Tempe, New South Wales

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


caption = Cooks River, Tempe
lga = Marrickville Council
postcode = 2044
pop =
area =
propval =
est =
stategov = Heffron
fedgov = Grayndler
near-nw = Marrickville
near-n = Sydenham
near-ne = St Peters
near-w = Marrickville
near-e = Sydney Airport
near-sw = Undercliffe
near-s = Wolli Creek
near-se = Arncliffe
dist1 = 9
dir1 = south
location1 = Sydney CBD

Tempe is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Tempe is located 9 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Marrickville Council. [Gregory's Sydney Street Directory, Gregory's Publishing Company, 2007]

Tempe sits on the northern bank of the Cooks River and is separated from Sydney Airport by the Alexandra Canal, also known as Sheas Creek. The Wolli Creek waterway also empties into the Cooks River near Tempe.

History

Tempe was named after the mansion on the southern banks of the Cooks River in the area that is now known as Wolli Creek. Alexander Brodie Spark (1792-1856), an immigrant from Elgin, Scotland, built Tempe House in 1836. It was named after the 'Vale of Tempe', a beautiful valley in ancient Greek legend set at the foot of Mount Olympus in Greece. Tempe House, designed by John Verge (1772-1861), has a Georgian feel and is regarded as one of the great houses of Sydney. Spark also donated money towards the purchase of land and the building of St Peter’s Church of England, which gave its name to the suburb of St Peters, to the north of Tempe.

Frederick Wright Unwins, who gave his name to Unwins Bridge Road, was a clever man in the legal profession in Sydney’s early days. William Bede Dalley, after whom Dalley Street was named, studied under Unwin and became one of the members of the first parliament in New South Wales in 1856. A prominent businessman during the late 1800s, William Fanning, had Fanning Street named after him, which is situated in what used to be known as Tempe Village. ["The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8, page 253]

Trams once ran from Circular Quay to the Cooks River. The area became a popular resort, with large crowds attracted for swimming and boating on the river. When buses replaced trams, the Tempe Tram Depot became the Tempe Bus Depot and is now home to the Sydney Bus Museum [ [http://www.busandtruckmuseum.org.au/ Sydney Bus Museum] ] . The railway station opened in 1884 but was originally called Cooks River.

The contractors for the construction of the first 23 mile [37 km] section of the Illawarra Railway arranged with timber mills in the Port Stephens and Manning River districts for the supply of sleepers and other timber necessary for the construction. This material was brought down by sea to Botany Bay in schooners and small coastal steamers. The vessels anchored off the entrance to Cooks River and discharged their cargoes on to flat-bottomed punts. Tugs towed the laden punts along the channels of the river to the head of navigation at the Tempe Dam, near the present Princes Highway bridge. On the river bank, immediately to the south of the dam, the contractors erected three wharves where the timber was unloaded and placed on small 4-wheeled railway trucks for conveyance by horse teams, over a temporary tramway [The Contractor's Construction Tramway at Tempe Eardley, G.H. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, January, 1955 pp9-10] , to the company's depot which was established about midway between St.Peters and Sydenham railway stations.A large amount of material of all descriptions, including steelwork, for the railway bridge at Como, was also taken over the tramway from the depot to the wharves, where it was loaded on to a small paddle steamer for conveyance to Como via Botany Bay and Georges River.

Tempe was once home to a landfill site known colloquially as 'Tempe Tip', which caught fire in 1988. The tip has been redeveloped into extended parkland which now includes a golfing range. The name 'Tempe Tip' is now used by a large flea market, situated off the Princes Highway, which is run by the Salvation Army.

A local landmark is Milford Haven, formerly known as Leinster Hall and Nelson Lodge. Located in Unwins Bridge Road, this single-storey house is notable as an example of an Australian bungalow and is listed on the Register of the National Estate. [The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981]

Commercial area

Tempe’s commercial area is located along the Princes Highway. The main shopping strip includes the Tempe Hotel, a newsagency, a light and sound store, a doctor's surgery, a dentist's surgery, and martial arts goods and apparel store. Perhaps the most well-known business in Tempe is Tempe Tyres, a garage specialising in automotive wheels and tyres. The Harp Irish Pub [ [http://www.theharp.com.au The Harp Irish Pub] ] , formerly the Riverview Hotel, is located on the Princes Highway close to Deno's Diner, formerly known as Cobb & Co., a fast food outlet designed on the 1950s drive-in model. The Sydney Bus Museum is located opposite.

Commercial and light industrial premises stretch north to Sydenham and St Peters. There are two small licensed clubs beside the Cooks River, the Newtown Jets Sports Club and the Cooks River Motor Boat Club.

Transport

Princes Highway runs north towards the city and south towards Arncliffe and Rockdale. Unwins Bridge Road is the other main road in the suburb.

Tempe railway station is serviced by the City Rail Illawarra line and is sometimes used by services from the East Hills line. The Sydney Buses service route 422 runs along the Princes Highway from Tempe to Newtown to Circular Quay, in the Sydney CBD, while the 425 route connects Rockdale to Dulwich Hill via Tempe. In the past, Tempe was the terminus for the 425 route.

Churches

St Peter and St Paul Catholic Church, Tempe Uniting Church

chools

Tempe High School [http://www.tempe-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/] , Tempe Public School [http://www.tempe-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/]

port and recreation

Tempe Recreational Reserve, a large park next to Cooks River, an indoor sporting complex called the Robyn Webster Centre, football fields, cricket pitches, and an extensive jungle-gym for children.

References

External links