Punchbowl, New South Wales

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Punchbowl
Sydney, NSW

The Boulevarde, Punchbowl
Established: 1869
Postcode: 2196
Location: 17 km (11 mi) south-west of Sydney CBD
LGA: City of Canterbury
State District: Lakemba, Bankstown
Federal Division: Watson, Blaxland
Suburbs around Punchbowl:
Mount Lewis Greenacre Lakemba
Bankstown Punchbowl Wiley Park
Padstow Riverwood Roselands
City of Bankstown Portal

Punchbowl is a suburb, in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Punchbowl is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Bankstown and the City of Canterbury. Punchbowl is colloquially known as 'Punchy'.

Contents

[edit] History

Punchbowl is named for a circular valley, called 'the punch bowl', which is actually located in the nearby suburb of Belfield at the intersection of Coronation Parade, Georges River and Punchbowl Roads. This feature gave its name to 'Punch Bowl Road' (now Punchbowl Road). In the 1830s, an inn was built by George Faulkener, close to the corner of Liverpool Road was called the Punch and Bowl. John Stephens had a property here in the 1930s and his son is mentioned in the Wells Gazetteer in 1848, 'Clairville or Punchbowl, in the Parishes of St George and Bankstown, is the property of Sir Alfred Stephens'. When a railway station opened on this road in 1909, three kilometres away from the 'punch bowl' itself, the surrounding suburb came to be known as Punchbowl. [1]

In the 1920s and 1930s, Punchbowl was a higher class suburb with a number of popular theatres that unfortunately were closed down or demolished, thirty years later. The Punchbowl Astoria opened on 17 July, 1935 with seating for 915 persons. The final programme was shown on Wednesday 4 February, 1959. The Astoria was eventually gutted and refitted as a three storey office building. The Punchbowl Regent was situated on the corner of The Boulevarde and Matthews Street. Operated by Enterprise Theatres Ltd, the Regent opened on Saturday 24 May 1923 showing The White Rose. It was a large cinema with seating for 1,287 patrons. The final programme was shown on Wednesday 4 February, 1959. The Regent was demolished during August 1964 and a block of shops was built on the site.

The Astoria Theatre opened in 1935
The Astoria Theatre opened in 1935

[edit] Commercial Area

Punchbowl has a relatively small shopping centre, although the selection is diverse. It thrived until the advent of Roselands & Bankstown Square in the late sixties and it's disection by the upgrading of Punchbowl Road in the seventies. It is centred around Punchbowl railway station, along The Boulevarde and Punchbowl Road. Local businesses and clubs reflect the diversity of the population. The largest shop is an IGA Supermarket. Punchbowl RSL is located on The Boulevarde and The Mirage Hotel is on Punchbowl Road (which was "the bloodhouse' referred to in "They're a Weird Mob" (See Pop Culture)).

For many years, Jack Walsh International Cycles on Punchbowl Road, was one of the longest serving shops in Punchbowl. It had been selling and repairing bicycles for over 60 years [2] until December 2007 when Mr Walsh was unable to continue the business.

The Lebanese cuisine is well regarded to the extent that culinary walking tours of Punchbowl sell out [3] months ahead. There are some Lebanese sweets shops that are particularly busy during the later hours of the day.

Punchbowl RSL, The Boulevarde

Mirage Hotel, Punchbowl Road

St Jerome Catholic Church

[edit] Transport

Canterbury Road and Punchbowl Road provide the major road links into the suburb. The Boulevarde and South Terrace are also main roads. Punchbowl railway station is located on the Bankstown line of the CityRail network. The line was opened in 1895 and electrified in 1926. Trains take around 25 minutes to Sydenham and 40 Minutes to Central station.

Punchbowl Road originally had left and right 90 degree turns to cross the old two lane railway bridge until replaced by the current one opened in 1981. Foundations of the old bridge can still be seen west of the current one. The new bridge greatly aided through traffic flow in the area but at the cost of effectively cutting the shopping centre in half.

[edit] Schools

Punchbowl Public School is located on Canterbury Road[4]. St Charbel's College is located in Highclere Avenue [5].

Punchbowl Boys High School located in Kelly Street,[6]was established in 1955. In the 1960s, Punchbowl Boys High produced two Australian cricket fast bowlers Len Pascoe and Jeff "Thommo" Thomson. The school had a strong focus on cricket and rugby union in the 1960s and 1970s. Punchbowl Boys High School has been described as the toughest school in Australia, although students and teachers have criticised these comments, branding them as "incorrect and exaggerated". The school was notorious for having a large barbed wire fence that faced inward. Recently however, the school has received much praise for programs such as "the homework centre", and also the "fit club", where students were accompanied by teachers for a jog around the Punchbowl suburbs. This program was established to encourage the students to lead a healthier and happier lifestyle.

[edit] Churches

St Jerome Catholic Church, St Charbel Maronite Catholic Church, St Barnabas Anglican Church, St Saviours Anglican Church, Punchbowl Baptist Church, Punchbowl Presbyterian Church, Punchbowl Uniting Church.

[edit] Population

[edit] Demographics

The first inhabitants of Punchbowl were Aboriginal tribes. The first Europeans in the area were British and Irish settlers in the nineteenth century. By the mid-twentieth century, the suburb had absorbed many migrants of Italian, Greek and Slavic origin. From the mid-1970s, Punchbowl became a very popular location with migrants from Lebanon.

[edit] Notable Residents

Punchbowl has produced a number of celebrities including:

[edit] Culture

[edit] Pop Culture

  • Punchbowl has featured in several Australian books including the satirical They're a Weird Mob by "Nino Culotta" (a nom de plume of John O'Grady), which was made into a feature film.
  • The movie FJ Holden (1977) included several locations in Punchbowl including the Sundowner Hotel, a popular pub & band venue until the license was sold, on the corner of Punchbowl and Canterbury Roads. The buildings were then used as the Croatian Club until the current club was built.
  • The television drama series Dangerous was set in and around Punchbowl.

[edit] External links

[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. ^ Tribute to Mr Jack Walsh - 08/03/2006 - PRIV - NSW Parliament
  3. ^ Gourmet Safaris :: Sydney Safaris
  4. ^ Welcome to Punchbowl Primary School, Sydney Australia
  5. ^ http://www.stcharbel.nsw.edu.au St Charbel's College
  6. ^ Welcome to Punchbowl Boys High School
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