Westleigh, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Westleigh
city = Sydney
state = New South Wales


caption =
lga = Hornsby Shire
postcode = 2120
est =
pop = 4,523
area =
propval =
stategov = Hornsby
fedgov = Berowra
near-nw = Dural
near-n = Hornsby
near-ne = Thornleigh
near-w = Cherrybrook
near-e = Thornleigh
near-sw = Pennant Hills
near-s = Pennant Hills
near-se = Thornleigh
dist1 = 27
dir1 = north-west
location1= Sydney CBD

Westleigh is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Westleigh is located 27 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsby Shire. Westleigh is in the Upper North Shore region. Westleigh cite web | url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/PARLMENT/hansArt.nsf/V3Key/LA20020320047 | title=NSW Legislative Assembly Hansard 20/03/2002 | accessdate = 2006-09-24 ] is framed by bush on three sides, with Cherrybrook and Dural to the west, Hornsby to the north-east, and Pennant Hills to the south.

History

Westleigh derived its name from its location, directly west of Thornleigh. Development as a residential suburb began from the 1950s, following subdivision. The area was originally heavily timbered, so many streets bear the names of Australian trees such as Stringybark close, Spotted Gum Road, Eucalyptus Drive, Peppermint Gum place and Ironbark Close. ["The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8, page 269 ]

Geography

Defined by its geographical make-up, Westleigh is clearly divided at the midpoint of Quarter Sessions Road. This may be seen in a sudden absence of houses, as drivers find themselves immersed in a thick bushland foliage. The sweeping dip in this section has also proven a non-fatal but dangerous hazard for drivers throughout Westleigh's history, however reflective signs appear to have minimised the danger to tired or reckless drivers.

North Side

The northern side of the bushland this division is the "newer" side of Westleigh, and features far fewer public amenities than those the southern side. Some line-of-sight can be established from the North-East side across the bush-filled valley to Hornsby, with some potential for wireless networking, given willing participants. (See also Wireless mesh network)

outh Side

The southern side of this division is the older side of Westleigh. Westleigh's public amenities appear largely concentrated in this area, including a shopping centre, "Top Video" video-hire store, day-care centre, dentist, petrol/service station, and a public primary school (Thornleigh West Public School) with a number of recreational features.

There are three housing 'villages' built here named "Sanctuary Gardens", "Wild Ash Grove" and "Huntingdale", in addition to the longer-established "Settlers' Green" (named in recognition of the "stalwart people who, by their actions opened the door to the migrants of the world and thus the nations development." cite web| url = http://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/library/index.cfm| title = "Street and Place Names"| accessdate = 2006-09-15| author = Hornsby Shire Council ] ). Notably, the border of Westleigh was moved at an undetermined time, from near the roundabout at the Duffy Ave/Quarter Sessions Road intersection, to further up Duffy Avenue, possibly for the political purpose of encapsulating these new housing estates in a purely residentially-zoned suburb, as opposed to the partly-industrialised Thornleigh (thereby possibly increasing selling prices). These housing estates brought more people - primarily families - into the southern side of the suburb around their establishment, boosting the suburb's population as reflected in the population changes between the 2001 and 2006 censuses.

Parks and Recreation

Two large public parks are in the south side of Westleigh: Oakleigh Oval, home to the Thornleigh [http://www.thunderfc.org.au/ Thunder Football Club] , and Ruddock Park (named to honour Max Ruddock, father of politician Phillip Ruddock, after his deadth in 1976 to acknowledge his official interest in the local Elouera Bushland Reserve cite book| isbn=0207190070 | editor = Frances Pollon | published = 1996 | publisher = Cornstalk | location = Australia | title= The Book of Sydney Suburbs | language=English| pages=269] ), which is the site of annual "Carols by Candlelight" and summer outdoor movies. Play equipment, [http://www.toiletmap.gov.au/toilet.aspx?type=toilet&id=321b7451-5980-44ca-a049-9479b5e53ad4 public toilets] , and BBQ facilities are all freely available. Ruddock Park's tennis courts are available for hire: keys are held with the newsagent in the shopping centre nearby. A fenced off-leash dog park was established in about 2005 between Ruddock Park and the shopping centre, despite opposition from the "Westleigh Progress Association" as to its placement near the local day-care centre, due to hygiene concerns.

