Summer Hill, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Summer Hill is a suburb
of Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
. Summer Hill is located 8 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district
, in the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield
.
Summer Hill is a primarily residential suburb of the Inner West
region, adjoining two of Sydney's major arterial roads, Parramatta Road
and Liverpool Road
. The first land grant was made in 1794 to former convict and jailor Henry Kable
, and the suburb began growing following the opening of the railway station on the Main Suburban Line in 1879.
Before settlement, Summer Hill was the home of the Wangal and Cadigal
Aboriginal peoples, and the area was open and inhabited by kangaroo
s. By the 1920s, the suburb had become relatively upper class
, with large estates and mansions built throughout the suburb. Some of these still exist today. Following a transition to a working class
suburb in the mid-20th century, when many of the large estates were demolished or subdivided, the suburb today has a "village" character and a mix of medium-density apartment blocks and federation houses. It is also multicultural, with 35% of the population today born overseas.
to the east. North of Summer Hill is the suburb of Haberfield
, to the east is Lewisham
, to the south is Dulwich Hill
, and to the west is Ashfield
.
Summer Hill features a mix of federation-era houses, as well as medium density apartment blocks near the railway station. Local independent business
people run most of the shops. The local council has defined a village character for the suburb. Summer Hill is a suburb rich in heritage. More than one hundred properties are heritage listed, and the strong feelings of some residents of the suburb towards protecting the local architecture has seen the introduction of a heritage review, which is expected to add more properties to the heritage register.
Despite formerly being working class, Summer Hill and many of the surrounding suburbs have gradually undergone gentrification
over recent years. Culturally, Summer Hill is a blend of medium-density European Sydney suburbia, with Italian influences (which are most evident in Leichhardt to the East and Haberfield to the North), Eastern influences (which are most strongly evident in Ashfield to the West), and smaller influences from many other cultures.
at Port Jackson
in 1788, the area of Summer Hill and its surrounds was the home of the Wangal and Cadigal Aboriginal peoples. What is now called the Hawthorne Canal
(originally Long Cove Creek) appears to have marked the boundary between the Cadigal and Wangal aboriginal group lands. Today there is a small park in Summer Hill, called Cadigal Reserve, located at 1-4 Grosvenor Crescent. A bronze plaque placed by Ashfield Council names the reserve after the Cadigal (Eora) group of Koori people. Iron Cove and the mangrove-lined estuaries of the Long Cove and Iron Cove Creeks would have provided a good source of fish and molluscs, the most common food of the coastal tribes in the Sydney basin
.
In the early days of the colony, the stretch of land between Iron Cove and the Cook's River was known as the Kangaroo Ground. This name suggests that the land was open terrain favoured by kangaroos, that they were common in the area and may have formed a significant part of the Aboriginal diet.
No record is known to exist relating to the demise of the Aboriginal population from the district. It seems likely that the well-documented outbreak of smallpox among local Aboriginal people
in early 1789 had a major impact. Governor Phillip
not only recorded that half of the local Aboriginal population was estimated to have died from the disease, but he also noted that the Aboriginal people always "retired from where the diseases appeared" as well.
The first land grant in this area was for a farm in 1794, to former convict and jailor Henry Kable
. The land in the eastern corner of Summer Hill was an additional grant of 30 acres (12.1 ha) made to Henry Kable
in 1804. This eastern corner would subsequently become part of the estate of James Underwood. Underwood died in 1844 and left a will so complicated that it required special legislation before it could be subdivided.
The earliest known use of the name "Summer Hill" was in 1876, for a land subdivision adjacent to the present-day St Andrew's Anglican Church. The name Summer Hill is thought to be a name chosen by the land sub-divider, presumably based on an attachment for England. Local historians regard the suggestion that the name is a derivation of "Sunning Hill" as a dubious story which has no substance.
Summer Hill's largest mansion, Carleton (now the Grosvenor Hospital's main building), was built in the early 1880s on Liverpool Road for Charles Carleton Skarrat. The suburb boomed with the opening of the railway station in 1879, and was followed by subdivision of much of the surrounding area. Between 1880 and 1910, the area became an upper-class
suburb, and was a popular choice for professionals in banking and insurance who worked in the city. Subdivision of gardens for housing continued in the 1920s and 1930s, and socioeconomically the suburb changed as some of the wealthier inhabitants moved to the North Shore
. Demolition of most of the surviving mansions in the 1970s allowed erection of home units, especially within walking distance of the railway station.
