Casula, New South Wales

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


caption =Casula Powerhouse
lga = City of Liverpool
postcode = 2170
pop = 13,202 (2006)
est =
area =
propval =
stategov = Macquarie Fields
fedgov = Werriwa
near-nw = Lurnea
near-n = Liverpool
near-ne = Moorebank
near-w = Prestons
near-e = Moorebank
near-sw = Glenfield
near-s = Glenfield
near-se = Holsworthy
dist1 = 35
dir1 = south-west
location1= Sydney

Casula is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Casula is located 35 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool.

Casula is the first suburb immediately south of Liverpool on the Hume Highway and the Main Southern Railway between Sydney and Melbourne. Casula consists of undulating, gently rolling land, with elevations across the suburb being mostly between 30 and 70 metres above sea level. The Georges River forms the eastern boundary of the suburb, and its western bank is paralleled by a relatively steep escarpment.

History

Casula was first settled by agriculturalists in the nineteenth century, among them Richard Guise, who named his farm "Casula". The area became dominated by poultry farming, market gardening and fruit growing. Another notable farm was Glenfield Farm, which dates from circa 1817. Situated in Leacocks Lane, it originally belonged to Charles Throsby, a member of the Legislative Council and an explorer. The farm is the oldest continuously worked farm in Australia and is listed on the Register of the National Estate. [The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, p.2/41]

During the First World War, a large Australian Imperial Forces recruitment and training reserve was located in Casula - a fact reflected by the name of one of its major residential streets, "Reserve Road". This camp became briefly notorious in 1916 when a large mob of soldiers rebelled against the strict training regimen, marched on nearby Liverpool, ransacked and looted several pubs, hijacked several trains to Central Station in Sydney and continued their drunken rioting, resulting in the Military Police shooting dead one rioter.

The area did not become suburbanised until the late 1950s when the first Housing Commission estates were built in the north of the suburb in the vicinity of the Hume Highway. Most of the central and southern portions were subdivided and developed over the next few decades but even now there are pockets of undeveloped land.

Landmarks

The Casula Powerhouse, which is situated right next to Casula railway station, was a former 1950s power station. It reopened in 1994 as an arts centre housing many culturally diverse exhibitions from artists living in the South West Region of Sydney. Past projects includes Viet Nam Voices, Cybercultures, Shanghai Star, and Belonging. The centre closed in July 2006 to undergo significant renovations. The new centre opened on 5 April 2008 and counts a 326 seat theatre, new exhibition spaces, artist studios and residencies among its facilities.

Commercial Area

Casula Mall was opened in 1986, consisting of a K mart discount department store, Coles and Franklins supermarkets and approximately forty specialty shops.

The Crossroads Homemaker Centre is situated at the southern end of Casula, containing Bunnings Warehouse hardware, numerous bedding and furniture stores, electrical stores such as Bing Lee and Clive Peeters and a Flower Power gardening shop.

Transport

Casula is bordered on the north and west by the M5 South Western Motorway, with continuous freeway-standard highway to central Sydney and the North Shore. The Hume Highway cuts through the centre of Casula.

Casula railway station is on the South railway line of the CityRail network, but not all trains stop there. Relatively frequent bus services link Casula to the major commercial and retail centre of Liverpool and Liverpool railway station.

chools

Casula Primary School was opened on De Meyrick Avenue in 1959, Casula High School was commissioned around 1973 and All Saints Catholic Senior College was founded in 1987.

Housing

Casula is notable for its variable demographics and mixture of socio-economic levels existing side by side. The central and southern areas consist mainly of privately owned houses, with some large mansions and properties in this area (including the locally famous Mexican-style ranch mansion on Old Kurrajong Road owned by the Ingham family, Australia's most famous frozen chicken magnates).

Population

According to the 2006 census, Casula had a population of 13,202, which was substantially families. The number of single-person households (15%) was well below the national average (23%) while the number of couples with children (57%) was well above average (45%). There were higher than average numbers of Australian citizens and people born overseas with the most significant groups being those born in Fiji (3.5%), Italy (2.3%) and Lebanon (also 2.3%).Census 2006 AUS|id= SSC11203 |name= Casula (State Suburb)|accessdate=2008-09-02 |quick=on]

References

External links