urrounding Bushland

Most of the suburb (except the southern side) is surrounded by natural bushland, which at times poses significant bush fire danger. On the western side of the suburbs runs the Great North Walk, which can be accessed from multiple points within the suburb. Heading north, the walk leads to a nearby water hole "fragile rock", also known as "Fraggle Rock", which is an excellent spot for kids to enjoy themselves. It features a large ten meter cliff sometimes used for diving, underwater tunnels and minor waterfalls. However, swimmers should be aware of pollution levels when swimming in "any" bushland water system, especially within 48 hours of rainfall. Furthermore, swimmers should be aware of the potential danger of the area, including the death of a 20 year old woman after slipping and becoming "impaled" on a tree. cite news | title=Female swimmer impaled on tree in rock fall | URL = http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21487590-2,00.html | accessdate=2007-04-29 | date=2007 4 2 | publisher=The Daily Telegraph ] "Refuge Rock", a large area of sandstone rock in the bushland, to the west. Used for training of soldiers prior to WWII, bushwalkers can observe blast marks from mortar fire in the sandstone.

On the eastern side of the suburb lies the old dog pound. Nearby (directly east/south-east) is an old dump, which is often used by a wide manner of 'Westleighians' for activities including walking, motorbike riding which has been happening for over 30 years, and general tom-foolerly. The disused rubbish dump borders on the local water reservoir: it should be noted that the reservoir is owned by the Water Board (and as such the whole area is commonly referred to as the 'Waterboard'). Since it has been used for illegal rubbish dumping, public access is illegal and measures have been taken to block access to this area, including local rangers / volunteers patrolling the area. The local rural fire brigade have permission to use the area for training (including live fire drills), and are somewhat regularly seen carrying out various forms of training and drills.

Population

Age & Family Data

2006 census data suggests that Westleigh's population is 4,523, and populated by a higher proportion of Australian-citizens (90%) and Australian-born (71%) than that of greater Sydney (86% and 71% respectively).

21% of Westleigh's population are aged under 15. Age distribution is similar to that of the rest of Australia: the median age is 40 years (and 37 for the rest of Australia). 65% of residents are married, while 26% are single and have never been married - this reflects the large number of families with dependent children (68%). The average household size is 3.1 people (larger than the Australian average of 2.6). cite web | url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?producttype=QuickStats&subaction=-1&areacode=SSC12043&action=401&collection=census&textversion=true&breadcrumb=LP&period=2006&navmapdisplayed=true& | title = "2006 Census QuickStats" | accessdate = 2008-06-09 | author = ABS.gov.au ] .

Religious Affiliation

Slightly over 50% of Westleigh residents are either Anglican or Catholic (Anglican: 27%; Catholic: 27%). 15.1% cited 'no religion' during the 2006 census. cite web | url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?producttype=QuickStats&subaction=-1&areacode=SSC12043&action=401&collection=census&textversion=true&breadcrumb=LP&period=2006&navmapdisplayed=true& | title = "2006 Census QuickStats" | accessdate = 2008-06-09 | author = ABS.gov.au ]

Housing

Average house prices for suburbs covered by the 2120 postcode were $657,000 cite web | url=http://www.domain.com.au/Public/SuburbReport.aspx?searchTerm=2120 | title = "Suburb Profile @ Domain.com.au" | accessdate = | author = Domain.com.au ] . In 2006, only 9% of houses were being rented, with the 89% fully owned or being purchased. cite web | url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?producttype=QuickStats&subaction=-1&areacode=SSC12043&action=401&collection=census&textversion=true&breadcrumb=LP&period=2006&navmapdisplayed=true& | title = "2006 Census QuickStats" | accessdate = 2008-06-09 | author = ABS.gov.au ] .

Notable Residents

Famous former residents from the suburb include actor Mel Gibson, David Speers from Sky News, Jason Morrison from 2GB. Fact|date=March 2008

ee also

Westleigh township in England, now part of Leigh in Greater Manchester.

References

External links