St Clair, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = St Clair
city = Sydney
state = NSW


caption =
lga = Penrith City Council
postcode = 2759
est = 1981
pop =
area =
propval =
stategov = Mulgoa
fedgov = Prospect
near-nw = St Marys
near-n = Colyton
near-ne = Minchinbury
near-w = Orchard Hills
near-e = Erskine Park
near-sw = Orchard Hills
near-s = Erskine Park
near-se = Erskine Park
dist1 = 49
dir1 = west
location1= Sydney CBD

St Clair is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Erskine Park is located 49 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. St Clair is within view of the Blue Mountains.

History

St Clair takes its name from a residential housing development established in 1970.

Aboriginal Culture

Traditionally, the area was inhabited by the indigenous Dharug people. By the year 1816 however, the Dharug people had been decimated by clashes with settlers and by contracting diseases brought to the area by Europeans. As time progressed, the traditional culture declined as it did across the entire continent and they became increasingly dependent on the settlers for their survival. Although they had always maintained a camp on or around the Mamre estate (which is found adjacent to St Clair, in the suburb of St Marys the Rev. Samuel Marsden now sought to encourage them to work in exchange for food and clothing.

European Settlement

The area was formerly part of a larger area named South Creek. It was later, unofficially, known as South St Marys, with the southern section being named Erskine Park. The original site of St Clair was once part of Chatsworth Nursery, a branch of Darling Nursery, which had been established in 1827 during the reign of King George IV. The owner Thomas Shepherd developed an irrigation system utilizing water from Eastern Creek and a large portion of the area was covered with Camelia orchards. The nursery, famous for its Camellias, was moved to Colyton and existed until the end of 19th century. The area remained largely rural until a new housing development in the 1970s.

The name "St Clair" has no historical links with the area. It was the name given to a residential housing development established in 1970 by the Latex Finance Company, a subsidiary of the Cambridge Finance Company which went bankrupt in the year 1976. The Land Commission of New South Wales acquired the land after a bankruptcy declaration and extended the area to create a large suburb. The Geographical Names Board of New South Wales eventually made the decision in late 1981 to divide the area into two separate suburbs named St Clair and Erskine Park, rather than call the whole area Erskine Park as many people had desired. Its population has soared since 1981 and is now a well established suburb with modern facilities with close access to the M4 Motorway and shopping centre.

Location

The suburb is bordered by Erskine Park Road to the east, the M4 Motorway on the north and Mamre Road along its western boundary. The suburb to the south and east of St Clair is Erskine Park. Considerable parklands provide open space for recreational activities and St Clair is renowned for having a family orientated atmosphere.

Next to St Clair is Erskine Park, which is located on the eastern and southern sides of Erskine Park Road. Erskine Park is not as big as St Clair in housing and population but will be bringing a massive boom in economy to the area with a new industrial area currently in the process of being developed.

chools

The suburb has one public high school which is located on Endeavour Ave, named St Clair High School. St Clair High School is well known for its friendly teachers and curriculum. Some St Clair residents are zoned to go to the nearby Erskine Park High School. Private High Schools near St Clair include Emmaus Catholic College and Mamre Christian College. Primary schools in St Clair include St Clair Public School, Banks Drive Public School, Blackwell Public School, Clairgate Public School, Trinity and Holy Spirit Catholic School.

Commercial Area

St Clair Shopping Centre is now undergoing a major refurbishment that will include a new façade, new food court, with outdoor seating and around 25 new specialty shops. The major alteration to the specialty shop area will be the northern expansion of the existing shops creating a new arcade entry and food court. [ [http://www.stclairshoppingcentre.com.au St.Clair Shopping Centre | Home ] ] A Woolworths supermarket is only the major tenant but the new centre will also include Big W, Duffys Fruit Market, Jay Jays Jeans, Lowes Menswear, Bakers Delight,Jeanswest, Katies and Dick Smith Electronics, Decosti seafoods, and Zipped. Completion is expected early 2009 [ [http://www.stclairshoppingcentre.com.au/page/refurbishment_update.html St.Clair Shopping Centre | Refurbishment Update ] ] .

The Blue Cattle Dog Hotel is the only club or pub located in St Clair or Erskine Park, which is on the corner of Mamre Road and Banks Drive.

Politics

St Clair is in the Federal Seat of Prospect, held by Australian Labor Party's Chris Bowen and the NSW State Government Seat of Mulgoa, held by Labor's Diane Beamer with her office at St Clair shopping centre.

References

External links

[http://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/index.asp?id=969 Penrith Local Suburb Profiles]
* [http://www.stclairsoccer.com.au/ St Clair United Soccer Club 'The Strikers']
* [http://stclaircrows.aflnswact.com.au/ St Clair Crows Australian Rules Football Club]
* [http://www.stclairjrlc.org.au/ St Clair Comets Rugby League Club]
* [http://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/ Penrith City Council]