Ambarvale, New South Wales

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


caption =
lga = City of Campbelltown
postcode = 2560
pop = 7345 (2006)
est = 1976
area =
propval =
stategov = Wollondilly
fedgov = Macarthur
near-nw = Englorie Park
near-n = Campbelltown
near-ne = Bradbury
near-w = Glen Alpine
near-e = Bradbury
near-sw = Gilead
near-s = Rosemeadow
near-se = St Helens Park
dist1 = 55
dir1 = south-west
location1= Sydney

Ambarvale is a suburb of south-western Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ambarvale is located 55 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown. [Gregory's Sydney Street Directory, Gregory's Publishing Company, 2007] The suburb is predominantly residential and contains a mix of public and private housing.

History

Aboriginal Culture

The history of the region begins over 40,000 years ago and is contained in the continuing culture of the Tharawal people. The surrounding land still contains reminders of their past lives in rock engravings, cave paintings, axe grinding grooves and shell middens.

European Settlement

The suburb draws its name from a property established in 1816 by former convict Samuel Larkin. The property was actually where modern day St Helens Park is located. One of the earliest properties in what is now known as Ambarvale was a dairy farm called "Glen Lora". In 1972, the farms were sold for housing and the new suburb was officially opened in 1976. [cite web | url= http://www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au/default.asp?iDocID=2089&iNavCatID=322&iSubCatID=1364 | title=History of Ambarvale | publisher=Campbelltown City Council | accessdate=2007-08-31 ]

Commercial Area

The Macarthur Square Shopping centre, one of the largest shopping centres in southwestern Sydney is situated on the northern border of the suburb.

Transport

Macarthur railway station is located just north of Ambarvale, providing connection to Campbelltown Liverpool and Sydney CBD via the South Lineof the CityRail network. Countrylink also services Macarthur providing connections to the Southern Highlands, Canberra, Griffith and Melbourne. Bus services are provided by Busways and Interline Buses, leaving from Kellicar Road (under the bridge). The routes are 870-4, 886-89, 890-98 to and from Campbelltown. [cite web | url= http://www.busways.com.au/files/maps/Ctownnetwork.pdf | title=Macarthur Bus Network Map| publisher=Busways | accessdate=2008-04-16 ] [cite web | url= http://www.interlinebus.com.au/images/870.pdf| title=870 timetable | publisher=Interline | accessdate=2008-04-16 ]

chools

The suburb contains two public primary schools, Ambarvale Public School and Thomas Acres Public School, plus one public high school, Thomas Reddall High School.

Housing

The majority of housing in Ambarvale is in the form of detached houses although attached houses and walk-up flats also exist. The majority of dwellings in Ambarvale were constructed in the 1970s and 1980s.

Population

Demographics

According to the 2006 census, Ambarvale had a population of 7,345 people; mostly young families. The average age is 29 compared to a national average of 37. The median income of $417 per week is marginally lower than the national average ($466). Around a fifth of the houses in the suburb are rented out by the New South Wales Department of Housing but over half the homes are either owned outright or in the process of being paid off. [Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC11019 |name = Ambarvale (State Suburb)| quick = on| accessdate=2007-08-31 ]

References

External links