Campsie, New South Wales

Campsie Sydney, New South Wales
File:Campsie2.JPG Anglo Road Mall, Campsie
Population	21,218 (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	2194
Location	13 km (8 mi) south-west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)	City of Canterbury
State electorate(s)	Canterbury
Federal Division(s)	Watson
Suburbs around Campsie: Belfield Croydon Park Ashbury Belmore Campsie Canterbury Kingsgrove Clemton Park Earlwood

Campsie is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Campsie is located 13 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, on the southern bank of the Cooks River. Campsie is the large commercial and administrative centre of the City of Canterbury.

History

Campsie was named after the Campsie parish in Stirlingshire, Scotland.

Aboriginal culture

Indigenous Australians lived in this area for thousands of years. In 1770, the land along the Cooks River was explored by officers from HM Bark Endeavour.

European settlement

File:SLNSW 796181 Beamish St Campsie.jpg

View along Beamish Street

In the early days of European settlement, the land in this area was mostly used for farming. The southern parts of Campsie were part of the Laycock estate, that extended to most of Kingsgrove. The area between South Campsie and the Cooks River was known as the Redman estates. John Redman was granted 100 acres (40 ha)} in the 1812 and he later purchased the area to the east, which was a land grant of 200 acres (81 ha) to Thomas Capon in 1817.

The railway was completed in 1895, encouraging suburban development and leading to the area becoming heavily populated. The line passed through the Campsie Park estate which was owned by the Anglo-Australian Investment Company. A large wooded area was cleared for the construction of the station on Beamish Street. The first post office opened in April 1900 and the public school opened in 1908.

The earliest model suburb in New South Wales was Harcourt, between Canterbury and Burwood, developed by William Phillips from 1889. The 200 acres (81 ha) was covered in scrub and inhabited by wild birds. The land was cleared and the streets were called avenues on the model of New York City. Although the suburb no longer exists, the Harcourt name remains as a locality and is reflected in the name of Harcourt Public School on First Avenue.

The Town Hall of the Municipality of Canterbury was moved to Campsie in 1962. The City of Canterbury was declared in 1993.

Education

There are 3 primary schools that are located in Campsie; Harcourt Public School, Campsie Public School and St. Mel's Primary OSHCare Centre.

Demographics

Campsie is widely known to be home to a large east Asian, primarily Chinese and Korean, community. There is also a substantial number of ethnic Europeans.

In the 2011 census, 21,218 people lived in the suburb of Campsie. 28 per cent of them were born in Australia, 21.8% were born in China, 5.1% were born in Korea, and 4% were born in each of India, Vietnam and Lebanon. The most common responses for religion in the suburb of Campsie were No Religion 23.0%, Catholic 21.5%, Buddhism 12.4%, Hinduism 6.7% and Eastern Orthodox 6.4%.

Commercial area

Campsie has a mixture of suburban residential, retail and light industrial developments. The main shopping centre is situated along Beamish Street, close to Campsie railway station and surrounding streets. The Campsie Centre is a shopping centre located between Amy Street and Evaline Street. It contains supermarkets, a discount department store, many specialty shops, cafes and a library. Commercial and light industrial developments run along the length of Canterbury Road.

Canterbury Hospital is a district hospital located on Canterbury Road.

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  City of Canterbury Council Chambers

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  Campsie Early Childhood Centre

• Campsie5.JPG

  Orion Function Centre

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  Artwork on the Orion Function Centre

• Campsie1.JPG

  Anzac Square

• Campsie4.JPG

  The Oasis on Beamish

• Campsie Canterbury Hospital.JPG

  Canterbury Hospital

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  Campsie Centre

Transport

File:BeamishStST204SX.jpg

Intersection Beamish Street and Evaline Street

Campsie railway station is located on the busy Bankstown line of the Sydney Trains network. The line was opened in 1895 and electrified in 1926. Two additional tracks were laid for goods traffic.

Campsie railway station has high frequency train services. There are 8 trains per hour which results into frequencies of 6–9 minutes. The travel time from Campsie into the CBD by train is just under 25 minutes.

Beamish Street runs north-south for 1.6 kilometres and is characterised by retail and commercial developments over most of its length. Canterbury Road is a major arterial route, 11 kilometres long and connecting the inner suburbs of Sydney with Bankstown and suburbs further to the south-west.

Landmarks

• Campsie Public School, Harcourt Public School, St Mels Primary School.
• Canterbury Hospital
• Cooks River

Politics

Campsie is part of Central Ward of the City of Canterbury and together with Belmore and Lakemba elects three councillors to the city council.

For New South Wales state elections, the suburb is in the Electoral district of Canterbury. The district includes surrounding suburbs of Canterbury, Earlwood, Hurlstone Park, Croydon Park, western Dulwich Hill, eastern Belfield and northern Turrella.

For federal elections, Campsie is in the electoral division of Watson. In state and federal elections, Campsie residents predominantly vote for the Australian Labor Party.

References

• Canterbury City Council website, "Local History and Heritage"

External links

• Canterbury City Council website
• Harcourt Public School