Lucas Heights, New South Wales

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


caption =
lga = Sutherland Shire
postcode = 2234
est =
pop =
area =
propval =
stategov = Menai
fedgov = Hughes
near-nw = Bangor
near-n = Barden Ridge
near-ne = Woronora
near-w = Holsworthy
near-e = Woronora Heights
near-sw = Engadine
near-s = Yarrawarrah
near-se = Loftus
dist1 = 31
dir1 = south-west
location1= Sydney CBD

Lucas Heights is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lucas Heights is located 31 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire.

Lucas Heights is located on the Woronora River, which flows north into the Georges River. Lucas Heights is an unusual suburb in that it doesn't contain a residential area. The residential area previously part of Lucas Heights has been renamed Barden Ridge. It was renamed in 1996 to increase the real estate value of the area, so it was not instantly associated with the HIFAR nuclear reactor.

History

Lucas Heights was named after John Lucas Senior, a flour miller who in 1823 was granted convert|150|acre|km2|1 on the 'head of unnamed stream into Georges River'. He built a water-driven mill for grinding corn from the Illawarra farms. Small ships sailed up the coast into Botany Bay, Georges River and Woronora River. [ "The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8 ]

Commercial Areas

Lucas Heights is most notable for being the site of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) research establishment originally established by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission and home to the historic HIFAR research nuclear reactor. HIFAR was shut down in January 2007 and replaced by the world class OPAL research reactor. OPAL bears leading neutron radiation facilities and attracts international scientists as staff members and many hundreds of user groups. In the past, the HIFAR reactor was suggested a possible target for terrorist activities [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4434270.stm] . The area is also [http://www.google.com/maps?ll=-34.051895,150.980505&spn=0.003766,0.009968&t=k&hl=en visible in detail] on Google Maps, which caused some concerns regarding its security. [ [http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16183993-2,00.html nuclear concerns] ]

Lucas Heights is the location of a non-nuclear waste management facility, which was for many years a major disposal site for sanitary carters. Some of the full landfills on this site are presently being sequentially redeveloped into a sporting complex containing playing fields for soccer, netball, rugby league and the home of the award-winning 'The Ridge' Golf driving range.

Menai Sand and Soil, the local landscape supplier, is the only other business located in the area. [ [http://www.menaisandsoil.com.au Menai Sand and Soil] ]

References

External links