City of Fairfield

City of Fairfield New South Wales
Location in Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates	33°52′S 150°55′E / 33.867°S 150.917°E / -33.867; 150.917Coordinates: 33°52′S 150°55′E / 33.867°S 150.917°E / -33.867; 150.917
Population	198,381 (2011 census)[1] (13th)
• Density	1,944.9/km2 (5,037/sq mi)
Area	102 km2 (39.4 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Mayor	Frank Cabonne (Labor)
Council seat	Wakeley
Region	Metropolitan Sydney
State electorate(s)	Cabramatta Fairfield Prospect Liverpool Mulgoa
Federal Division(s)	McMahon Fowler Blaxland
Website	City of Fairfield
LGAs around City of Fairfield: Penrith Blacktown Holroyd Penrith City of Fairfield Parramatta Liverpool Liverpool Bankstown

The City of Fairfield is a local government area in the south-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The City of Fairfield is 102 square kilometres (39 sq mi).

The Mayor of the City of Fairfield is Cr. Frank Carbone, a member of the Australian Labor Party.

Suburbs in the local government area

Suburbs in the City of Fairfield are:

Demographics

At the 2011 Census, there were 187,766 people in the Fairfield local government area, of these 49.3% were male and 50.7% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.7% of the population. The median age of people in the City of Fairfield was 36 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 20.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.0% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 49.6% were married and 11.6% were either divorced or separated.^[1]

Population in the City of Fairfield between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census declined by 0.78%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 4.38%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Fairfield local government area was over half the national average.^[2] The median weekly income for residents within the City of Fairfield was lower than the national average,^[1][3] being one of the factors that place the City in an area of social disadvantage.

Fairfield is considered one of the most ethnically diverse suburbs in the entire world. At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Fairfield local government area who stated their ancestry as Vietnamese, was in excess of sixteen times the national average. The proportion of residents who stated a religious affiliation with Buddhism was in excess of nine times the national average; and the proportion of residents with no religion about half the national average. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, the area was linguistically diverse, with Vietnamese, Arabic, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, or Cantonese languages spoken in households, and ranged from two times to seventeen times the national averages.^[1]

Selected historical census data for Fairfield local government area
Census year			2001[2]	2006[3]	2011[1]
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	181,300	179,893	187,766
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			5th
		% of New South Wales population			2.71%
		% of Australian population	0.97%	0.91%	0.87%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Vietnamese			14.6%
		Chinese			11.7%
		Australian			8.6%
		English			7.4%
		Italian			5.9%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Vietnamese	15.5%	17.0%	19.1%
		Arabic	4.9%	6.4%	7.3%
		Assyrian Neo-Aramaic	4.9%	6.1%	5.6%
		Cantonese	5.8%	5.6%	5.0%
		Spanish	4.9%	4.3%	3.8%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	35.2%	35.3%	33.9%
		Buddhism	21.2%	22.1%	23.0%
		No Religion	5.9%	6.4%	7.7%
		Eastern Orthodox	7.0%	6.5%	5.9%
		Anglican	7.7%	6.4%	5.3%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$319	A$369
		% of Australian median income		68.5%	64.0%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$873	A$1,065
		% of Australian median income		85.0%	71.9%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$946	A$1,022
		% of Australian median income		80.8%	82.8%

Council

Current composition and election method

Fairfield City Council is composed of thirteen Councillors, including the Mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is directly elected while the twelve other Councillors are elected proportionally as three separate wards, each electing four Councillors. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council, including the Mayor, is as follows:^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election by ward, is:^[8]

History

For more than 30,000 years, Aboriginal people from the Cabrogal-Gandangara tribe have lived in the area.

European settlement began early in the 19th century and was supported by railway construction in 1856. At the turn of the century the area had a population of 2,500 people and with fertile soils, produced crops for distribution in Sydney.

Rapid population increase after World War II saw the settlement of many ex-service men and European migrants. Large scale Housing Commission development in the 1950s swelled the population to 38,000. By 1979, the population had reached 120,000 and the City was becoming one of the larger local government areas in New South Wales.

On 4 September 2006, Fairfield Council announced that it had banned spitting in public, which is now punishable with a fine of up to $1100. This is the only ruling of its kind in New South Wales. This also applies to people who spit their chewing gum onto the floor.

Land use

Fairfield City is mainly residential in nature with large-scale industrial estates at Wetherill Park and Smithfield. There are four major business and retail centres at Fairfield, Cabramatta, Bonnyrigg and Prairiewood, as well as a large number of suburban shopping malls. Fairfield has three major shopping malls; Fairfield Forum, Neeta City and Fairfield Chase. There has been significant development in Neeta city with greater commercial opportunities. Due to Fairfield's culturally diverse population there are over twenty different multicultural cafés and restaurants including Bosnian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Assyrian, Spanish and Thai.

Large expanses of rural land characterise the suburbs of Horsley Park and Cecil Park. There are 580 parks (60 of which are major parks) and the new Western Sydney Regional Parklands.

Environment

Much of the original bushland cover within the City has been cleared through past land management practices. A few small areas of this original bushland remain, including examples of Cumberland Plain vegetation, which is listed under the Threatened Species Conservation Act. To the west of the City's border lies the Western Sydney Regional Park.

Eight creeks, 80 kilometres (50 mi) in length, have their headwaters in Fairfield City and flow into the Georges River and Hawkesbury Nepean catchments. The impact of development over the past 50 years has resulted in severe degradation of the natural habitat in the creek banks and water quality has been assessed as very poor in recent years. Strategies are being implemented so that this trend is being reversed.

Air quality in the City is heavily impacted upon by an insufficiently integrated public transport system, creating an over reliance upon private vehicles for moving people and freight.

Schools

Schools in the City of Fairfield include: Fairfield Public School, Fairfield High School, St Johns Park High School, Westfields Sports High School, Fairvale High School, Yennora Public School, Canley Vale High School and many more. There are also many Catholic Schools such as: Patrician Brothers' College, Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School, Mary Mackillop College, Freeman Catholic College, Sacred Heart School, St Hurmizd's Assyrian primary school and Mar Narsai Assyrian college.

Culture

Fairfield has two major local newspapers, The Fairfield Advance and the Fairfield Champion; both are published every Wednesday.

Sister cities

Palmi, Italy ^[9]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to City of Fairfield.

• Official website