Summer Hill, New South Wales
Summer Hill Federal division(s) | Grayndler | ||||||||||||||
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Summer Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Summer Hill is located 7 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council.
Summer Hill is a primarily residential suburb of Sydney's Inner West, adjoining two of Sydney's major arterial roads, Parramatta Road and Liverpool Road. The first land grant was made in 1794 to former convict and jailor Henry Kable, and the suburb began growing following the opening of the railway station on the Main Suburban railway line, in 1879.
By the 1920s, the suburb had become relatively upper class, with large estates and mansions built throughout the suburb. Some of these still exist today. Following a transition to a working-class suburb in the mid-20th century, when many of the large estates were demolished or subdivided, the suburb today has a "village" character and a mix of medium-density apartment blocks and federation houses.
Characteristics
Summer Hill's boundaries are Parramatta Road and Liverpool Road to the north, the rear of the properties on the west side of Prospect Road (with a detour around
Summer Hill has a mix of
Despite formerly being working class, Summer Hill and many of the surrounding suburbs have gradually undergone gentrification over recent years. Culturally, Summer Hill is a blend of medium-density European Sydney suburbia, with Italian influences (which are most evident in Leichhardt to the east and Haberfield to the north), Asian (mainly Chinese) influences (which are most strongly evident in Ashfield to the West), and smaller influences from many other cultures.[6]
History
Aboriginal Anthropology
Before the
In the early days of the colony, the land between Iron Cove and the Cooks River was known as the Kangaroo Ground.[7] This suggests that the land was open terrain favoured by kangaroos, that they were common in the area and may have formed a significant part of the Aboriginal diet.[7]
European settlement
The first land grant in this area was for a farm in 1794, to former convict and jailor Henry Kable. The land in the eastern corner of Summer Hill was an additional grant of 30 acres (12 ha) made to Henry Kable in 1804. This eastern corner would subsequently become part of the estate of James Underwood. Underwood died in 1844 and left a will so complicated that it required special legislation before it could be subdivided.[6]
An early known use of the name "Summer Hill" was on Saturday 8 December 1849 when The Bathurst Free Press reported it as the residence of James and Ann Bennett who were tried and convicted of participation in the Wellington Mail Robbery.[9] However, the location reported most likely refers to the place now known as Summer Hill Creek, near Orange, New South Wales. The name was used in 1876, for a land subdivision adjacent to the present-day St Andrew's Anglican Church. The name Summer Hill is thought to be a name chosen by the land sub-divider, presumably based on an attachment for England. Local historians regard the suggestion that the name is a derivation of "Sunning Hill" as a dubious story which has no substance.[6]
Summer Hill's largest mansion, Carleton (now the Grosvenor Hospital's main building), was built in the early 1880s on Liverpool Road for Charles Carleton Skarrat. The suburb boomed with the opening of the railway station in 1879, and was followed by subdivision of much of the surrounding area. Between 1880 and 1910, the area became an upper-class suburb, and was a popular choice for professionals in banking and insurance who worked in the city.[6] Subdivision of gardens for housing continued in the 1920s and 1930s, and socioeconomically the suburb changed as some of the wealthier inhabitants moved to the North Shore. Demolition of most of the surviving mansions in the 1970s allowed erection of home units, especially within walking distance of the railway station.[6]
Heritage listings
Summer Hill has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- Grosvenor Crescent: Lewisham Sewage Aqueduct[10]
Climate
The nearest site to Summer Hill is the Canterbury Racecourse AWS which is located several km to the south west of Summer Hill town centre.
