
William Harrison Ainsworth
William Harrison Ainsworth was an English historical novelist born in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in London he met the publisher John Ebers, at that time manager of the King's Theatre, Haymarket...
(1805-1882). A railway station called Haslam’s Creek was opened in this area in 1859, on the railway line from Sydney to Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
. Samuel Haslam owned various grants beside the creek from 1804. Haslam’s Creek was the site of the first railway disaster in New South Wales in July 1858 which resulted in two deaths.
When the necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
opened in 1867 it was known as Haslam’s Creek Cemetery. Residents disliked the association with the burial ground and in 1876 the suburb was renamed Rookwood. The name of the railway station was changed to Rookwood in 1878 and by the 1880s shops were established in the area. In 1891, the municipality of Rookwood was incorporated.
Over time, the necropolis had become known as Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery is the largest multicultural necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. By 1898 residents were again agitated about the association of their suburb with the cemetery and in 1914, the railway station and the residential part of the suburb became Lidcombe
Lidcombe, New South Wales
Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Lidcombe is located 14 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
. Later, Rookwood railway station
Rookwood railway station, Sydney
Rookwood was a railway station on Sydney's South railway line. Until its closure in 1967 it served the Rookwood Cemetery. The station was located between the bridge over Arthur street and the western most junction of the Flemington rail yard...
that served the Rookwood Cemetery was located between the bridge over Arthur street and the westernmost junction of the Flemington rail yard.
Rookwood municipality amalgamated with Auburn
Auburn, New South Wales
Auburn is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Auburn is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Auburn Council.-History:...
in 1949.
Transport
Rookwood railway stationRookwood railway station, Sydney
Rookwood was a railway station on Sydney's South railway line. Until its closure in 1967 it served the Rookwood Cemetery. The station was located between the bridge over Arthur street and the western most junction of the Flemington rail yard...
was on the Southern railway 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 until its closure in 1967. The Rookwood Cemetery Line
Rookwood Cemetery railway line, Sydney
The Rookwood Cemetery Line used to be a part of the Sydney suburban network now known as CityRail. The line serviced Rookwood Cemetery and was built in 1864, opening on 22 October 1864....
serviced Rookwood Cemetery and originally ran from Mortuary railway station, on Regent Street near Central railway station
Central railway station, Sydney
Central Railway Station, the largest railway station in Australia, is at the southern end of the Sydney CBD. It services almost all the lines on the CityRail network, and is the major terminus for interurban and interstate rail services...
but has since closed.
The Cemetery railway line opened on 22 October 1864. At the time of its opening the line went as far as Cemetery Station No. 1
Cemetery Station No. 1 railway station, Sydney
Cemetery Station No. 1 was a railway station on Sydney's Rookwood Cemetery railway line. It served the Rookwood Cemetery.-History:The Cemetery No.1 Train station was on the Rookwood Cemetery railway line...
. On 26 May, 1897 an extension of the line to Cemetery Station No. 3 was opened. The extension required the removal of a waiting room on the rear wall of the Cemetery Station No. 1, so the line could pass right through the building. A final extension, to Cemetery Station No. 4 opened on 19 June, 1908. The line closed in 1948.