Sans Souci, New South Wales

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

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caption = Cook Park, Sans Souci
lga = City of Rockdale
lga2 = Municipality of Kogarah
postcode = 2219
pop =
area =
propval =
est =
stategov = Rockdale
fedgov = Division of Barton
near-nw = Beverly Park
near-n = Ramsgate
near-ne = Ramsgate Beach
near-w = Carss Park Kogarah Bay
near-e = Dolls Point
near-sw = Blakehurst
near-s = Taren Point
near-se = Sandringham
dist1 = 17
dir1 = south
location1= Sydney CBD

Sans Souci is a southern Sydney suburb in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sans Souci is 17 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Rockdale and the Municipality of Kogarah. It is part of the St George area.

Sans Souci sits on the western shore of Botany Bay. Lady Robinson Beach and Cook Park run along the eastern border. Kogarah Bay runs along the western border. Sans Souci is connected to Taren Point, in the Sutherland Shire, to the south, by the Captain Cook Bridge over the Georges River.

History

Sans Souci is a French term meaning "without care", in other words, "no worries". The area between Cooks River and Georges River was originally known as Seven Mile Beach. It was changed to Lady Robinson’s Beach in 1874 to honour the wife of Governor Sir Hercules Robinson. Cook Park is named after Samuel Cook, who advocated it as a public pleasure area.

Catherine Cooper was given a 100 acre grant in the area in 1830, where she and husband, Robert Cooper Junior, built a home. The Coopers later operated a distillery there; the land was known as Charlotte Point and then Rocky Point.

Sans Souci took its name from a grand house built on Rocky Point Road on land bought in 1853, by Thomas Holt (1811-1888), a wood merchant and politician, for his German wife. It was named after Sanssouci in Potsdam, Germany, the summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. However, Holt thought that the area was too isolated so he built another house at Marrickville, overlooking the Cooks River, which he called The Warren. He bred rabbits for hunting and kept exotic animals, including an alpaca on this property. In the 1860s, Holt sold his Sans Souci property to William Rust, who turned it into a popular hotel, despite its isolation.

A steam tram operated between Sans Souci and Kogarah in the 1890s which allowed people to enjoy bathing, boating and fishing. [Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, October, 1937 pp3-5] In 1937, a silent electric trolley bus was introduced that, until 1959, ran from Rockdale to Kogarah, Sans Souci and Dolls Point. ["The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8, page 240]

Commercial area

Sans Souci is mostly residential. A shopping strip is located on Rocky Point Road, near the intersection of Sandringham St, including the Sans Souci Shopping Village, fast food outlets and the post office. Another small group of shops is located at the intersection of Clareville Avenue and Russell Avenue, on the border with Dolls Point and Sandringham. It includes Sans Souci Library, Dolls Point petrol station, grocery shop, liquor shop, chemist, hairdresser, take-away shops and a café. Two primary schools are located in the suburb: Sans Souci Public and St Finbars.

chools and churches

* Sans Souci Public School, St Finbars Catholic School
* St Finbars Catholic Church, St Andrews Anglican Church, Sans Souci Baptist Church

Parks and recreation

* Cook Park, Sans Souci Park, Bona Park, Kendall Street Reserve, Clayton Reserve is a soccer field and playground
* St George Sailing Club, St George Motor Boat Club, Botany Bay Yacht Club

Notable residents

*Michelle Ford - 800m freestyle champion at the1980 Summer Olympics, grew up in the suburb.
*Kostya Tszyu - Boxer and two time world junior welterweight champion.

References

External links