Climate data for Canterbury Racecourse AWS (Data from 1995 - 2017) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 44.6 (112.3) |
43.1 (109.6) |
39.0 (102.2) |
34.5 (94.1) |
28.0 (82.4) |
25.6 (78.1) |
25.5 (77.9) |
29.0 (84.2) |
34.7 (94.5) |
37.3 (99.1) |
40.9 (105.6) |
40.3 (104.5) |
44.6 (112.3) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27.8 (82.0) |
27.3 (81.1) |
26.0 (78.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
20.6 (69.1) |
18.1 (64.6) |
17.5 (63.5) |
19.0 (66.2) |
21.9 (71.4) |
23.5 (74.3) |
24.8 (76.6) |
26.5 (79.7) |
23.0 (73.4) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 18.4 (65.1) |
18.3 (64.9) |
16.6 (61.9) |
12.8 (55.0) |
9.3 (48.7) |
7.2 (45.0) |
5.8 (42.4) |
6.5 (43.7) |
9.5 (49.1) |
12.1 (53.8) |
14.9 (58.8) |
16.8 (62.2) |
12.4 (54.3) |
Record low °C (°F) | 10.3 (50.5) |
11.1 (52.0) |
6.9 (44.4) |
2.4 (36.3) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
0.3 (32.5) |
2.7 (36.9) |
4.4 (39.9) |
6.5 (43.7) |
8.5 (47.3) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 83.5 (3.29) |
102.3 (4.03) |
74.6 (2.94) |
109.3 (4.30) |
78.1 (3.07) |
108.2 (4.26) |
59.5 (2.34) |
66.8 (2.63) |
46.8 (1.84) |
59.0 (2.32) |
78.7 (3.10) |
64.8 (2.55) |
970.9 (38.22) |
Average precipitation days | 11.2 | 11.3 | 12.1 | 11.5 | 11.2 | 12.5 | 11.2 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 11.7 | 10.4 | 128.0 |
Average afternoon relative humidity (%)
|
57 | 60 | 58 | 57 | 54 | 54 | 50 | 42 | 46 | 50 | 54 | 54 | 53 |
Source: Bureau of Meteorology[11]
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Churches and other places of worship
There are a number of
St Andrew's Anglican Church has three distinctive internal
Schools
Summer Hill Public School, located in Moonbie Street, is a primary school that caters for students from Kindergarten to Year 6. It offers a selective program, known as Opportunity Classes, for Year 5 and 6 students under the New South Wales Government's Opportunity Class program. The school was established in 1883 in a wooden shed on 2 acres (8,100 m2) of land that had been resumed from James Bartlett. The older buildings currently used at the school date back to 1913 while more modern buildings were constructed in 1977, 1998 and 2010. The school, designed in the Victorian Classical style, is listed on the Register of the National Estate.[15]
Saint Patrick's Catholic School is a private primary school, close to Summer Hill Public School.
Commercial area
Summer Hill's shopping precinct is centred around a small town square with good pedestrian access, and is surrounded by cafés and restaurants along Lackey and Smith Streets. The suburb is very small by Australian standards, having a population of just over 6000, in an area of 110 hectares. It features some fine examples of architecture from the 19th and early 20th century.[16]
The Summer Hill flour mill was built circa 1922, utilising the north–south goods railway line that was constructed during World War I. The silos were added from the 1950s onwards. The flour mill has been owned by various companies, including Mungo Scott, Allied Flour & Starch and Goodman Fielder, and then Allied Mills.[6] In October 2007, the mills were sold to a developer, EG Funds Management,[17] who have since redeveloped the mill site into a residential and commercial precinct.[18] The precinct is a site for a regular community market for produce and artisan goods.[19]
Transport
In Summer Hill on the day of the 2016 Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people were: Train 36.0%, Car, as driver 32.9%, Walked only 4.0%, Worked at home 3.8% and Train and bus 3.5%.
From 1915, Summer Hill was served by trams from Hurlstone Park. Trams left New Canterbury Road and went down Prospect Road, then swung right onto Smith Street. They turned onto Lackey Street, where they went right and terminated at the station. Low usage and rival buses saw the line closed in 1933, however some remains can be seen.
Summer Hill railway station is located on the Main Suburban railway line. The railway station was opened on 15 September 1879,[21] and most of the local shops are clustered close to the station.
There are two stations serving Summer Hill on the Inner West Light Rail. These are - Lewisham West (adjacent to the former flour mill on the border with Lewisham) and Taverners Hill (near Parramatta Road). Access to the city is quicker by train, but the light rail may be used for some cross-regional journeys. It also interchanges with Dulwich Hill railway station on the Bankstown Line.
There are four Transit Systems routes that service the area - the 480 and 483 follow routes along Parramatta Road and then Liverpool Road, the 461 travels along Parramatta Road and the 413 travels along Junction Road. Additionally, the N70, N71 and N80 NightRide buses on Parramatta Road run between Central and Penrith, Richmond and Hornsby respectively.
The area is also gradually becoming more bicycle friendly, with several bicycle paths in the suburb.[22] A local group, "Friends of the Greenway" wish to see a bicycle and walking corridor built alongside the light rail.[17]
Population
Demographics
In the
Notable residents
Notable people to have been born or lived in Summer Hill include:[7]
- Normand Henry Baker (1908–1955), Archibald Prize winning artist.
- Robert Barbour, (1827–1895), politician.[24]
- Dr John Belisario (1820–1900), dentist at the later end of the 19th century, recorded as living in Summer Hill in the 1891 census; first dentist in Australia to administer ether to a patient to carry out dental work.
- Colonel Matron Kathleen Best (1910–1957), first director of the Women's Australian Army Corps.
- David Elphinstone (1847–1916), architect and builder.
- Virginia Gay, All Saints actress and contestant on It Takes Two
- Happy Hammond (1917–1998), radio host, television host, and producer.
