Berowra, New South Wales Facts for Kids

Berowra is an outer suburb of Northern Sydney located in the state of New South Wales, Australia 36 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Hornsby Shire. Berowra is south-east of the suburbs of Berowra Heights and east of Berowra Waters. The name Berowra means place of many shells, referring to the many shell middens on Berowra Creek.

Transport
History
- British settlement
Population
- Demographics
- Notable residents
Images for kids

Transport

Berowra is located off the Pacific Highway. The Pacific Motorway runs to the east, between Berowra and the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. In January 1960 a heavy vehicle checking station opened. In December 1968 the Pacific Motorway opened from Berowra to the Hawkesbury River. As it was a toll road, toll booths were installed at Berowra adjacent to the heavy vehicle checking station. This closed when the Pacific Motorway was extended south to Wahroonga in March 1989.

Berowra railway station is located on the Main Northern line. It is served by Sydney Trains North Shore & Western Line and NSW TrainLink Central Coast & Newcastle Line services to Sydney, Hornsby, the Central Coast and Newcastle.

History

Berowra is an Aboriginal word that means place of many winds. The Berowra area has many Aboriginal carvings and is the site of the world’s oldest living amphibian fossil.

British settlement

One of the early land grants in the Berowra area was to John Crumpton in 1867. George Collingridge was granted 88 acres (360,000 m²) in 1880 and played a part in having the Main Northern railway line extended, so that a station was opened at Berowra in 1887. He also supported the building of a post office in 1900 and a road to Berowra Waters which opened in 1902. Berowra Post Office opened on 1 April 1897. Mary Wall was granted 60 acres (240,000 m²) of land near Goodwyn Road off the Pacific Highway in 1887. Part of her grant meant she had to be there once a week and so she would walk at night through the bush from Surry Hills and tend to her farm.

The area grew when the Pacific Highway and railway were built and settlers loved the fishing and surrounding bush. Mainly living in tents, the original settlers lived a tough existence and helped everyone. The first school was set up in Mary Wall's house before it was moved to what is now the Berowra District Hall on the corner of Berowra Waters Road and Crowley Road roundabout.

Remains of a bush hut, Berowra area
Berowra Creek
Aboriginal rock carving, Berowra area
Junction of Berowra and Calna Creeks

Population

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the population of Berowra was 4,623, 50.3% (2,327) males and 49.7% (2,296) females. 74.7% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England 7.9%, New Zealand 1.8%, Philippines 0.9%, India 0.7% and Ireland 0.7%. 89.6% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Persian (excluding Dari) 0.6%, Mandarin 0.5% and Spanish 0.4%. The most common responses for religion in Berowra were Anglican 25.6%, Catholic 23.3% and No Religion 22.4%. Of the 1,449 occupied dwellings in Berowra, 96.3% were freestanding houses with the remainder consisting of townhouses or units. The median weekly household income is A$2,091 and the mean household size consists of 3.1 individuals.

Notable residents

Matt Dunning, rugby union player
Margaret Preston, (former resident) artist
Rolf de Heer, (former resident) film director
Mel Gibson, (former resident) actor
James Fry, author

Images for kids

Berowra railway station

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Berowra, New South Wales Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.

Berowra, New South Wales facts for kids

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