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Eastwood
SydneyNew South Wales
Eastwood fountain.JPG
Fountain in Rowe Street mall.
EastwoodinPIA03498.png
Eastwood outlined in a satellite image of Sydney
Eastwood is located in New South Wales
Eastwood
Eastwood
Location in New South Wales
Population 17,865 (2016 census)
 • Density 3,440/km2 (8,900/sq mi)
Postcode(s) 2122
Elevation 66 m (217 ft)
Area 5.2 km2 (2.0 sq mi)
Location 17 km (11 mi) NW of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)
Region Northern Sydney
State electorate(s)
  • Epping
  • Ryde
Federal Division(s) Bennelong
Suburbs around Eastwood:
Carlingford Epping Marsfield
Dundas Valley Eastwood Denistone East
Ryde
Ermington West Ryde Denistone West Denistone
Eastwoodbrickworks
The old Eastwood Brickworks site, now developed into a housing estate
Eastwoodstationsyd
Eastwood Station prior to its 2007 reconstruction

Eastwood is a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Eastwood is located 17 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of the City of Ryde and the City of Parramatta. Eastwood is in the Northern Sydney region.

Originally thought to have been inhabited by the Wallumedegal Aboriginal tribe, who lived in the area between the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, the area was first settled by Europeans shortly after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, from land grants to Royal Marines and NSW Corps, and was named "Eastwood" by an early Irish free settler, William Rutledge. Today it is a large suburban centre in the north of Sydney of over 17,000 people, with a large shopping area. Eastwood has a large population of Asian descent with immigrants from China and South Korea transforming the commercial precinct in the past decade.

Eastwood is famous for the Granny Smith apple, accidentally first grown in the suburb by Maria Ann Smith. Every October, the oval and cordoned-off streets become the grounds for the annual Granny Smith Festival, a celebration of the icon with fairground rides, market stalls, street theatres, parades, an apple-baking competition and a fireworks spectacular at the Upper Eastwood Oval. In recent years the festival has been influenced by the substantial Asian immigrant communities, with Chinese dragon dancers in the Grand Parade and Chinese stallholders. During the same period, Eastwood's annual Chinese New Year Celebrations have broadened their appeal by incorporating concurrent Korean New Year traditions, and have accordingly been renamed the Lunar New Year Festivities.

Geography

Eastwood is located at the edge of the Hornsby Plateau with the suburbs of Dundas Valley and Denistone on its western and southern sides, respectively, as the land falls away down to the Cumberland Plain. To the north, Eastwood is bounded by the transport hub of Epping and to its east Marsfield which shares the same postcode of 2122. The suburb is predominantly residential with the main shopping area of Eastwood centred between Rowe Street and Rutledge Street around the railway line.

History

The Wallumedegal aboriginal tribe lived in the area between the Lane Cove River and Parramatta River, which was known as Walumetta. The area was originally heavily timbered.

The area was first settled by Europeans shortly after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 and was part of the Field of Mars. The area of Eastwood was originally granted between the years of 1790 and 1803 to marines and the NSW Corps. John Love, a private was granted 90 acres (36 ha) here in 1794, described as North Brush, in the Field of Mars Common. The land was then acquired by William Kent who already held land in what is now Epping. The land was purchased by William Rutledge for 288 pounds in 1835, who built 'Eastwood House' in 1840. This house is now part of Marist College Eastwood. In 1863 Edward Terry purchased the estate and upon his death in 1905, the estate was sub-divided.

In 1886, the railway line from Strathfield to Hornsby was opened, with a station here originally called Dundas. This was changed a year later to Eastwood, named after the Eastwood Estate.

The commercial centre underwent a major upgrade in the early 1980s. Rowe Street, which originally ran across the railway line through a level crossing was turned into a mall between The Avenue and West Parade, and the 1940s bridge built in First Avenue for crossing traffic was replaced with a six-lane bridge. This bridge was to service the planned County of Cumberland Scheme, Eastwood County Road (linking Eastwood with Macquarie Park), a road project in the local area which has been controversial among locals.