- Justice Greg James (born 1944), former judge of the Supreme Court of NSW.
- Edwin Johnson (1835–1894), education reformer, undersecretary to the Department of Public Instruction.
- Ninian Melville Jnr (1843–1897), local furniture maker and member of the NSW Parliament who also became Mayor of Newtown and later Ashfield.
- John Paton (1833–1914), winner of the Victoria Cross for bravery in India in 1857; a Summer Hill park is named after him.
- Arthur Streeton (1867–1943), Australian artist who briefly lived in Summer Hill.
- New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption.
- Rt Hon Sir Cyril Walsh (1909–1973), lawyer and Justice of the High Court of Australia.
Politics
2015 State Election[25] | ||
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Labor
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43.27% | |
Greens
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27.31% | |
Liberal
|
23.82% | |
No Land Tax
|
1.82% | |
Christian Democrats | 1.70% | |
Socialist Alliance | 1.47% | |
Independent | 0.61% |
2016 Federal Election[26] | ||
---|---|---|
Labor | 45.9% | |
Greens | 25.72% | |
Liberal | 20.7% | |
Christian Democrats | 1.76% | |
Animal Justice | 1.69% | |
Science | 1.43% | |
Sex Party | 0.85% |
Summer Hill is in the safe
For NSW state elections, Summer Hill is in the Electoral district of Summer Hill, which was created in 2015. It is held by Jo Haylen of the Australian Labor Party.
Local political issues include:
- Proposed construction of the M4 East, diverting traffic from Parramatta Road, and which construction option should be used.[27]
- Opposition to plans that would result in an increase in traffic at aircraft noise.[28]
- Concern over the proposed new supermarket building, and whether it is in keeping with the local shopping area.[29]
- The expansion of the Trinity school, including the demolition of housing and development of a new aquatic centre on Prospect Rd, and proposed increase in student numbers,
- Another community concern is the proposed high-rise re-development of the Mungo Scott flour mill.
See also
References
- ^ State Heritage Website
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Summer Hill (Inner West - NSW) (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ "Summer Hill boundary map"[permanent dead link], Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 September 2007. [dead link]
- ^ Municipality of Ashfield, "C14: Summer Hill Urban Village: Development Control Plan". Retrieved 22 October 2007. Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Summer Hill Precinct Heritage review", Ashfield Municipal Council. Retrieved 7 July 2007. Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ISBN 0-949842-11-7.
- ^ a b c d e "A Short Walk Through Ashfield's past" booklet, a collaboration between Ashfield Municipal Council and the Ashfield & District Historical Society, circa 1996.
- ^ "Ashfield Heritage Study Review - Cadigal Reserve", Ashfield Municipal Council. Retrieved 18 September 2007. Archived 25 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Wellington Train Robbery Trove
- .
- ^ "Canterbury Racecourse AWS". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- Sydney Morning Herald, 7 November 2003. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
- Sydney Morning Herald, 16 March 2004. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
- Sydney Morning Herald, 11 November 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
- ^ The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981
- ^ "Suburb spotlight: Summer Hill", VillageVoice.com.au. Retrieved 26 October 2007. Archived 2 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald, 15 October 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
- ^ "EG - The Flour Mill of Summer Hill". EG. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ "Flour Mill of Summer Hill to host new Sunday farmers' markets". Summer Hill Flour Mill. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Summer Hill (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ Bozier, Rolfe, "NSWRail.Net: Summer Hill Railway Station". Retrieved 29 September 2007.
- ^ "Bicycle Paths". Ashfield Municipal Council. Archived from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
- ^ "2001 Census - Ancestry by Birthplace of Parents: 2130 (Postal Area of Enumeration)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
- ^ "Barbour, Robert (1827–1895)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ "NSW STATE ELECTION RESULTS 2015 - State Electoral District of Summer Hill". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "Grayndler, NSW". AEC Tally Room 2016. Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 October 2017. Results for "Summer Hill" polling booth.
- ^ Constantinou, Menios, "No easy road for M4 East Motorway"[permanent dead link], Inner West Courier, 10 July 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007. [dead link]
- Sydney Morning Herald, 20 November 2003. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
- Sydney Morning Herald, 8 October 2002. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
External links
- Image of Summer Hill's boundaries, from the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales
- Summer Hill Public School
- Trinity Grammar School, located in Summer Hill
- Historic postcards of Summer Hill from the State Library of New South Wales
- St Andrew's Anglican Church
- St Patricks Church Archived 30 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- Summer Hill Community Centre.
- Profile of the federal seat of Grayndler
- Summer Hill Village Business Association
- Demographics for Summer Hill from the Dictionary of Sydney[permanent dead link]