| Campbelltown Sydney, New South Wales |
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Queen Street in Campbelltown |
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Campbelltown
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| Population: | 8,013[1] | ||||||||||||
| Established: | 1820 | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 2560 | ||||||||||||
| Location: | 51 km (32 mi) south-west of Sydney CBD | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | Campbelltown | ||||||||||||
| Region: | Metropolitan Sydney, Macarthur, New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Campbelltown | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Macarthur | ||||||||||||
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Campbelltown is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Campbelltown is located 51 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Campbelltown.
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Campbelltown gets its name from Elizabeth Campbell, the wife of former Governor of New South Wales Lachlan Macquarie. Originally called Campbell-Town, the name was later simplified to the current Campbelltown.[2]
The area that later became Campbelltown was inhabited prior to European settlement by the Tharawal people. Not long after the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney in 1788, a small herd of six cattle escaped and weren't seen again by the British settlers for seven years. They were spotted, however, by the Tharawal people. In a rock art site called Bull Cave near Campbelltown, they drew a number of cattle with pronounced horns. The Tharawal described the cattle to British explorers and in 1795 the British found a herd of around 60 cattle grazing in the area now known as Camden.[3][4]
The colonial administration was keen for the herd to establish itself so forbade killing of the cattle or settlement in the area. But John Macarthur, who wanted to establish sheep in the colony, took a liking to the prime grazing land. He convinced the British government to overrule the local administration and grant him 5,000 acres (20 km2) just south of the Nepean River in 1805. Four years later a number of other grants were made to farmers between Camden and Liverpool.[5]
The Tharawal initially worked with the local farmers but a drought in 1814 led to large numbers of neighbouring Gandangara people moving into the area in search of food. Tensions developed between the British and the Gandangara leading to skirmishes and a number of deaths on each side. Governor Macquarie felt a permanent settlement would lead to order in the area and so Campbell-Town was born in 1820.[6]
Development of the town was slow at first, particularly after the departure of Macquarie, and it wasn't until 1831 that residents took possession of town land. However, it was during this period that Campbelltown's most famous incident occurred. In 1826, local farmer Frederick Fisher disappeared. According to folklore, his ghost appeared sitting on a fence rail over a creek just south of the town and pointed to a site where his body was later found to be buried. In memory of the incident, the Fisher's Ghost festival is held each November in Campbelltown.[7]
Campbelltown's population increased steadily in the decades following. The southern rail line was extended to Campbelltown in 1858, leading to further development, and in 1882, Campbelltown Council was established allowing municipal works to occur in earnest. Campbelltown became the first country town in New South Wales to have piped water in 1888 and in the period between the World Wars, a local power station was built to supply electricity to residents.[8]
Campbelltown was designated in the early 1960s as a satellite city by the New South Wales Planning Authority, and a regional capital for the south west of Sydney. There was extensive building and population growth in the intervening time and the government set aside land surrounding the township for public and private housing and industry. [9]
The old town centre, as laid down by Macquarie, is still the main commercial area and includes the Queen Street shopping strip, Campbelltown Mall, Campbelltown railway station and bus interchange, the council chambers and a number of historic buildings. The main residential area is to the south and east of the town centre. On the northwestern side of the railway line is an industrial area.
To the southwest is a second commercial area based around Macarthur railway station which includes the University of Western Sydney and Macarthur Square, a large shopping mall. It features an outdoor entertainment and restaurant precinct known as "Kellicar Lane" which opened after the most recent expansion in November 2005. It features a food court that has large glass windows that look over Kellicar Lane, Campbelltown and the surrounding countryside.
The following buildings in central Campbelltown are listed on the Register of the National Estate.[10]
Campbelltown lies on the main road and rail links from Sydney to the south-west. The M5 South Western Motorway links Campbelltown north to Liverpool, Sydney Airport and Sydney CBD and south to Goulburn and Canberra.
Campbelltown railway station and Macarthur railway station are on the Southern line of the CityRail network. Campbelltown also services the Airport and East Hills Line and is the main terminus of the Cumberland Line and the intercity Southern Highlands Line.
Campbelltown is also well serviced by buses. Busways provides a number of services from Campbelltown Station to virtually all the surrounding suburbs of Campbelltown as well as to Camden. Interline provides a service from Campbelltown to Glenfield and Picton Buslines provides a service from Campbelltown to Picton via Camden.[11][12][13]
Campbelltown Hospital is part of the Sydney South West Area Health Service and is located on the southern edge of the suburb near Ambarvale.
The University of Western Sydney has a Campbelltown Campus, located on Narellan Road.
There are a number of local schools including:
In the surrounding suburbs are a number of other schools associated with Campbelltown such as Broughton Anglican College, Mount Carmel High School (Varroville), Menangle Park, and St Gregory's College, Campbelltown which is actually in Blairmount.
According to the 2006 census conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the suburb of Campbelltown had a population of just under 150,000 people. Analysis of household income levels in Campbelltown City in 2006 compared to the Sydney Statistical Division shows that there was a smaller proportion of high income households (those earning $1,700 per week or more) but a similar proportion of low income households (those earning less than $500 per week). Overall, 21.6% of the households earned a high income, and 17.4% were low income households, compared with 29.5% and 16.8% respectively for the Sydney Statistical Division.
The majority of Campbelltown residents were Australian born (69%) with the next most common places of birth being England (4.3%) and New Zealand (2.5%). There was a significant minority of Arabic speakers and a higher than average number of people with indigenous backgrounds (2.9%).[14]
The Campbelltown Arts Centre, situated just south of the main town centre features a 180-seat performance space, exhibition galleries and workspaces. Outside is a sculpture garden and a Japanese Gardens and Teahouse that was a gift from Campbelltown's sister city Koshigaya in Japan.[20]
The Fisher's ghost Festival is an annual festival held in recognition of Frederick Fisher, an emancipated convict who owned farming land in Campbelltown. Legend has it that Fisher appeared to local man John Farley as a ghost after being murdered by George Worrall, his friend and neighbour, over a land dispute. An annual parade through Campbelltown's main street, Queen Street, is held every November and a carnival including fairground rides and other entertainment is held at Bradbury oval, a local sports ground. Over a period of three weeks many activities take place including the Fisher's Ghost Fun Run, the Fisher's Ghost Art Award and the Street Party which was formerly known as the "Mardi Gras." The Fisher's Ghost festival is responsible for a great amount of town pride in Campbelltown and many citizens can state that they or someone they know have been in the Fisher's Ghost parade at some point in time.[21]
Campbelltown is home to two local radio stations, 2MCR and C91.3FM. The two local newspapers are the Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser and the Macarthur Chronicle.[22]
Campbelltown is very well known for its strong sporting culture. This includes Rugby League, Cricket, Athletics and Soccer. Campbelltown has produced many professional athletes who have represented Australia at Olympic level. Its leading sporting team is the Wests Tigers who play in the National Rugby League competition. The Wests Tigers are a merger of two foundation clubs of the old New South Wales Rugby League premiership, the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Balmain Tigers. As such, they play some of their home games at Campbelltown Stadium in neighbouring Leumeah and others at Leichhardt Oval. The Magpies still exist as a stand-alone team in the lower tier competition, the New South Wales Cup.
Another tenant of Campbelltown Stadium is the Macarthur Rams soccer team which plays in the New South Wales Premier League competition.[23] Campbelltown is also represented in the Sydney Grade Cricket competition by the Campbelltown-Camden Ghosts who play their home games in Raby.[24] The Campbelltown District Netball Association, based in Minto, plays in the third division of the Netball NSW State League.[25][26]