Emerton, New South Wales

Emerton Sydney, New South Wales
Emerton Leisure Centre
Coordinates	33°45′00″S 150°48′10″E / 33.7500°S 150.8027°E / -33.7500; 150.8027Coordinates: 33°45′00″S 150°48′10″E / 33.7500°S 150.8027°E / -33.7500; 150.8027
Population	2,394 (2011 census)[1]
• Density	2,990/km2 (7,800/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	2770
Area	0.8 km2 (0.3 sq mi)
Location	46 km (29 mi) W of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)	City of Blacktown
State electorate(s)	Londonderry Mount Druitt
Federal Division(s)	Chifley
Suburbs around Emerton: Lethbridge Park Bidwill Blackett Tregear Emerton Dharruk Whalan Whalan Whalan

Emerton is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Emerton is located 46 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.

Emerton is primarily a residential suburb with very limited commercial activity centered on the Emerton Leisure Centre. It is quite close to the suburbs of Mount Druitt, New South Wales and St Marys.

The suburb's boundary is formed to the south and east by Popondetta Road continuing north around the extent of Popondetta Park. To the west, the boundary runs along Halmahera Creek until the creek meets Luxford Road and follows the road south to the intersection with Popondetta Road.^[2]

History

Emerton takes its name from William Frederick Emert, a native of Siglingen, Germany, who arrived in Australia in 1853. In 1861 he became a storekeeper and postmaster in Mount Druitt. Emert also took a leading part in forming the Wesleyan Church in Australia.

Commercial areas

There are several retail developments adjacent to the intersection of Jersey and Popondetta Roads, surrounding the main shopping centre called 'Emerton Village'. These include an Australia Post post office, supermarket, service station, medical centres, take-away food and a hotel. Banking is limited to retail EFTPOS and automatic teller machines.

Transport

By road Emerton is adjacent to the Westlink M7 motorway which can provide very easy access to the Great Western Highway and the M4 Motorway, providing road access to the western sections of the city and eastward to the Sydney CBD. This suburb is linked by several private bus companies to the train stations located at Mount Druitt and St Marys.

Cycleways running through Emerton run from Popondetta Park all the way to Mt Druitt and the M7 cycleway, which in turn connects to the cycleways on the M4 and M2 Motorways.

Housing

Housing is very heavily dominated by public housing built throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with large numbers of freestanding fibro houses and extensive terrace-style complexes. The houses are gradually transferring to private ownership and as this continues these government-built premises are being replaced with privately built, modern homes, similar to those being built in other areas of Sydney.

The three most common forms of dwelling were in decreasing order: a separate house; a semi-detached, row/terrace house, or townhouse; a flat, unit or apartment.^[1]

Recreation

Following extensive refurbishment by Blacktown City Council, the Emerton Leisure Centre (formerly Emerton Pool) was reopened in August 2006.^[3] The leisure centre incorporates both indoor and outdoor swimming pools (including a hydrotherapy pool) and outdoor facilities include a beach volleyball court.

Adjacent is Popondetta Park, which extends between Popondetta Road and Halamahera Creek, from Jersey Road to Bougainville Road. This park incorporates extensive sporting fields for cricket, netball, rugby league and soccer.

Population

At the 2011 census, there were 2,394 residents in Emerton. 6.2% of people were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, more than double the national average of 2.5%. The median age was 30 years old and 26.4% of the population were under 14 years old. 39.5% of people were born outside of Australia and the most common countries of birth were New Zealand 7.1%, Philippines 3.3%, Cook Islands 2.8%, England 2.2% and Samoa 2.2%. In Emerton, 34% of people spoke a language other than English at home. These languages included Samoan 4.1%, Tongan 2.8%, Maori (Cook Island) 2.3%, Arabic 2.1% and Hindi 1.9%. The unemployment rate (13.6%) was more than double the national rate of 5.6%. Of the employed people in Emerton, 4.7% worked in Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services and the next major industry of employment was Supermarket and Grocery Stores 4.0%.^[1]

Politics

For federal elections, Emerton is in the safe Labor electoral division of Chifley. This seat is currently held by Ed Husic, of the Labor Party elected in the 2010 elections. He is Australia's first Muslim MP in the Federal Government. The seat has been held continuously by the Australian Labor Party since it was proclaimed in 1984

For NSW state elections, Emerton is mainly in the Electoral district of Londonderry. It is represented by Prue Car of the Labor Party.

See also

• Busways

Notes

1. ^ State Election 2007 - Polling Booth Results, courtesy State Electoral Office of NSW. No polling places are located in the suburb of Emerton, results are averaged from adjacent polling places known by the State Electoral Office of NSW as Lethbridge Park (Londonderry), Tregear and Whalan.

1. ^ Federal Election 2004 - Polling Booth Results for Chifley, courtesy Australian Electoral Commission.

References

• Australian Bureau of Statistics (Postal Area)
• The 2001 City of Blacktown Social Plan

External links

• Image of Emerton's boundaries, from the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales.