Strathfield, New South Wales

The Strathfield district was originally occupied by the Wangal clan. European colonisation commenced in 1793 with the issue of land grants in the area of Liberty Plains. In 1808, a grant was made to James Wilshire, which forms the largest part of the current suburb of Strathfield. In 1867, this grant was subdivided and sold as the 'Redmire Estate', which promoted the residential development of the district under the suburb name of 'Redmire'. By 1885, sufficient numbers of people resided in the district to enable incorporation of its own local government. The suburb of Redmire was renamed Strathfield c.1886. The suburb was named after a house called 'Strathfield House', which was originally called Stratfield Saye.[2] In 1885, Strathfield Council was incorporated.

Birth of Strathfield

On 31 October 1903 a subdivision of the Redmyre Estate was auctioned. The pamphlet shows it was billed as "The Railway Station Estate, Strathfield".

James Wilshire was granted 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) of land by Governor Macquarie in 1808 [regranted 1810] following representations from Lord Nelson, a relation by marriage of Wilshire. Ownership was transferred in 1824 to ex-convict Samuel Terry. The land became known as the Redmire Estate, which Michael Jones says could either be named after his home town in Yorkshire or could be named after the "red clay of the Strathfield area".[3] Subdivision of the land commenced in 1867. An early buyer was one-time Mayor of Sydney, Walter Renny who built in 1868 a house they called Stratfieldsaye, possibly after the Duke of Wellington's mansion near Reading, Berkshire. It may have also been named after the transport ship of the same name that transported many immigrants – including Sir Henry Parkes – to Australia, though the transport ship was probably also named after the Duke's mansion as it was built soon after his death and was likely named in his honour. A plaque marking the location of Stratfield Saye can be found in the footpath of Strathfield Avenue, marking the approximate location of the original house [though some of the wording on the plaque is incorrect]. According to local historian Cathy Jones, "ownership of [Stratfieldsaye] was transferred several times including to Davidson Nichol, who shortened the name to 'Strathfield House', then 'Strathfield'."[4][5]

Strathfield Saye plaque

Strathfield was proclaimed on 2 June 1885 by the Governor of NSW, Sir Augustus Loftus, after residents of the Redmyre area petitioned the New South Wales State government. Residents in parts of Homebush and Druitt Town [now Strathfield South] formed their own unsuccessful counter-petition. It is likely that the region was named Strathfield to neutralise the rivalry between Homebush and Redmire.

Strathfield has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• 25A Barker Road: Mount St Mary Campus of the Australian Catholic University[8]
• Great Southern and Western railway: Strathfield rail underbridges[9]
• Great Southern and Western railway: Strathfield railway station[10]
• 62 The Boulevarde: Trinity Uniting Church, Strathfield[11]

Strathfield has an unusually large concentration of educational institutions in one suburb.

The government schools located in Strathfield include the two secondary schools Strathfield Girls High School and Strathfield South High School. The catchment of Strathfield Girls stretches north to Concord West, west to Homebush West and east to the western part of Burwood, but does not include the southern-most section of the suburb of Strathfield itself. Strathfield South High School is co-educational, and its catchment includes the southern-most section of Strathfield, as well as the suburbs further south including parts of Chullora and Greenacre, Belfield, Strathfield South, Enfield and Croydon Park. A boys' high school is located in nearby Homebush.

Two government comprehensive primary schools are located in Strathfield, Marie Bashir Public School in north-central Strathfield and Strathfield South Public School. A third, Strathfield North Public School, is located in the separate suburb of North Strathfield. Chalmers Road Public School, also located in Strathfield, is a state government school for students aged four to eighteen years with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities.

A large number of independent or church-affiliated schools are also located in Strathfield. These include:

• St Patrick's College is an independent, day school for boys.
• Santa Sabina College is a Roman Catholic, Dominican, day school for girls K-12 and boys K-4. The primary school is known as Santa Maria Del Monte.
• Meriden Anglican School for Girls is an independent, Anglican, day school for girls..
• Trinity Grammar School Preparatory School campus is on The Boulevarde[12] and has classes from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 6.[13][14]
• St Martha's Primary School

Strathfield is also home to a major campus of the Australian Catholic University, the former home of the Christian Brothers novitiate and Catholic Teachers' College.

In addition, the Catholic Institute of Sydney, where priests for the Archdiocese of Sydney, and other theologians and ministers, are trained, is located on the site of the old Australia Post training centre.

