Belfield, New South Wales

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


caption = Belfield Hotel
lga = City of Canterbury
lga2 = Municipality of Strathfield
postcode = 2191
est =
pop =
area =
propval =
stategov = Electoral district of Lakemba
fedgov = Division of Watson
near-nw = Strathfield South
near-n = Strathfield South
near-ne = Enfield
near-w = Greenacre
near-e = Croydon Park
near-sw = Lakemba
near-s = Belmore
near-se = Campsie
dist1 = 14
dir1 = south-west
location1= Sydney CBD

Belfield is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Belfield is located 14 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canterbury and partly in the Municipality of Strathfield.

Location

Belfield has a mixture of residential, light industrial and commercial areas. A small shopping strip is located along Burwood Road. The Cooks River forms a natural border, to the north of the suburb.

Population

Belfield has a population of about 4,500, in about 1,500 dwellings. 42% of Belfield's residents were born overseas.

chools and Churches

Belfield has a number of houses of worship, and St. Michael's Primary School opened in 1959. There is also a Uniting Church on Punchbowl road and a Korean Christian Church on Burwood road.

port

The Belfield Bowling and Recreation Club is located near the intersection of Punchbowl Road and Georges River Road and the Cooks River, and is accessible via Punchbowl Road and Margaret Street. The club primarily focuses on bowls and is open to both men and women of all ages and abilities.

Belfield's Rudd Park is home to the Belmore Eagles Soccer FC.

History

Land grants were made as early as 1810 for agricultural purposes, on the northern side of Punchbowl Road (towards Strathfield). The "Punch Bowl" was the name that early settlers gave the almost circular valley where the old road to Georges River crossed Cooks River at a ford. This is now where Georges River Road meets Punchbowl Road (the road to "The Punch Bowl") in Belfield.

The name of the suburb is believed to have been created by combining the names of the two neighbouring suburbs, Belmore and Enfield. From information supplied by the Postmaster General's Department, the name "Belfield" first appeared on their records in 1930 when the Belfield branch of the ALP wrote asking that the Department establish a post office at North Belmore. Although several applications were made over the years, it was not until 1936 that the postal inspector reported in favour of a non-official post office. His report read: "...There is a business centre here consisting of sixteen shops, one garage and one Hotel. It is a prosperous business section. This part of the locality is approximately mid-way between Belmore and Enfield. It is known as Belfield"... - the name derived from its position between the two suburbs mentioned, Belmore and Enfield. [Book of Sydney Suburbs, Frances Pollon (Angus and Robertson) 1990, p.25]

The Department of Lands advised that it had no objection to the use of the name "Belfield" and approval was subsequently given for the establishment of a non-official post office. The official boundaries for Belfield were gazetted during August 1993 together with all other suburbs in the Canterbury Local Government Area. Three streets are named after World War 1 sites of importance to Australians; Bazentin St (a town near Pozieres in France), Persic St (after the Persic, a ship that transported Australian soldiers to Europe during the war) and Mena St (an Australian Army training camp in Egypt during WW1). A fourth street is named after General William Birdwood, the ANZAC commander in Gallipoli. [Book of Sydney Suburbs, p.25]

The majority of houses in Belfield were built after World War 2, as public housing. Many of the houses have been turned over to private ownership over the past fifty years. Australia's first Pizza Hut opened in Belfield in April 1970, but closed in the late 1990s. Belfield is home to the Bridge of Belfield Pharamacy which is a family run business dating back many generations.

References

External links