There are a number of places of worship
in Summer Hill. St Patrick's Catholic Church
was built in 1874, and is the oldest known building in the suburb. There is also a small primary school associated with the church and located next to it. The building was originally a private home known as Kelvin Grove, and owned by Mrs Jane Drynan. Much of the exterior of the church is original but none of the internal walls were retained when the building was converted into a church. Following Drynan's death, Kelvin Grove was owned or leased by a succession of different people, including the Haberfield real-estate
developer Richard Station, Croydon brick-maker William Downton, and two sisters namely Freeman (one of whom was a nurse). In the 1920s and 1930s Kelvin Grove may have been used as a nursing home. The first mass
was celebrated in Kelvin Grove on St Patrick's day
1946, giving the church its name.
St Andrew's Anglican Church has three distinctive internal transept
arches, and was designed by a Presbyterian, Alexander Leckie Elphinstone Junior. The foundation stone was laid in 1883, and the top of the spire completed in 1906. The fast construction period, unusual for that time, was indicative of the area's affluence. Recent Asian influences in Summer Hill have brought about the introduction of non-Christian places of worship. The Wong Tai Sin (or Kwan Yin Kur) temple is located on the corners of Kensington Road and Liverpool Road in a building that was a Masonic temple in the 1920s. The same building was converted into the current temple; the lower floor houses the Taoist
deity of Wong Tai Sin
, and the upper floor houses the Buddhist
Bodhisattva
of Kwan Yin
.
Trinity Grammar School in Prospect Road is a private school
catering for students from Year 3 to Year 12. The schools' site has been in continuous use for education for 120 years. The headmaster's house building at Trinity was erected circa 1877. The site operated as several different teaching institutions until it was purchased by the Anglican Church
, becoming known as Trinity Grammar School in 1925. Trinity Grammar is one of many wealthy schools in New South Wales, and has previously received some of the largest government subsidies, when comparing total government subsidies per school. An expansion plan by Trinity involving the demolition of houses in nearby Seaview Street caused controversy in 2007. The development was nonetheless approved by the New South Wales Land and Environment Court.
Summer Hill Public School in Moonbie Street is a primary school catering for students from Kindergarten to Year 6. It offers selective classes or opportunity classes for Year 5 and 6 students under the New South Wales Government's Opportunity Class program. The school was established in 1883 in a wooden shed on 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) of land that had been resumed from James Bartlett. The older buildings currently used at the school date back to 1913 while more modern buildings were constructed in 1977, 1998 and 2010. The school, designed in the Victorian Classical style, is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
Saint Patrick's Catholic School is a private primary school, close to Summer Hill Public School.
Summer Hill's shopping precinct is centered around a small town square
with good pedestrian access, and is surrounded by cafés and restaurants along Lackey and Smith Streets. The suburb is very small by Australian standards, having a population of just over 6000, in an area of 1.1 km². It features some fine examples of architecture from the 19th and early 20th century.
The Summer Hill flour mill
was built circa 1922, utilising the north-south goods railway line that was constructed during World War 1
. The silos were added from the 1950s onwards. The flour mill has been owned by various companies, including Mungo Scott, and Goodman Fielder
, and then Allied Mills. In October 2007, the mills were sold to a developer, EG Funds Management, who plans to redevelop the mill site into a residential and commercial precinct.
and Parramatta Road; although they are quite congested at peak times.
From 1915, Summer Hill was served by trams from Hurlstone Park. Trams left New Canterbury Road and went down Prospect Street, then swung right onto Smith Street. They turned onto Lackey Street, where they went right and terminated at the station. Low usage and rival buses saw the line closed in 1933, however some remains can be see
Two railway lines run through Summer Hill. Summer Hill railway station is located on the Inner West Line of the CityRail
network. The railway station was opened on 15 September 1879, and most of the local shops are clustered close to the station. Travelling towards the city, the railway stops in order are Lewisham, Petersham
, Stanmore
, Newtown
, Macdonaldtown, Redfern
, Central
, and Town Hall. Travelling west towards Strathfield, the stops are Ashfield, Croydon
, Burwood
, and Strathfield. A recent renovation of the railway station was completed in 2004, after a public outcry about the ugliness and overwhelming size of a proposed overhead pedestrian walkway. The revised design used the more expensive option of refurbishing the existing underground walkway.
