Auburn, New South Wales

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


caption = Auburn Gallipoli Mosque
lga = Auburn Council
postcode = 2144
est =
pop =
density =
area =
propval = $ 350,000
stategov = Auburn
fedgov = Reid
near-nw = Granville
near-n = Rosehill
near-ne = Silverwater
near-w = South Granville
near-e = Lidcombe
near-sw = Sefton
near-s = Regents Park
near-se = Berala
dist1 = 19
dir1 = west
location1= Sydney CBD

Auburn is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Auburn is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Auburn Council.

History

The suburb was named after Oliver Goldsmith's poem "The Desserted Village", which describes 'Auburn' in England as the "loveliest village of the plain". ["The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8, page 11 ]

Commercial Area

Auburn has a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial areas. A commercial area is located close to Auburn railway station. 'Auburn Central' is a small shopping centre below residential apartments, between South Parade and the Queen Street mall. Auburn Central features a Woolworths supermarket, Big W discount department store, specialty shops and cafes.

South of the railway station, the commercial area stretches for approximately 1km and features many Middle Eastern shops, restaurants and supermarkets. This has made Auburn a focal point for various immigrant groups in Sydney, especially for significant events such as football matches or political developments in the Middle East.

North of the railway station, commercial and industrial developments are also located along the length of Parramatta Road and surrounding streets. Major developments here include:
* Harvey Norman's biggest store in Australia.
* Reading Cinemas is on Parramatta Road. [ [http://www.readingcinemas.com.au/cinemas/auburn.asp Reading Cinemas] ]
*Tooheys Brewery.
* Revolution Racegear - Australasia's largest race equipment stockist

Transport

Auburn railway station is on the Southern line and Western line of the CityRail network.

Landmarks

*Auburn Hospital with basic 24-hour emergency facilities is on Norval and Hargrave Streets.
* Auburn Botanic Gardens [cite web|last=Wilson|first=Jan|coauthors=Laura Vallee, Murray Fagg|title=Auburn Botanical Gardens|work=Directory of Australian Botanic Gardens and Arboreta|publisher=Australian National Botanic Gardens|date=2006-12-12|url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/chabg/bg-dir/auburn-nsw.html|accessdate=2007-02-03]

chools

*Auburn Girls High School
*Auburn North Public School
*Auburn West Public School
*Auburn Public School
*St John of God Primary school
*St Joseph The Worker Primary School
*Trinity Catholic College
*Sydney Adventist College, Auburn Campus

Mosques

The Auburn Gallipoli Mosque took thirteen years to construct and was largely funded by the Turkish community in the area. [ [http://www.gallipolimosque.org.au/index.php?s=1&ss=1 Gallipoli Mosque] ] The name of the mosque reflects the legacy of Gallipolli in Turkey and the shared bond between Australian society and the Australian Turkish Muslim Community who constructed the mosque.

Architect Omer Kirazoglu designed it in the Classical Ottoman Style of Architecture characterised by a central dome and minarets. The builder was Ahmet Asim who donated much of his time. It is a source of pride for the local community and whilst considered a Turkish mosque it is frequented by all sections of the Islamic community and is one of Sydney's busiest mosques. The mosque prides itself on being open to all members of the Australian community with both organised and impromptu open days.

There are several smaller mosques situated at the south of the suburb, albeit far smaller than the main Auburn Gallipoli mosque.

Population

Demographics

Auburn prides itself as having one of the largest refugee communities in Australia. The traditionally Anglo-celtic and southern European population has slowly been replaced by a high percentage of immigrants from Turkish, Lebanese and Vietnamese backgrounds. Auburn also has fast growing Iraqi, Iranian, Afghan, Sudanese and Chinese communities. The five most prominent religions in Auburn are Islam (40.9%), Catholicism (15.3%), No religion (10.3%), Buddhism (6.8%) and finally Anglican (3.6%).

Notable Residents

*Jack Lang had a long and close association with Auburn, setting up a successful real estate business there. He went on to serve on the local council, eventually becoming Mayor. He died in Auburn in 1975.
* Warren Mundine is the first Aboriginal president of the Australian Labor Party. Born in Grafton in 1956, Warren and his family lived in Auburn in the mid-1960s.
* Channel Seven newsreader Chris Bath.

Pop Culture

* SBS television drama East West 101 was filmed in Auburn.
* Several Sydney rappers/hip-hop artists have begun coining the phrase "Representing Southside Auburn to the fullest" in underground records and onstage to indicate their solidarity with the suburb.

References

External links

* [http://www.auburn.nsw.gov.au/ Auburn Council website]
* [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[e-mail]/Lookup2001Census/2A91DA0C37BBEB0FCA256BBE0083A2A4 2001 Census Information]