Undercliffe, New South Wales

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

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caption = Undercliffe, view from Waterworth Park
lga = City of Canterbury
postcode = 2206
pop =
area =
propval =
est =
stategov = Electoral district of Canterbury
fedgov = Division of Watson
near-nw = Earlwood
near-n = Dulwich Hill
near-ne = Marrickville
near-w = Bardwell Park
near-e = Tempe
near-sw = Bardwell Valley
near-s = Turrella
near-se = Wolli Creek
dist1 = 10
dir1 = south-west
location1= Sydney CBD

Undercliffe is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Undercliffe is located 10 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Canterbury.

Undercliffe is located on the peninsula between the Cooks River and Wolli Creek. Earlwood, to the west, is the only adjacent suburb. Bayview Avenue and Unwins Bridge link Undercliffe north over the Cooks River to Tempe. Another bridge links Illawarra Avenue over the Cooks River to Marrickville. Wolli Creek and Turrella are located on the opposite bank of Wolli Creek, to the south, with footbridges being the only direct links to these suburbs.

Landmarks

Undercliffe is a predominantly residential suburb. The northern end of the peninsula is characterised by parkland and recreational areas. Canterbury Velodrome is located at Waterworth Park, beside Wolli Creek. Gough Whitlam Park is a large recreational area, beside Cooks River. The popular Cooks River bicycle track follows the river along its northern bank connecting the suburb with Homebush to the north-west and Botany Bay to the east.

Undercliffe Public School is located in Bayview Avenue. The Transfiguration of Our Lord Greek Orthodox Church is also located in Bayview Avenue.

History

Undercliffe takes its name from the heavy sandstone outcrop which is quite evident. The Undercliffe Estate was the name of an 1840s land grant which had a house built on it. In the early days, the quarrying of sandstone between Wolli Creek and Cooks River provided the first industry here. Some homes were built completely from sandstone, while almost all others used sandstone for their foundations.

A wooden bridge was built across the Cooks River in 1836 to carry the Illawarra Road across the river. It was known as Tompsons Bridge, after Mr P.A. Tompson's father who purchased the Bexley estate from James Chandler. The bridge was washed away several times during floods. later, Frederick Wright Unwin, a Sydney Solicitor, built a bridge on the peninsula between Cooks River and Wolli Creek to provide access to his property. Unwin had bought his property from Arthur Martin in 1840 and built a large home known as Wanstead, after a village in Essex, England. Unwins Bridge, Unwins Bridge Road, Wanstead Avenue and Wanstead Avenue Reserve commemorate these names. Waterworth Park was set aside as a reserve in 1906 when it was declared unhealthy and unsuitable for residences. [ "The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN ]

Between 1912 and 1957, electric trams operated through Undercliffe along Illawarra Road and Homer Street on their way to Earlwood, providing service to the city via Marrickville and Newtown. [D. Keenan: "Tramways of Sydney". Transit Press 1979] The service is now operated by buses.

References

External links