Wiley Park 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 south-western

South-western Sydney

South-western Sydney is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area in south-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney area....

 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...

. Wiley Park 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 City of Canterbury

City of Canterbury, New South Wales

The City of Canterbury, previously the Municipality of Canterbury, is a Local Government Area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It lies southwest of the central business district and forms part of the Greater Sydney metropolitan area....

.

History

There is little documentary or archeological evidence of the activities of indigenous Australians in the suburb Wiley Park, although they lived in the Canterbury Municipality. The 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) now comprising Wiley Park was initially part of 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) of land granted to Robert Wilkinson in 1832. It passed to the Wiley family in 1862.

Wiley Park is named after the reserve of 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) that was bequeathed in the will of Mr. J.V. Wiley in 1906 for a park and recreational ground for local residents. Wiley was a shoemaker who died unmarried and without children.

At the time the bequest caused some dissent with the local council but after much debate at a public meeting it was decided to accept the bequest. This park is bounded by King Georges Road, Canterbury Road, Clio Street and Edge Street.

Commercial area

Wiley Park is a predominantly residential area, with both detached houses and a great many small apartment blocks constructed in the 1960s and 1970s. A small shopping strip is located on King Georges Road, near the railway station. The adjoining suburbs have a greater degree of commercial activity. The suburb is also close to the large Roselands shopping centre. Also on King Georges Road, south of the train station is an impressive Cao Dai

Cao Dai

Cao Đài is a syncretistic, monotheistic religion, officially established in the city of Tay Ninh, southern Vietnam, in 1926. Đạo Cao Đài is the religion's shortened name, the full name is Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ...

 Temple.

Schools

Wiley Park Public School (formerly the Years 3-6 part of Lakemba Public School until 1984) and Lakemba Public School are located on opposite sides of King Georges Road.

Lakemba Public School was established on its present site around 1913. It had a reputation for high academic standards, and an "opportuntity class" for Years 5 and 6 students in the region was located at the school for many years.

Although the area has a tradition of blue collar workers, Lakemba Public School has also produced a number of highly respected professionals. One prominent example is Vin Wallace QC, who was the Senior Crown Prosecutor in New South Wales in the 1950s.

Wiley Park Girls High School (established 1957) is also located here. Former NSW Ombudsman Irene Moss attended the school. The NSW Teachers Federation asserts that the school is currently understaffed. A boys high school (Punchbowl Boys' High) is located in the adjoing suburb of Punchbowl. It has often been described as "the toughest school in Australia".

Transport

Wiley Park 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.

King Georges Road is a main road running through Wiley Park that starts as Wiley Avenue, to the north in Greenacre

Greenacre, New South Wales

Greenacre, a suburb of local government areas City of Bankstown and the Municipality of Strathfield, is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydney region.-History:This area was once...

 through to Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills, New South Wales

Beverly Hills is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Beverly Hills is located 17 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Beverly Hills lies across two local government areas, the City of Hurstville and the...

in the south and beyond. Canterbury Road runs along the southern border of the suburb.

Parks and culture

Wiley Park, on the corner of King Georges and Canterbury roads currently has a recreational area over 2.5 km². It has a large pond, and houses the Wiley Park Bicentennial Amphitheatre where local events such as Carols in the Park at Christmas and Youth X Festival are held.

Until the 1980s, Wiley Park included a large velodrome that held events including Australian Championships and hosted concerts by a range of artists including Johnny O'Keefe. Cycling in the area was a popular sport, and a famous cycling store was operated by Jack Walsh in the adjoining suburb of Punchbowl for 50 years. Unfortunately the council allowed the velodrome to fall into disrepair and removed it without community consultation, replacing part of its area with an amphitheatre.

Population

Wiley Park inhabited largely by Anglo Celtic residents of a working class background. The suburb was became an increasingly multicultural suburb from the late 1970s onwards, with many residents born overseas or having parents born overseas, from countries such as Lebanon, Vietnam, Italy, Greece, the Philippines and the Pacific Islands.