Transport

Eastwood is relatively well served by public transport. Eastwood railway station is located on the Main Northern railway line. The station opened in 1886, and it takes approximately 30–35 minutes to travel to Central. Intercity services also service Eastwood station between Central, Newcastle and the Central Coast region.

Numerous Busways bus services also operate from the small interchange outside the station. These include the 545/550 route between Parramatta and Macquarie Park, the 544 route between Auburn and Macquarie University, and the 515/X15 service to the Sydney central business district. Eastwood is also served well by roads, and is located close to the trunk routes of the A6 (Marsden Road), and Victoria Road.

In spite of the range of public transport options, the 2016 census found that only 31% of employed people travelled to work on public transport and 53% by car (either as driver or as passenger).

Landmarks

Eastwood Brush Farm House
Brush Farm House, Eastwood
RipleyEastwood2
"Ripley", c.1888, a mansion typical of some of the early estate homes in the area.
BraemarEastwood1
"Heatherwold" was a former girls' school, Braemar College, in Eastwood.
  • Brush Farm House – former home of Gregory Blaxland, one of the explorers of the Blue Mountains. It is included on the NSW State Heritage Register and the National Trust of Australia register.
  • Eastwood House – the former home of Edward Terry, the original landowner of the estate on which Eastwood is now built. It is Heritage Listed.
  • Eastwood Park Grandstand and Pavilion - these date from 1933 and 1935 respectively. The croquet pavilion is still in use for its original purpose, associated with the Eastwood Croquet Club. Both are Heritage listed.
  • Ripley (14 Auld Avenue) was built in 1907, on the 1897 Bush Farm Estate subdivision. The house, designed by architect George W Durrell, is an example of the Federation Arts and Crafts style, rare in the Eastwood area. It is Heritage listed.
  • Ryde Hospital on Denistone Road is a public hospital with between 100 and 199 beds and an emergency department.
  • Corrective Services Academy, a training centre for prison officers, is on the site of what was previously Brush Farm Public School.

Eastwood once featured a lake which gave the names Lakeside Road and The Lakeside Road Uniting Church. This lake was later converted to an oval which is used for soccer matches and by local schools. Unfortunately, the oval does still occasionally flood after very heavy rainfall.

Forest reserves

Darvall Park and Brush Farm Park are examples of remnant forest areas in the Eastwood district. Volunteers and professional bush regenerators have worked to preserve the blue gum high forest and rainforest in these areas. The largest tree heath known in existence occurs at Brush Farm park. Other notable plants include mative crabapple, jackwood and red olive berry. Despite being within a large city, Brush Farm has remarkable fauna, including the powerful owl, emerald dove, eastern whipbird, satin bowerbird and the green tree snake.

Culture and events

Granny smith
Eastwood is home to the first Granny Smith apple and holds a commemorative festival every October.

Eastwood is well known as the place where the Granny Smith apple was first grown. This is celebrated each October with the Granny Smith Festival which attracts over 60,000 people each year.

Population

Today it is a large suburban centre in the north of Sydney with over 16,000 residents. Over the past few decades Eastwood has become increasingly multicultural. Migrants from southern Europe countries such as Italy and Greece began settling here and at Carlingford from the 1960s. From the early eighties to the late nineties, many Chinese and Koreans settled in the area.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the suburb of Eastwood recorded a population of 16,193 people. Of these:

Residents

  • The band All Mankind, best known for the song "Break the Spell" are residents of Eastwood

Former residents

  • Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
  • Reg Campbell – portrait painter and self-taught artist
  • Geoffrey Robertson – human rights lawyer, academic, author and broadcaster
  • Aziz Shavershian - bodybuilder and internet personality
  • Maria Ann Smith - orchardist, who is known for growing the first Granny Smith apples



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