Liverpool, New South Wales

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


caption = Liverpool railway station
lga = City of Liverpool
postcode = 2170
est = 1810
pop = 21,000 (2006)
area =
propval =
stategov = Liverpool
fedgov = Werriwa, Hughes
near-nw = Ashcroft
near-n = Mount Pritchard
near-ne = Cabramatta
near-w = Cartwright
near-e = Warwick Farm
near-sw = Lurnea
near-s = Casula
near-se = Moorebank
dist1 = 32
dir1 = south-west
location1= Sydney CBD

Liverpool is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Liverpool is located 32 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Liverpool. Liverpool is colloquially known as 'Livo'.

History

Liverpool is one of the oldest urban settlements in Australia, founded in 1810 as an agricultural centre by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. He named it after Robert Banks Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool, who was then the Secretary of State for the Colonies. [ "The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, p.155, ISBN 0-207-14495-8 ]

Liverpool is at the head of navigation of the Georges River and combined with the Great Southern Railway from Sydney to Melbourne reaching Liverpool in the late 1850s, Liverpool became a major agricultural and transportation centre as the land in the district was very productive.

Until the 1950s, Liverpool was still a satellite town with an agricultural economy based on poultry farming and market gardening. However the tidal surge of urban sprawl which engulfed the rich flatlands west of Sydney known as the Cumberland Plain soon reached Liverpool, and it became an outer suburb of metropolitan Sydney with a strong working-class presence and manufacturing facilities. The Liverpool area also became renowned for its vast Housing Commission estates housing thousands of low-income families after the slum clearance and urban renewal programs in inner-city Sydney in the 1960s.

The following buildings are listed on the Register of the National Estate: [The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, pp.2/41-42]

* Technical College (formerly Liverpool Hospital), probably designed by Francis Greenway, circa 1825-30
* Former Court House, corner of Bigge and Moore Streets, extended circa 1855
* Collingwood (also known as Captain Bunker's Cottage), Birkdale Crescent, circa 1810, extended circa 1860
* Liverpool Dam, Georges River, built 1836, designed by David Lennox
* St Luke's Anglican church, designed by Francis Greenway, 1818

Commercial Area

Liverpool is currently undergoing a rapid transformation into a major CBD in its own right. It has been earmarked by the state government in the coming years to be a major regional area in Sydney. It is currently the major city centre in South Western Sydney. The city centre has a Hoddle Grid layout with many little laneways and arcades, similar to that of Melbourne. The main strip is Macquarie Street which contains numerous small cafes. In recent times the extension of the Westfield shopping centre has seen many new fashion stores come in.

The main shopping area is centred on Macquarie Street, with Westfield Liverpool, a major shopping centre at the northern end. The northern end of the city has been zoned for high density residential apartments. The southern end of the city is zoned for high density commercial developments.Liverpool is also home to the largest public lending library in Australia Fact|date=February 2007, a large teaching hospital, two technical colleges and many shopping centres and office buildings. The private hospital operator Healthscope owns the Sydney Southwest Private Hospital in Liverpool.

Industries include a large cable factory, a telephone manufacturer, pharmaceutical laboratories and cold storage plants.

Transport

Liverpool is well served by roads such as the Hume Highway (also known as Liverpool Road), the M5 motorway, the Westlink M7 motorway.

Liverpool railway station has reasonable services to Sydney CBD and Campbelltown as well as two morning peak services to Parramatta on most weekdays. The Liverpool to Parramatta transitway provides a bus-only route for buses.

Churches

St Lukes Anglican Church, located in the city centre across the road from Westfield Liverpool, is the oldest Anglican church in Australia. All Saints Catholic Church in George St is located with the All Saints schools. St Raphael, Nickolas and Irene Greek Orthodox Church is in Forbes Street.

chools

* Liverpool Boys High, Liverpool Girl's High, All Saints Catholic Boys College, All Saints Catholic Girls College, All Saints Primary School, Liverpool Public School
* Hoxton Park High School
* South Western College of TAFE
* Macarthur Community College
* Liverpool U3A: School for Seniors
* University of Western Sydney English Language Centre
* The School of Arts is in Macquarie Street

Parks

There are also many open spaces within the city centre, including botanical parks. These include Bigge Park which features a War Memorial and Pioneer Park.

port and Recreation

Local sports clubs include Moorebank Sports Club and local team identities such as The Cattledogs Indoor Cricket team. Close to the city centre is a sporting precinct called Woodward Park which contains an indoor leisure centre as well as several playing fields.

A netball complex opened in Liverpool in 2007. Liverpool City Netball is highly regarded, participating successfully in many State and representative competitions. On a local level, OLMC netball has been repeatedly awarded the title of 'Club of the Year'.

Population

Demographics

According to the 2006 census conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Liverpool had a population of 21,318 with 55.5% of the population born overseas including Iraq 6%, Croatia 4.8%, India 4%, Bosnia & Herzegovina 3.4%. Apart from English, languages spoken at home were Arabic (12%), Serbian (12%), Hindi (4.2%). The religious affiliations were Catholicism (24%), Eastern Orthodox religion (16%), Islam (12%) and Anglican (7%). Census 2006 AUS|id= SSC11603 |name= Liverpool (State Suburb)|accessdate=2008-05-15 |quick=on]

Over half the dwellings in Liverpool were apartments (52%) and a high proportion were being rented (46%). The average rent of $180 was a little lower than the national average ($190) but the average household income of $760 per week was substantially lower the national average of $1027.

Notable residents

The following people were born in Liverpool
* Politician Craig Knowles
* Cricketer Michael Clarke
* Entertainer Nathan Foley, a member of Hi-5
* Poet Jennifer Harrison
* Rugby league players Vic Hey, Brett Hodgson, Anthony Minichiello and Pat Richards

Politics

* Federally Liverpool is located in the seat of Hughes held by Danna Vale of the Liberal Party of Australia

* For New South Wales state elections, Liverpool is located in the seat of Liverpool held by Paul Lynch of the Australian Labor Party

References

External links

* [http://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/ Liverpool City Council website]
* [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[e-mail]/Lookup2001Census/3F864B2CB9465BD6CA256BBE0083946E 2001 Census Information]
* [http://www.liverpool.anglican.asn.au/history/index.html History of St. Luke's Church, Liverpool]
* [http://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/LCC/INTERNET/me.get?site.sectionshow&PAGE1355&BODY 101 Things to Know about Liverpool]