Killara, New South Wales

Killara is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Killara is located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) north of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. East Killara is a separate suburb and West Killara is a locality within Killara.

History

Killara is an Aboriginal word meaning permanent or always there.^[1] The name of the suburb was chosen when the railway line opened in 1899. James George Edwards was a representative of the people who requested a station be built here. The suburb was established as a 'Gentlemen's suburb', designed so that there would be no commercial ventures in the area. For this reason, the suburb has very few shops in the original development.^[1]

Infrastructure and development

Killara railway station is on the North Shore Line of the City Rail network. The Pacific Highway is the main road through Killara. Churches in the suburb comprise St Martin's Anglican Church, and Killara Uniting Church on Karranga Avenue.

The Swain Gardens were donated to Ku-ring-gai Council by Mr Swain, the Sydney bookseller, in the 1920s, and are today maintained by the council and volunteers. The gardens have been listed by the National Trust of Australia.

Killara is served by two top ranking public primary schools, Killara Public School and Beaumont Road Public School.^[2] The suburb is also home to Killara High School, the highest performing non-selective government secondary school in the state of New South Wales.^[3][4]

Commercial

Commercial developments are located along the length of the Pacific Highway, including the Greengate Hotel. A small group of shops are located on Marian Street, close to Killara railway station; the Marian Street Theatre is located opposite.

Residential

The majority of residential properties are built in the Federation and Californian Bungalow styles, although the suburb includes many other styles.

The Harry and Penelope Seidler House at 13 Kalang Avenue, as its name suggests, was designed by Harry and Penelope Seidler. The 1960s-era modern-design home, constructed with reinforced masonry walls, concrete floors and roof, rubble-stone retaining walls and fireplace, won the Wilkinson Award in 1967.88

Politics

For federal elections, Killara lies in the electorate of Bradfield, currently represented by Paul Fletcher. For state elections, Killara falls under the state electoral districts of Davidson and Ku-ring-gai. Kuring-gai is represented by Barry O'Farrell, also the current Premier of New South Wales. The member for Davidson is Jonathan O'Dea. In terms of local government, Killara is part of the Ku-ring-gai municipal council.

Population and demographics

In the 2006 Australian census, the total population of Killara was 8,974 people; 46.5 percent were male and 53.5 percent were female. The number of residents born in Australia was 64.5 percent. Of those born overseas, the most common countries were the United Kingdom (5.4%), Hong Kong (3.6%), China (3.1%), New Zealand (2.0%), and South Korea (1.8%). In Killara, 77.5 percent only speak English, with other commons languages spoken including Cantonese (6.0%), Mandarin (3.9%), Korean (2.1%), and Japanese (0.8%). The largest religious affiliation was Anglican (25.9%), followed by Catholicism (21.0%), "no religion" (17.9%), Uniting Church (9.0%), and Judaism (3.7%). Of persons aged 15 years and over, 59.7% were married, 27.3% never married, 5.7% separated or divorced and 7.3% widowed.

Killara is an affluent suburb. The median weekly individual income was $764, compared with $466 in Australia. The median weekly household income was $2,237, compared with $1,027 in Australia. The median weekly family income was $2,632, compared with $1,171 in Australia.

Notable residents

• Carlyle Greenwell – Architect, philanthropist and designer of Killara Uniting Church and many, now heritage listed, houses [1] [2] [3][4].
• Peter Jackson – boxer, British Commonwealth and Heavyweight champion.
• David Koch, an Australian financial analyst, television presenter and host of Sunrise on the Seven Network.
• Elle Macpherson, – grew up in Killara and also attended the local high school, Killara High School.
• Charles Scrivener – surveyor
• Harry Seidler – architect
• Ethel Turner – famous author of 7 Little Australians lived on a large property now known as Kiamala Crescent.
• Jim Waley – a former presenter and newsreader for Nine Network News.

References