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Ashfield

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Interesting facts about Ashfield

Ashfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is located approximately 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.

History

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the area now known as Ashfield was home to the Wangal people. Their territory was believed to be centred on modern-day Concord and stretched east to the swampland of Long Cove Creek (now known as Hawthorne Canal). The land was heavily wooded at the time with tall eucalypts covering the higher ground and a variety of swampy trees along Iron Cove Creek. The arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 had a devastating effect on the local people, mainly from the introduction of smallpox, to which the indigenous people had little resistance.

Commercial Area

The main shopping precinct is located along Liverpool Road south of Ashfield railway station. Along this strip, there are a few medium-sized office blocks, many street-level shops and Ashfield Mall, a shopping centre containing supermarkets, a discount department store and specialty shops. This commercial area also extends into Charlotte Street and Elizabeth Street on the northern side of the station. A second commercial precinct is located along Parramatta Road consisting mostly of automotive-related retail and light industry.

Houses

Ashfield Council produces a number of guides for heritage walks in the area. To the south of the town centre are Plynlimmon (built 1867) in Norton St and now a child care centre; Glenore ( built 1897) and Buninyong (built 1901), two adjacent properties in Tintern Road; Mountjoy (built 1870) now part of the hospital in Victoria Street; Glentworth (built 1887) also in Victoria Street and now part of a retirement village; Ashfield Castle (built 1887) in Queen Street and originally known as Ambleside; Thirning Villa, (built 1868) and now part of Pratten Park; Gallop House in Arthur Street, now part of a nursing home; and Milton in Blackwood Avenue, which was built in the 1850s and was once home to NSW Premier Sir Henry Parkes. North of the railway line are Pittwood in Charlotte Street, formerly part of a nursing home but now used by Sydney Missionary and Bible College; the impressive tower of Amesbury (built 1888) in Alt Street; nearby Taringa in Taringa Street; and Gorton in Henry Street, which was built in 1860 and since 1876 has been the Infants Home.

Schools

Ashfield has three primary schools: Ashfield Public (on Liverpool Rd), St Vincents (a Catholic school in Bland St), and Yeo Park Infants (on Victoria St at the southern extremity of the suburb). It also has three high schools: Ashfield Boys High School (next to Ashfield Public on Liverpool Rd), Bethlehem College (a Catholic girls school in Bland St), and De La Salle College (a Catholic boys school next to Bethlehem in Bland St).

Churches

The first church in Ashfield was St. John the Baptist's Anglican Church in Alt Street. It was part of Elizabeth Underwood's 1838 subdivision that gave rise to the village of Ashfield and was reserved by her for the purpose of 'the erection of an Episcopalian Church'. Prior to then, Anglican church services had been held in her house. Work on St Johns began in 1840 and, after the project was taken over by colonial architect Edmund Blacket, it was consecrated in 1845. It is the oldest surviving building in Ashfield.

Demographics

In the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing, Ashfield had a population of 21,260 people, in an area of 3.5 square kilometres. For most statistics, the suburb was similar to the national averages. The median age (35) was slightly younger than the national average (37). The number of people who had never married (39%) was slightly higher than the national figure (33%) and the median income ($478 per week) was slightly better off than the national average but lower than the figure for the Greater Sydney region.

Culture

The major community event in Ashfield each year is the Carnival of Cultures, a celebration of the area's multiculturalism. Held every year since 1996 in Ashfield Park, it includes performances, food stalls and children's entertainment. In recent years, the Sydney Writers' Festival has also held part of its program in Ashfield as part of the regular Authors at Ashfield series of talks.