The Metropolitan Goods railway line also runs through the suburb. The line is currently disused, but it is to be utilised to extend the current light rail service
that runs from Central Station to Lilyfield through to Dulwich Hill. There will be two new stations serving Summer Hill. These are - Lewisham West (adjacent to the former flour mill on the border with Lewisham) and Taverners Hill
(near Parramatta Road). Access to the city will be quicker by train, but the light rail may be used for some cross-regional journeys. It will also interchange with Dulwich Hill railway station on the Bankstown Line.
Other forms of transport are also provided. There are four Sydney Buses routes that service the area—the 480 and 483 follow routes along Parramatta Road and then Liverpool Road, the 461 travels along Parramatta Road and the 413 travels along Junction Road. The area is also gradually becoming more bicycle friendly, with several bicycle paths in the suburb. A local group, "Friends of the Greenway" wish to see a bicycle and walking corridor built alongside the Metropolitan Goods Line once the freight service ceases.
In the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics
Census
of Population and Housing, the population of the Summer Hill postcode area was 6,130 people, in an area of 1.1 square kilometres. The population was 51% females, 49% males. 45% of the population was born overseas with China
(6%), England
(4%) and New Zealand
(2%) the most common. The five strongest religious affiliations in the area were in descending order: Catholic
(27%), no religion (27%), Anglican (11%), Buddhism (4%) and Orthodox Christian
(3%). The majority of dwelling were flats, units or apartments (60%) followed by separate houses (23%) and semi-detached
, terrace houses
, or townhouses (15%).
Summer Hill is in the marginal Labor
federal electoral division of Grayndler
. This seat has been held continuously by Labor since it was proclaimed in 1949. It has been held by current member Anthony Albanese
since 1996. Anthony Albanese is the Minister for Infrastructure, Planning, Local Government and Regional Development. During the 2010 Federal election, Greens candidate former Marrickville Mayor Sam Byrne, received 45% of the vote in comparison to Albanese's 54%.
For NSW state elections, Summer Hill is predominantly in the Electoral district of Canterbury
. Summer Hill was added to this state seat when the safe Labor electorate of Ashfield was abolished in 1999. From 1999 to 2003 it was held by Paul Whelan
(the former State Police
minister) of the Australian Labor Party. As of 2003 the seat was held by Linda Burney
, of the Australian Labor Party.
Local political issues include:
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...
of 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...
. Summer Hill is located 8 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 Municipality of Ashfield
Municipality of Ashfield
The Municipality of Ashfield is a Local Government Area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It lies approximately 10 kilometres west of the central business district.- Demographics :According to the , there:...
.
Summer Hill is a primarily residential suburb of the Inner West
Inner West (Sydney)
The Inner West is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia...
region, adjoining two of Sydney's major arterial roads, Parramatta Road
Parramatta Road
.Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, Australia, connecting the Sydney with Parramatta. It is the eastern-most part of the Great Western Highway. Much of its traffic has been diverted to modern expressways such as the M4 and the City West Link...
and Liverpool Road
Hume Highway
The Hume Highway/Hume Freeway is one of Australia's major inter-city highways, running for 880 km between Sydney and Melbourne. It is part of the Auslink National Network and is a vital link for road freight to transport goods to and from the two cities as well as serving Albury-Wodonga and...
. The first land grant was made in 1794 to former convict and jailor Henry Kable
Henry Kable
Henry Kable was born in Laxfield, Suffolk, England. Kable was known for being a businessman, but was convicted of burglary at Thetford, Norfolk, England, on 1 February 1783 and sentenced to death. This was commuted to transportation for fourteen years to America, but the American Revolution meant...
, and the suburb began growing following the opening of the railway station on the Main Suburban Line in 1879.
Before settlement, Summer Hill was the home of the Wangal and Cadigal
Cadigal
The Cadigal, also spelled as Gadigal, are a group of Aboriginal Australians who originally inhabited the area that they called 'Cadi', part of which later became known as the Marrickville Local Government Area of Sydney. Cadigal territory lies south of Port Jackson and stretches from South Head to...
