Petersham, New South Wales
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Petersham is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Petersham is located 6 kms south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council. The postcode is 2049. Petersham is famous for its large Portuguese influence including many restaurants and cafes.
Petersham is bordered by the suburbs of Leichhardt to the north, Stanmore to the east, Marrickville to the south and Lewisham to the west. Taverner's Hill is a locality in the western part of the suburb.
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[edit] Demographics
The population of Petersham in 2001 was 6639, 50% male and 50% female (Australian Bureau of Statistics). The suburb has a high number of persons born in Southern Europe, most particularly Portugal and also Italy and Greece. The Portuguese presence is particularly notable, since Petersham has long been the main centre of Portuguese population in New South Wales.
[edit] Transport
Petersham railway station is on the Inner West line of theCityRail network. Travelling towards the city, the railway stops in order are Stanmore, Newtown, Macdonaldtown, Redfern, Central, and Town Hall. Travelling west, services run from the City Circle to Liverpool.
The 428, 445 and 412 buses run through Petersham at different points. The 428 runs from Canterbury to Circular Quay, the 445 runs from Canterbury to Balmain, and the 412 runs from Campsie to King Street Wharf in the city.
[edit] Characteristics
Petersham's houses are predominantly terrace houses, similar to those of Summer Hill and Stanmore on the north side of the railway station near Parramatta Road. A small row of shops lines New Canterbury Road and extends down Audley Street towards the railway sation. There are many Portuguese businesses here including several Portuguese restaurants (some of which sell traditional styled flame-grilled chicken and/or cod dishes).
Petersham is also home of one of the oldest bowling clubs in Australia the Petersham Bowling Culb [1]
[edit] Landmarks and Events
Local landmarks include the Petersham Town Hall, The Oxford Tavern, Petersham Roller Rink (now closed), the WaterTower, All Saints Anglican Church, Petersham train Station (including an iron pedestrian bridge over the train line) and Petersham Park. Petersham is also the site of Fort Street High School, the oldest public school in New South Wales. Petersham also has its own primary school, Petersham Public School. However, geographically speaking, the school is actually in Lewisham.
Local events include the annual Audley Street festival, which is a celebration of the suburb's Portuguese ties.
[edit] History
Major Francis Grose (Lieutenant-Governor) sent workmen to the area in 1793 to clear the bush and plant corn and wheat. He named the area Peters-Ham or Petersham after his native village in Surrey, England. Petersham remained an agricultural area, winning awards for some of the best crops and stock in the colony in 1803. Kangaroo hunting was also popular in the area.
Dr Robert Wardell (1793-1834) purchased land from many grantees in the district and in 1831 his estate eventually stretched 2,000 acres from Petersham to the Cooks River. Following his murder by escaped convicts in 1834, the estate was subdivided.
The train line from Sydney to Parramatta opened in 1855 and trains stopped here from 1857. A platform was built in 1863. The original Petersham post office became Annandale in 1855. Another post office opened as Norwood in May 1860 and was moved to Petersham station in 1870. The first public school opened in 1878.
Petersham municipality was incorporated in 1872. The local council merged with Marrickville and St Peters in 1948 to form the Municipality of Marrickville.
In 1916, the Boys' section of Fort Street High School moved to Petersham from Observatory Hill, followed by the Girls' section in 1975.
[edit] Wartime plane crash
Mosquito PR.XVI NS735 of 618 Squadron RAF (UK) disintegrated over the inner western Sydney suburbs of Leichhardt and Petersham on 2 May 1945 during an air test flight. The crew of two were killed but fortunately no one on the ground was seriously injured by the falling debris of the Mosquito. The Daily Telegraph of 3 May 1945 stated that two civilians were injured and a total of 18 properties were damaged. Five houses were set on fire by the falling debris.
It was suspected that a violent pull out from a power dive, with its associated high 'g' forces may have lead to the structural failure of the aircraft. The two crew members tried to eject from the aircraft but they were not high enough for their parachutes to open.
Flight Lieutenant David Rochford of Oxford, England and LAC Charles Boydell from Mosman were both killed. F/Lt Rochford's body was found in the playground of Petersham Public School while LAC Boydell's body was found on the roof of a railway building about 100 metres away.
[edit] References
- The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8
[edit] External links
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- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
- Marrickville Council - Petersham
- Petersham Rugby Union Football Club - Historic local sporting club. One of the oldest Rugby clubs in Australia
| Suburbs and localities within Marrickville Council | Inner West | Sydney |
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Camperdown | Dulwich Hill | Enmore | Lewisham | Marrickville | Marrickville South | Newtown | Petersham | St Peters | Stanmore | Sydenham | Tempe |
| List of Sydney suburbs |
