South Penrith, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = South Penrith
city = Sydney
state = NSW


caption =
lga = Penrith City Council
postcode = 2750
est =
pop = 11,600 (2006)
area = 5.07
propval =
stategov = Penrith
fedgov = Lindsay
near-nw = Penrith
near-n = Penrith
near-ne = Kingswood
near-w = Jamisontown
near-e = Kingswood
near-sw = Glenmore Park
near-s = Glenmore Park
near-se = Orchard Hills
dist1 = 55
dir1 = west
location1= Sydney CBD

South Penrith is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. South Penrith is located 55 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.

South Penrith is bounded by Jamison Road to the north, York Road to the west, the M4 Motorway to the south and the Northern Road to the east. Penrith is a separate suburb to the north.

History

Aboriginal Culture

Prior to European settlement, what is now South Penrith was home to the Mulgoa people who spoke the Darug language. They lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle governed by traditional laws, which had their origins in the Dreamtime. Their homes were bark huts called 'gunyahs'. They hunted kangaroos and emus for meat, and gathered yams, berries and other native plants. [cite web | url= http://www.mananura.com/aboriginal-history-dharugtx.html | title=Dharug Aboriginal History | publisher=Christopher Tobin | accessdate=2007-07-26 ]

European Settlement

Simeon Lord received the first land grant in the area, convert|1000|acre|km2 in 1816. In the latter part of the 19th century, it became known as York's Estate after then landowners Charles and James York. In 1888, convert|100|acre|km2 of the estate were purchased by the Penrith and Nepean Jockey Club for a racecourse. The rest of the area was orchards, dairy farms and vineyards. In the 1970s the area began to be subdivided although the former racecourse wasn't turned into housing becoming instead Jamison Park. The park is named after the Penrith region's most famous early settler, Sir John Jamison (1776-1844), of Regentville House. [cite web | url= http://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/index.asp?id=429 | title=Penrith Local Suburb Profiles - South Penrith| publisher=Penrith City Council | accessdate=2007-07-30 ]

Transport

The Northern Road is the main road in the suburb, connecting with both Penrith and the M4 Western Motorway which in turns provides quick connection to greater Sydney and the Blue Mountains. The nearest railway station is at Penrith on the Western Line of the Cityrail network. Westbus provides two bus services in the area with the 791 connecting South Penrith to Penrith and the 798 connecting to Penrith and Glenmore Park. [cite web | url= http://www.westbus.com.au/uploads/docs/penrith-stmarysregionguide15oct04.pdf | title=Penrith Network map | publisher=Westbus | accessdate=2007-07-30 ]

Education

There are two primary schools in the area: the government-run York Public School and the Catholic-run Mary Mackillop Primary School. The local high school is the government-run Jamison High School, home of the Jamison Highlanders. Winners of the Panther Trophy 2005.

People

Demographics

The recorded population of South Penrith in the 2006 census was 11,562. The median age of people in the suburb was 35, slightly younger than the national average of 37. The majority of houses in the area are detached (94%) and most of them were being paid off (41%) rather than owned outright (35%) or rented (21%). The median income ($520 per week) was slightly higher than the national average ($466). [Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC11919 | name = South Penrith (State Suburb) | quick = on | accessdate=2007-07-30 ]

Governance

At a local government level, South Penrith is part of the south ward of Penrith City Council, represented by Jim Aitken, Mark Davies, Karen McKeown, Susan Page and Gary Rumble. The current mayor is Pat Sheehy. At the state level, it is part of the Electoral district of Penrith, represented by Labor's Karyn Paluzzano. Federally, it is part of the Division of Lindsay, represented by Labor's David Bradbury.

References

External links

* [http://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/index.asp?id=969 Penrith Local Suburb Profiles]