Villawood, New South Wales

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


caption = Woodville Shopping Centre
lga = City of Fairfield
lga2 = City of Bankstown
postcode = 2163
est =
pop =
area =
propval =
stategov = Fairfield
fedgov = Blaxland
near-nw = Old Guildford
near-n = Guildford
near-ne = Chester Hill
near-w = Carramar
near-e = Chester Hill
near-sw = Lansdowne
near-s = Bass Hill
near-se = Bass Hill
dist1 = 25
dir1 = west
location1= Sydney CBD

Villawood is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Villawood is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Bankstown and City of Fairfield. Villawood is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.

Villawood is a residential suburb with its name often associated with the notoriety of the detention centre located here.

History

The Aboriginal tribe of Gandangara once lived in the area. European settlement began in the early 1840s. During the 1860s, Villawood was used as pastoral land, but it was overrun with wild and rabid dogs. Woodville Road, which runs through Villawood, was once named Dog Trap Road, due to the fact that many farmers set dog traps for these wild dogs. A train station opened in 1922 to service the area was originally known as Woodville Road. Unfortunately, there was confusion with another place called Woodville in the Hunter Valley and thus the name was transposed into 'Villawood'. ["The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8]

chools and Churches

There are also day and community centres, two schools, and several christian churches. Recently, new buildings have been built for the Sacred Heart Primary school, to replace the outdated and dilapidated buildings of the old school.

Commercial Area

Villawood Place was once a major shopping centre, serving the surrounding areas. After nearby Bass Hill Plaza opened, many Villawood businesses went into decline, leaving a legacy of abandoned shop fronts and buildings, including the abandoned Franklins supermarket and large Australia Post office. There has been rejuvenation and renovation of Woodville (Villawood) Place since with construction of the new Aldi supermarket, a bakery, chemists, grocers and other shops. It is located in proximity to Villawood Railway station. A business park in Villawood holds enterprises concerning hardware products, furniture, auto parts and second-hand goods. Leightonfield railway station services an industrial area in the eastern part of Villawood.

Villawood Detention Centre

It is home to Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, a detention facility used in the processing of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. [ [http://www.immi.gov.au/detention/facilities_villawood.htm The Immigration Departments Website on Villawood] ]

Transport

Villawood Railway station and Leightonfield railway station are on the Inner West Line of the CityRail network.

Sport and Recreation

The Wran Leisure Centre (named after Neville Wran) has swimming pools, a gym and tennis courts.

Population

It is an ethnically diverse suburb, typical of south western Sydney suburbs. There is a predominantly Vietnamese, and increasing Lebanese community in Villawood. There is also Pacific Islanders, Eastern Europeans and some British in the suburb. Around 35.5% of the citizens come from non-English speaking backgrounds.

According to the 2001 census, by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the population declined slightly from around 4,007 to 3,328. Villawood has a high proportion of young children aged 5-11 and seniors over 65.

A majority of residential dwellings are government housing and villas. Unemployment is high, with more than a third of households earning only $400 AUD per week. Nearly 50% of residents live below the average income of Sydney. This is relatively typical of most south western suburbs in Sydney.

References

External links

* [http://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/default.asp?iDocID=4168&iNavCatID=149&iSubCatID=914 The Fairfield City Council Website]
* [http://www.id.com.au/bankstown/CommProfile/default.asp?id=101&gid=240&pg=1 Bankstown City Council Community Profile]