• Carrington Avenue Uniting Church
• St Anne's Anglican Church
• St David's Presbyterian Church
• St Martha's Catholic Church[15]
• Sts Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Cathedral
• Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church of the Protection of the Theotokos
• Strathfield Korean Uniting Church
• Sydney Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Trinity Uniting Church, Strathfield
• Western Sydney Chinese Christian Church

Strathfield's residential landscape is extremely varied, ranging from country-style estates to high-rise apartments. Many styles of architecture have been employed over past decades, with dwellings having been constructed in Victorian, Federation, Interwar period architecture, Californian Bungalow and contemporary periods. One of the oldest surviving houses built in the 1870s is Fairholm which is now a retirement village called Strathfield Gardens.

Primarily these have been replaced by modern, multimillion-dollar mansions, although Strathfield has retained its wide avenues and most of the extensive natural vegetation. Streets such as Victoria Street, Llandillo Avenue and Kingsland Road predominantly feature older mansions, while Agnes Street, Newton Road and Barker Road are common locations for new homes.

The "Golden Mile" in Strathfield refers to a pocket within the suburb that houses some of the most desirable and highly sought-after real estate in the area.[16] The Golden Mile is bounded by Hunter Street, Carrington Avenue, Homebush Road and The Boulevarde. Examples of prestigious addresses include homes located on Cotswold Road,[17] Strathfield Avenue,[18] Llandilo Avenue, Agnes[19] and Highgate Street.

Additionally, decreasing land sizes through subdivision has led to an increase in residential densities, reflecting the outward expansion of Sydney's inner city. A large proportion of Strathfield's population now dwells in apartments with the area immediately surrounding Strathfield railway station dominated by high rise residential towers. Smaller apartment buildings are located in other areas within the suburbs, were mostly built during the 1960s and 1970s.

In the last century a number of grand Strathfield homes become independent school campuses:

• Holyrood – Santa Sabina
• Brunyarra – Santa Maria Del Monte[20]
• Lauriston – Santa Maria Del Monte[21]
• Llandilo – Trinity Grammar School[22]
• Somerset – Trinity Grammar School[23]
• Milverton – Trinity Grammar School[22]
• Riccarton/The Briars – Meriden and partially demolished[24][25]
• Wariora – Meriden and now demolished[26]
• Lingwood/Branxton – PLC Sydney and now Meriden School[22]
• Selbourne – Meriden and now demolished[27][28]
• Telerah – Wadham Preparatory School, later purchased by Meriden and now demolished[29]

The Boulevarde

Strathfield is known as a regional centre for education. Strathfield town centre contains Strathfield Plaza shopping centre which includes Woolworths and other stores. There are also a small strip of shops, restaurants, cafes and a Police shopfront.

Strathfield railway station is a major interchange on the Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink networks and for buses serving the inner west.

The M4 Western Motorway begins at Strathfield and heads west to Parramatta, Blacktown and Penrith. Parramatta Road links Strathfield east to Burwood and the Sydney CBD and west to Parramatta.

According to the 2016 census, Strathfield had a total population of 25,813 people. 34.6% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were China 10.3%, India 10.1%, South Korea 9.8%, Nepal 5.3% and Vietnam 2.7%. The most common ancestries were Chinese 19.6%, Indian 10.0%, Korean 9.9%, English 7.4% and Australian 6.9% with 75.6% of people having both parents born overseas.

29.1% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Korean 10.9%, Mandarin 10.6%, Cantonese 7.6%, Nepali 5.3% and Tamil 4.0%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 23.3%, Catholic 23.1% and Hinduism 16.2%.[1]

The following were either born or have lived at some time in the suburb of Strathfield:

Strathfield has made an impact on the indie rock and indie pop scene, producing bands such as Prince Vlad & the Gargoyle Impalers, Lunatic Fringe, The Mexican Spitfires and Women of Troy. It has also inspired pop songs such as The Mexican Spitfires's song "Rookwood" about Rookwood Cemetery and the legendary Blitzkrieg punk rock of Radio Birdman's classic mid-1970s "Murder City Nights". Indie pop legend Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens also called Carrington Avenue, Strathfield home for a few years in the 1990s.

• 
  Glen Luna, a house on Carrington Street, has been converted into apartments.
• 
  Holyrood, a house on The Boulvarde, has become part of Santa Sabina.
• 
  St Anne's Anglican Church
• 
  Santa Sabina College
• 
  Trinity Grammar 1930
• 
  Strathfield council chambers (c. 1915)
• 
  Strathfield Council Chambers present day

• http://www.strathfieldheritage.org
• Han, Gil-Soo; Han, Joy J. (2010). "Koreans". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 4 October 2015. [CC-By-SA] (Koreans in Sydney)