Aboriginal peoples, and the area was open and inhabited by 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. By the 1920s, the suburb had become relatively upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
, with large estates and mansions built throughout the suburb. Some of these still exist today. Following a transition to a working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
suburb in the mid-20th century, when many of the large estates were demolished or subdivided, the suburb today has a "village" character and a mix of medium-density apartment blocks and federation houses. It is also multicultural, with 35% of the population today born overseas.
Characteristics
The boundaries of Summer Hill are defined by Parramatta Road and Liverpool Road to the north, the rear of the properties on the west side of Prospect Road (with a detour around Trinity Grammar School) to the West, Old Canterbury Road to the south, and the north-south goods railway lineRail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
to the east. North of Summer Hill is the suburb of Haberfield
Haberfield, New South Wales
Haberfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Haberfield is located 9 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield....
, to the east is Lewisham
Lewisham, New South Wales
Lewisham is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lewisham is located 8 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council. The postcode is 2049...
, to the south is Dulwich Hill
Dulwich Hill, New South Wales
Dulwich Hill is a residential suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Dulwich Hill is located 9 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council...
, and to the west is Ashfield
Ashfield, New South Wales
Ashfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about 9 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield.The official name for the...
.
Independent business
In business, an independent business as a term of distinction generally refers to privately owned companies . Independent businesses most commonly take the form of sole-proprietorships...
people run most of the shops. The local council has defined a village character for the suburb. Summer Hill is a suburb rich in heritage. More than one hundred properties are heritage listed, and the strong feelings of some residents of the suburb towards protecting the local architecture has seen the introduction of a heritage review, which is expected to add more properties to the heritage register.
Despite formerly being working class, Summer Hill and many of the surrounding suburbs have gradually undergone gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
over recent years. Culturally, Summer Hill is a blend of medium-density European Sydney suburbia, with Italian influences (which are most evident in Leichhardt to the East and Haberfield to the North), Eastern influences (which are most strongly evident in Ashfield to the West), and smaller influences from many other cultures.
Aboriginal culture
Prior to the arrival of the First FleetFirst Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
at Port Jackson
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
in 1788, the area of Summer Hill and its surrounds was the home of the Wangal and Cadigal Aboriginal peoples. What is now called the Hawthorne Canal
Hawthorne Canal
The Hawthorne Canal is a short canal that connects with Port Jackson, in Sydney, Australia. It was originally a natural waterway known as Long Cove Creek, that has been straightened and given artificial banks. It borders on Summer Hill, Lewisham, Leichhardt and Haberfield...
(originally Long Cove Creek) appears to have marked the boundary between the Cadigal and Wangal aboriginal group lands. Today there is a small park in Summer Hill, called Cadigal Reserve, located at 1-4 Grosvenor Crescent. A bronze plaque placed by Ashfield Council names the reserve after the Cadigal (Eora) group of Koori people. Iron Cove and the mangrove-lined estuaries of the Long Cove and Iron Cove Creeks would have provided a good source of fish and molluscs, the most common food of the coastal tribes in the Sydney basin
Sydney Basin
The Sydney Basin is a sedimentary basin on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia consisting of Permian and Triassic sedimentary rocks...
.
In the early days of the colony, the stretch of land between Iron Cove and the Cook's River was known as the Kangaroo Ground. This name suggests that the land was open terrain favoured by kangaroos, that they were common in the area and may have formed a significant part of the Aboriginal diet.
No record is known to exist relating to the demise of the Aboriginal population from the district. It seems likely that the well-documented outbreak of smallpox among local Aboriginal people
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
in early 1789 had a major impact. Governor Phillip
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
not only recorded that half of the local Aboriginal population was estimated to have died from the disease, but he also noted that the Aboriginal people always "retired from where the diseases appeared" as well.
European settlement
Henry Kable
Henry Kable was born in Laxfield, Suffolk, England. Kable was known for being a businessman, but was convicted of burglary at Thetford, Norfolk, England, on 1 February 1783 and sentenced to death. This was commuted to transportation for fourteen years to America, but the American Revolution meant...
