Sylvania, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Sylvania
city = Sydney
state = nsw


caption = Georges River, Sylvania
lga = Sutherland Shire
postcode = 2224
pop =
area =
propval = $ 750,000 (2006)
est =
stategov = Electoral district of Miranda
fedgov = Cook
near-nw = Jannali
near-n = Kangaroo Point
near-ne = Blakehurst
near-w = Kareela
near-e = Sylvania Waters
near-sw = Kirrawee
near-s = Gymea
near-se = Miranda
dist1 = 22
dir1 = south
location1= Sydney CBD Sylvania is a suburb, in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sylvania is located 22 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire.

Sylvania is mostly residential but also contains some commercial developments on the Princes Highway and Port Hacking Road. Sylvania Heights is a locality in the western part of the suburb. Sylvania Waters is a separate suburb, to the east.

History

The naming of the suburb is unclear, but ‘sylvan’ which means inhabiting the woods, relates to the setting of this suburb. The existence of a Sylvan Street, off Princes Highway, seems to confirm this. Thomas Holt (1811-88) owned the land that stretched from Sutherland to Cronulla. This also explains the Sylvanian Street, Holt Rd, which runs off the Princes Hwy near the Sylvania Heights shops and extends as far as Jannali. Holt had built Sutherland House on the foreshore of Gwawley Bay in 1818, on the eastern side of Sylvania. He established the Sutherland Estate Company in 1881 and a village grew here, with a post office opening in 1883. The school opened in 1884 but closed in 1891 and was not reopened until 1925. Sylvania Heights Public School opened in 1955. ["The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8]

Much of the land of Sylvania Waters was reclaimed from Gwawley Bay. Sylvania Waters Estate was developed by L.J.Hooker in the 1960s and land offered had water frontages with boating facilities. Streets were named after Australian rivers to emphasise the association with water, such as Shoalhaven, Tweed, Murrumbidgee, Hawkesbury and Barwon. Before the subdivision much of the area was farmed. An original farm house still stands today in Chester Street, where the land was used for raising pigs.

Commercial Area

Southgate Shopping Centre is located on the corner of the Princes Highway and Port Hacking Road. It contains two supermarkets Coles and Woolworths, a Kmart discount department store, many specialty shops including a Post office, a bowling alley, a gymnasium, fast food restaurants and a pub. A small group of shops and restaurants is located on Princes Highway near the foot of Tom Uglys Bridge. Another group of shops is located further west along the Princes Highway at Sylvania Heights, which includes Sylvania Heights Plaza.

Transport

The Princes Highway crosses the Georges River over the Tom Uglys Bridge at Horse Rock Point and links Sylvania north to Blakehurst, in the St George area.

chools

*Sylvania Heights Public School;
*Sylvania High School;
*Sylvania Public School;

Churches

*Our Lady of the Way Catholic Church
*Sylvania Anglican Church [http://www.sylvania.anglican.asn.au Sylvania Anglican Church]
*Sylvania Uniting Church.

References

* [http://www.sutherland.nsw.gov.au/ssc/rwpattach.nsf/viewasattachmentPersonal/shire_placenames_20041008.pdf/ History of Sutherland Shire Placenames]

External links