Bass Hill, New South Wales

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Bass Hill
SydneyNew South Wales

Bass Hill Drive-in Cinema
Established: 1924
Postcode: 2197
Location: 23 km (14 mi) south-west of Sydney CBD
LGA: City of Bankstown
Suburbs around Bass Hill:
Villawood Chester Hill Sefton
Lansdowne Bass Hill Yagoona
Lansvale Georges Hall Condell Park
Bass Hill Plaza
Bass Hill Plaza


Bass Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bass Hill is located 23 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Bankstown and is part of the South-western Sydney region.

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[edit] History

Bass Hill is named after George Bass (1771-1803), a surgeon and explorer who was granted land here in 1798. He had arrived in the colony in 1795 on HMS Reliance and became friendly with midshipman Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) and on arrival they decided to explore parts of the colony. In 1796 on a small boat called the Tom Thumb accompanied by a boy servant William Martin, they sailed into Botany Bay and explored the Georges River, twenty miles beyond previous expeditions. They sailed as far as present day Georges Hall. For their exploration efforts Bass and Flinders were rewarded with 100 acre land grants in this area by Governor Hunter. [1]

The area developed rapidly after the completion of Liverpool Road in 1814. Originally known as Irish Town because of the Irish settlements, it later became known as Upper Bankstown. It became officially known as Bass Hill in October 1924. [2]

During WWII, Bass Hill was the location for a small transmitting station that was owned and operated by the RAAF. It was located on the corner of Manuka Crescent & Johnston Road[3]. This facility worked in conjunction with the Bankstown Bunker on Black Charlies Hill in Condell Park, which also worked in conjunction with a remote receiving station that was located in Picnic Point.[4]

[edit] Commercial Area

Bass Hill Plaza is a small shopping centre on the Hume Highway, beside Bass Hill drive-in cinema.

[edit] Education

Bass Hill has two schools, Bass Hill Public School for years K-6 and Bass High School for years 7-12.

[edit] Sport

Dunc Gray Velodrome
Dunc Gray Velodrome

Bass Hill is home to many sporting fields and facilities which cater for sports such as athletics, cricket, cycling, hockey, rugby league and soccer.

The Crest sporting complex is the major sporting complex in the area and contains the Dunc Gray Velodrome which was home of the track cycling events for the 2000 Summer Olympics and the Cycling World Cup, a state of the art athletics complex, soccer fields, hockey fields, soccer fields and cricket fields.

The Crest is home to the Sydney Bulls Jim Beam Cup Rugby League Team, South West Strikers Soccer Club, South West Strikers Hockey Club, Banksports Athletics, Bankstown Sports Cycling Club and Bankstown Sports Gymnastics.

[edit] Population

In the 2006 Australian Census the population of Bass Hill was recorded at 7,224. Like the rest of the Bankstown Area Bass Hill is a very culturally diverse suburb with 32.5% of residents being born overseas. Of these the largest groups came from Lebanon, Vietnam, Italy, China and New Zealand.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8
  2. ^ [http://www.bankstowncity.nsw.gov.au//coun/about/suburbGetItsName.cfm Bankstown Council - How Did Your Suburb Get Its Name?
  3. ^ http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=3284735&I=1&SE=1
  4. ^ Bankstown Remote Receiving Building, Bankstown, New South Wales, during WW2
  5. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Bass Hill (State Suburb). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.

[edit] External links

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