. The land in the eastern corner of Summer Hill was an additional grant of 30 acres (12.1 ha) made to Henry Kable
Henry Kable
Henry Kable was born in Laxfield, Suffolk, England. Kable was known for being a businessman, but was convicted of burglary at Thetford, Norfolk, England, on 1 February 1783 and sentenced to death. This was commuted to transportation for fourteen years to America, but the American Revolution meant...
in 1804. This eastern corner would subsequently become part of the estate of James Underwood. Underwood died in 1844 and left a will so complicated that it required special legislation before it could be subdivided.
The earliest known use of the name "Summer Hill" was in 1876, for a land subdivision adjacent to the present-day St Andrew's Anglican Church. The name Summer Hill is thought to be a name chosen by the land sub-divider, presumably based on an attachment for England. Local historians regard the suggestion that the name is a derivation of "Sunning Hill" as a dubious story which has no substance.
Summer Hill's largest mansion, Carleton (now the Grosvenor Hospital's main building), was built in the early 1880s on Liverpool Road for Charles Carleton Skarrat. The suburb boomed with the opening of the railway station in 1879, and was followed by subdivision of much of the surrounding area. Between 1880 and 1910, the area became an upper-class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
suburb, and was a popular choice for professionals in banking and insurance who worked in the city. Subdivision of gardens for housing continued in the 1920s and 1930s, and socioeconomically the suburb changed as some of the wealthier inhabitants moved to the North Shore
North Shore (Sydney)
The North Shore is an informal term used to describe the primarily residential area of northern metropolitan Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The term usually refers to the suburbs located on the north shore of Sydney Harbour between Middle Harbour and the Lane Cove River, up to...
. Demolition of most of the surviving mansions in the 1970s allowed erection of home units, especially within walking distance of the railway station.
Churches and other places of worship
Place of worship
A place of worship or house of worship is an establishment or her location where a group of people comes to perform acts of religious study, honor, or devotion. The form and function of religious architecture has evolved over thousands of years for both changing beliefs and architectural style...
in Summer Hill. St Patrick's Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
was built in 1874, and is the oldest known building in the suburb. There is also a small primary school associated with the church and located next to it. The building was originally a private home known as Kelvin Grove, and owned by Mrs Jane Drynan. Much of the exterior of the church is original but none of the internal walls were retained when the building was converted into a church. Following Drynan's death, Kelvin Grove was owned or leased by a succession of different people, including the Haberfield real-estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
developer Richard Station, Croydon brick-maker William Downton, and two sisters namely Freeman (one of whom was a nurse). In the 1920s and 1930s Kelvin Grove may have been used as a nursing home. The first mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
was celebrated in Kelvin Grove on St Patrick's day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
1946, giving the church its name.
St Andrew's Anglican Church has three distinctive internal transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
arches, and was designed by a Presbyterian, Alexander Leckie Elphinstone Junior. The foundation stone was laid in 1883, and the top of the spire completed in 1906. The fast construction period, unusual for that time, was indicative of the area's affluence. Recent Asian influences in Summer Hill have brought about the introduction of non-Christian places of worship. The Wong Tai Sin (or Kwan Yin Kur) temple is located on the corners of Kensington Road and Liverpool Road in a building that was a Masonic temple in the 1920s. The same building was converted into the current temple; the lower floor houses the Taoist
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
deity of Wong Tai Sin
Wong Tai Sin
Wong Tai Sin is a Chinese deity popular in Hong Kong with the power of healing. His name literally translates to the "Great Immortal Wong". Wong Tai Sin is the divine form of the individual "Wong Cho Ping".-Legend:...
, and the upper floor houses the Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
of Kwan Yin
Kuan Yin
Guanyin is the bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin which means "Observing the Sounds of the World". She is also sometimes referred to as Guanyin Pusa...
.
Schools
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
catering for students from Year 3 to Year 12. The schools' site has been in continuous use for education for 120 years. The headmaster's house building at Trinity was erected circa 1877. The site operated as several different teaching institutions until it was purchased by the Anglican Church
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
, becoming known as Trinity Grammar School in 1925. Trinity Grammar is one of many wealthy schools in New South Wales, and has previously received some of the largest government subsidies, when comparing total government subsidies per school. An expansion plan by Trinity involving the demolition of houses in nearby Seaview Street caused controversy in 2007. The development was nonetheless approved by the New South Wales Land and Environment Court.
