Sydney Suburbs, Abbotsbury-Allambie Heights

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(I started this intended series some time ago but didn't go further than instalment. This time it will be kept going).

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ABBOTSBURY

Location:

39 kilometres west of Sydney.

Name origin:

Abbotsbury was named from Major Edward Abbott, a Canadian born soldier who arrived in New South Wales in 1790. Abbott was granted land in what is now Abbotsbury in 1806 although sold it to a William Browne in 1810. The estate remained intact until the late 19th century when it was subdivided into small farms and it remained a rural area until the late 20th century when residential subdivision began. The name for the suburb was approved in 1991.

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ABBOTSFORD:

Location:

10 kilometres west of Sydney, bordered by Hen and Chicken Bay and the Parramatta River.

Name origin:

First known by the aboriginal name, Bigi Bigi. It was originally part of Five Dock Farm and on subdivision became known as Feltham. In 1878 one Dr Arthur Renwick built his home there. He named his house after the village of Abbotsford on the River Tweed in England, the home of English poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott. Subsequently the district became known by that name.

Further comments:

•  Abbotsford House still exists

•  In 1920 it became the site of a Nestlé chocolate factory, with the house used initially for chocolate production and later as their administrative offices. The factory was closed in 1991 and the estate was redeveloped with medium-density residential apartments known as Abbotsford Cove, while preserving the historic house.

Nestle's Company factory as seen from the company wharf, Parramatta River, Abbotsford, Sydney, NSW. Abbotsford House can be seen in the background with the factory surrounding it.

•  Australian poet Henry Lawson did not die in Abbotsford House in 1922, as is sometimes claimed, but at the home of Mrs Isabella Byers at 437 Great North Road.

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ACACIA GARDENS

Location:

40 kilometres west of Sydney

Name origin:

Acacia Gardens was formerly a part of Quakers Hill. The name was chosen to reflect the rural quality of the suburb, with acacia trees being prevalent in the area. 

Acacia also happens to be the name of my daughter. If she marries someone named Wood, she will become Acacia Wood, which is the timber used for the construction of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant.

Further comments:

• Many of the streets in the suburb are named after flowers.

• It was formally recognised as a suburb in 1996.

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AGNES BANKS

Location:

68 kilometres west of Sydney. Agnes Banks is connected to Penrith by Castlereagh Road which runs alongside the Nepean River between Richmond and Penrith. 

Name origin:

The area was settled in 1803 by Charles Palmer, the first man to receive free land grants. He and his wife Mary Anne built the first farm slab house, in 1803, and the 3 chimneys still stand near the corner of Castlereagh Rd and Springwood Rd. The name Agnes Banks comes from Thompson's mother's name, Agnes.

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AIRDS:

Location: 

50 kilometres south west of Sydney on the lower Georges River

Name origin:

Governor Lachlan Macquarie named the region Airds, after the Scottish family estate of his wife Elizabeth Campbell. He also named Campbelltown after her maiden name.

Further comments:

Tom Moss’ statue of Elizabeth Campbell was erected in Campbelltown’s Mawson Park in 2006. It depicts her watering irises, a reference to the fact that when she accompanied her husband on official visits, she often made gifts of iris plants to the settlers. In later years it was not uncommon to see clumps of these blue and white irises growing on the sides of Old Sydney Road and around the old early settlers’ houses.

Tom Moss working on his clay mould for the bronze statue

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ALEXANDRIA:

Location:

4 kilometres south of Sydney off Botany Road.

Name Origin:

The common belief that the suburb was named after Princess Alexandra, who married Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), in 1863, is incorrect. The Parish of Alexandria was established in 1835. The naming of Alexandria and neighbouring Waterloo, commemorates the famous British Empire military and naval victories over Napoleon. The parish's naming predates the birth of Alexandra by six years.

Further comments:

 Originally residential in character, by 1943 Alexandria was the largest industrial district in Australia. Known as the "Birmingham of Australia", it manufactured from bricks to aeroplanes in 550 factories in just 1,000 acres (4.0 km2). It remains an industrial suburb to this day, an interesting introduction for tourists and visiting dignitaries in that the route from the airport to the city goes through Alexandria.

Interior of George Hotel, Elizabeth Street, Alexandria, NSW, taken in the aftermath of the shooting murder of Bob Prophett by Thomas Garvey, 8 December 1928.

Lawrence St. Alexandria. 1937 N.S.W. Australia Trucks possibly loaded with asbestos products

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ALFORDS POINT

Location:

28 kilomteres south of Sydney

Name origin:

John Alford, a former convict, in 1821 was granted 60 acres of land close to Deadman’s Creek west of what now Alford’s Point. After his death his widow, Jane Alford, kept farming the land. Alford was the name given to the area and public reserve bordering the south bank of the Georges River and also to a road leading to it from Old Illawarra Road, Menai. The area now bearing the name Alfords Point is a couple of miles downstream from 50 acres of land that was owned by Jane Alford in 1828.

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ALLAMBIE HEIGHTS

Location:

17 kilometres north of Sydney

Name origin:

The aboriginal word “allambie” means “peaceful place”. The suburb took its name from an estate by that name that was subdivided and sold by auction in 1918.

Further comments:

• The Allambie Road location follows an aboriginal track to the ocean beaches at Manly.

• Many of the streets in Allambie Heights are named after notable battles (particularly where Australian Troops served), and prominent allied political leaders of World War II. These include Owen Stanley Avenue, Wewak Place, Kirra Road, Libya Crescent, Derna Crescent, Tobruk Avenue, Anzio Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue and Churchill Crescent. There are also Palermo Place, Cassino Close, Dunkirk Street, Normandy Road, Burma Place and Kokoda Crescent.