Summer Hill Public School in Moonbie Street is a primary school catering for students from Kindergarten to Year 6. It offers selective classes or opportunity classes for Year 5 and 6 students under the New South Wales Government's Opportunity Class program. The school was established in 1883 in a wooden shed on 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) of land that had been resumed from James Bartlett. The older buildings currently used at the school date back to 1913 while more modern buildings were constructed in 1977, 1998 and 2010. The school, designed in the Victorian Classical style, is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
Saint Patrick's Catholic School is a private primary school, close to Summer Hill Public School.
Commercial area
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
with good pedestrian access, and is surrounded by cafés and restaurants along Lackey and Smith Streets. The suburb is very small by Australian standards, having a population of just over 6000, in an area of 1.1 km². It features some fine examples of architecture from the 19th and early 20th century.
The Summer Hill flour mill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
was built circa 1922, utilising the north-south goods railway line that was constructed during World War 1
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The silos were added from the 1950s onwards. The flour mill has been owned by various companies, including Mungo Scott, and Goodman Fielder
Goodman Fielder
Goodman Fielder is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of bread, small goods, dairy products, margarine, oil, dressings and various food ingredients. Its main operations are in New Zealand and Australia...
, and then Allied Mills. In October 2007, the mills were sold to a developer, EG Funds Management, who plans to redevelop the mill site into a residential and commercial precinct.
Transport
In the 2001 census, for people travelling to work using just one method of transportation from this postcode, 44% travelled in a car as the driver, 40% took the train, 5% walked, 4% travelled in a car as passenger, 4% took the bus, 1% travelled by bicycle, and 1% travelled by truck. Summer Hill is close to the main thoroughfares of Liverpool RoadLiverpool Road
Liverpool Road is located in the London Borough of Islington of inner north London. Liverpool Road runs parallel to Upper Street and is largely made up of Georgian architecture. It starts at Upper Street and joins Holloway Road....
and Parramatta Road; although they are quite congested at peak times.
From 1915, Summer Hill was served by trams from Hurlstone Park. Trams left New Canterbury Road and went down Prospect Street, then swung right onto Smith Street. They turned onto Lackey Street, where they went right and terminated at the station. Low usage and rival buses saw the line closed in 1933, however some remains can be see
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. The railway station was opened on 15 September 1879, and most of the local shops are clustered close to the station. Travelling towards the city, the railway stops in order are Lewisham, Petersham
Petersham, New South Wales
Petersham is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Petersham is located 6 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council...
, Stanmore
Stanmore, New South Wales
Stanmore is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. Stanmore is located 6 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Marrickville Council.-History:...
, Newtown
Newtown, New South Wales
Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
, Macdonaldtown, Redfern
Redfern, New South Wales
Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...
, Central
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...
, and Town Hall. Travelling west towards Strathfield, the stops are Ashfield, Croydon
Croydon, New South Wales
Croydon is an affluent suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Croydon is located 11 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district. Croydon is split between the two local government areas of Burwood Council and the Municipality of Ashfield.The...
, Burwood
Burwood, New South Wales
Burwood is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Burwood is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of Burwood Council....
, and Strathfield. A recent renovation of the railway station was completed in 2004, after a public outcry about the ugliness and overwhelming size of a proposed overhead pedestrian walkway. The revised design used the more expensive option of refurbishing the existing underground walkway.
The Metropolitan Goods railway line also runs through the suburb. The line is currently disused, but it is to be utilised to extend the current light rail service
Metro Light Rail
The Metro Light Rail is the only currently operating light rail line in Sydney. The line opened on 31 August 1997, mostly along the route of an unused goods railway line, to serve the redeveloped inner-city areas of Darling Harbour, Ultimo and Pyrmont, and was extended in 2000 to serve some of...
that runs from Central Station to Lilyfield through to Dulwich Hill. There will be two new stations serving Summer Hill. These are - Lewisham West (adjacent to the former flour mill on the border with Lewisham) and Taverners Hill
Taverners Hill MLR station
Taverners Hill MLR station is a planned light rail stop located adjacent to Parramatta Road at the border of the suburbs of Lewisham, Summer Hill, Haberfield and Leichhardt on the Metro Light Rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stop is planned for completion in 2012...
(near Parramatta Road). Access to the city will be quicker by train, but the light rail may be used for some cross-regional journeys. It will also interchange with Dulwich Hill railway station on the Bankstown Line.
Other forms of transport are also provided. There are four Sydney Buses routes that service the area—the 480 and 483 follow routes along Parramatta Road and then Liverpool Road, the 461 travels along Parramatta Road and the 413 travels along Junction Road. The area is also gradually becoming more bicycle friendly, with several bicycle paths in the suburb. A local group, "Friends of the Greenway" wish to see a bicycle and walking corridor built alongside the Metropolitan Goods Line once the freight service ceases.
Demographics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
Census
Census
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...
of Population and Housing, the population of the Summer Hill postcode area was 6,130 people, in an area of 1.1 square kilometres. The population was 51% females, 49% males. 45% of the population was born overseas with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(6%), 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...
(4%) and 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...
(2%) the most common. The five strongest religious affiliations in the area were in descending order: Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
(27%), no religion (27%), Anglican (11%), Buddhism (4%) and Orthodox Christian
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
(3%). The majority of dwelling were flats, units or apartments (60%) followed by separate houses (23%) and semi-detached
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
, terrace houses
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
, or townhouses (15%).
Notable residents
Notable people to have been born or lived in Summer Hill include:- Normand Henry BakerNormand BakerNormand Henry Baker was an Australian artist who won the Archibald Prize in 1937 with a self portrait. He was born in the suburb of Summer Hill in Sydney on 9 July 1908. He won the Archibald Prize when he was 29, which made him the youngest ever winner of the prize...
(1908–1955), Archibald PrizeArchibald PrizeThe Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
winning artist. - Dr John BelisarioJohn BelisarioJohn Belisario was an Australian dental surgeon who was a pioneer in the use of anaesthesia in dentistry. Born in England of Spanish ancestry, he was a frail child who was sent to his uncle's plantation in the West Indies to improve his health...
(1820–1900), dentist at the later end of the 19th century, recorded as living in Summer Hill in the 1891 census; first dentist in Australia to administer ether to a patient to carry out dental work. - Colonel Matron Kathleen BestKathleen BestColonel Matron Kathleen Annie Louise Best, OBE, RRC was the first director of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps.-Early life:...
(1910–1957), first director of the Women's Australian Army Corps. - David ElphinstoneDavid ElphinstoneDavid Elphinstone 1847-1916 was an Australian architect and builder. Elphinstone built many buildings in Glebe, New South Wales and Ashfield, New South Wales at the end of the 19th century...
(1847–1916), architect and builder. - Virginia GayVirginia GayVirginia Gay is an Australian actress most known for her work on the Australian TV dramas Winners & Losers , and All Saints .-Education:...
, All SaintsAll Saints (TV series)All Saints is an Australian medical drama which first screened on the Seven Network. The series debuted on 24 February 1998 and concluded its run on 27 October 2009...
actress and contestant on It Takes Two - Justice Greg JamesGreg James (judge)Justice Greg James born 15 September 1944, is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. He is believed to be the youngest Queen's Counsel ever appointed in New South Wales, he is recognised as one of Australia's leading Appellate court Counsel, and he was the first Australian War...
(born 1944), former judge of the Supreme Court of NSW. - Edwin JohnsonEdwin Johnson (Australian educator)Edwin Johnson was an Australian schoolteacher and civil servant. Born in Liverpool, England in 1835, he was apprenticed as a pupil-teacher at the age of 14 and in 1854 at the age of 19, accepted an offer of employment in New South Wales...
(1835–1894), education reformer, undersecretary to the Department of Public Instruction. - Ninian MelvilleNinian MelvilleNinian Melville Junior was a colourful Australian politician in the late nineteenth century.The son of a Scottish cabinet maker who had been transported to Australia for stealing clothes, Melville was born in Sydney and followed his father into the furniture making business...
Jnr (1843–1897), local furniture maker and member of the NSW Parliament who also became Mayor of Newtown and later Ashfield. - John Paton (1833–1914), winner of the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
for bravery in India in 1857; a Summer Hill park is named after him. - Arthur StreetonArthur StreetonSir Arthur Ernest Streeton was an Australian landscape painter.-Early life:Streeton was born in Mount Duneed, near Geelong, and his family moved to Richmond in 1874. In 1882, Streeton commenced art studies with G. F. Folingsby at the National Gallery School.Streeton was influenced by French...
(1867–1943), Australian artist who briefly lived in Summer Hill. - Ian TembyIan TembyIan Temby AO QC . First Commissioner of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption . More recently commissioner in the Temby Royal Commission into the Finance Broking Industry . Has lived in Summer Hill, New South Wales.-External links:* .* .*...
QC (born 1942), first head of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against CorruptionNew South Wales Independent Commission Against CorruptionThe Independent Commission Against Corruption is an independent agency of the Government of New South Wales with responsibility for investigating corrupt practices by state and local officials in the state of New South Wales...
. - Rt HonThe Right HonourableThe Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
Sir Cyril WalshCyril WalshSir Cyril Ambrose Walsh KBE , Australian judge, was a Justice of the High Court of Australia.Walsh was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the son of Michael and Mary Walsh. He grew up in the western suburb of Werrington, where his father owned a dairy farm...
(1909–1973), lawyer and Justice of the High Court of AustraliaHigh Court of AustraliaThe High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
. - Simon Carter, member of the Australian rock band The CopsThe Cops (band)The Cops were formed in late 2003 by songwriter Simon Carter and bass player/keyboardist Rebecca Darwon in Sydney, New South Wales.-Biography:...
. - Tristan Poole, Probably the greatest "tristan" ever, certainly the greatest from this suburb.
Politics
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Summer Hill is in the marginal Labor
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...
federal electoral division of Grayndler
Division of Grayndler
The Division of Grayndler is an Australian Electoral Division in inner Metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales. It is one of Australia's smallest electorates, located in the inner-southern Sydney metropolitan area, including parts of the inner-west...
. This seat has been held continuously by Labor since it was proclaimed in 1949. It has been held by current member Anthony Albanese
Anthony Albanese
Anthony Norman Albanese , Australian politician, who serves as Leader of the House of Representatives and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in the Gillard Ministry...
since 1996. Anthony Albanese is the Minister for Infrastructure, Planning, Local Government and Regional Development. During the 2010 Federal election, Greens candidate former Marrickville Mayor Sam Byrne, received 45% of the vote in comparison to Albanese's 54%.
For NSW state elections, Summer Hill is predominantly in the Electoral district of Canterbury
Electoral district of Canterbury
Canterbury is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Linda Burney of the Australian Labor Party.-History:...
. Summer Hill was added to this state seat when the safe Labor electorate of Ashfield was abolished in 1999. From 1999 to 2003 it was held by Paul Whelan
Paul Whelan
The Hon. Paul Francis Patrick Whelan is the former New South Wales State Police minister.-Early years and background:...
(the former State Police
New South Wales Police
The New South Wales Police Force is the primary law enforcement agency in the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is an agency of the Government of New South Wales within the New South Wales Ministry for Police...
minister) of the Australian Labor Party. As of 2003 the seat was held by Linda Burney
Linda Burney
The Hon. Linda Jean Burney MP, an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Canterbury for the Australian Labor Party since 2003...
, of the Australian Labor Party.
Local political issues include:
- Proposed construction of the M4 East, diverting traffic from Parramatta Road, and which construction option should be used.
- Opposition to plans that would result an increase in traffic at Sydney AirportSydney AirportSydney Airport may refer to:* Sydney Airport, also known as Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney, Australia* Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, in Nova Scotia, Canada...
, and thus more aircraft noiseAircraft noiseAircraft noise is noise pollution produced by any aircraft or its components, during various phases of a flight: on the ground while parked such as auxiliary power units, while taxiing, on run-up from propeller and jet exhaust, during take off, underneath and lateral to departure and arrival paths,...
. - Concern over the proposed new supermarket building, and whether it is in keeping with the local shopping area.
- Another community concern is the proposed high-rise re-development of the Mungo Scott flour mill.
External links
- Image of Summer Hill's boundaries, from the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales.
- Ashfield & District Historical Society.
- Places to eat in Summer Hill.
- Summer Hill Public School.
- Trinity Grammar School, located in Summer Hill.
- Real estate price summary for Summer Hill.
- Historic postcards of Summer Hill from the State Library of New South Wales.
- St Andrew's Anglican Church.
- St Patricks Church.
- Summer Hill Community Centre.
- Profile of the federal seat of Grayndler.
- Summer Hill Village Business Association.
- Demographics for Summer Hill from the Dictionary of Sydney.