SYDNEY SUBURBS: CROYDON PARK

CROYDON PARK:

--------oOo--------

Location:

Croydon Park is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, located 10 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district. It is within 3 local government areas: the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, Municipality of Burwood and Inner West Council. Croydon is a separate suburb, to the north.

--------oOo--------

Name origin:

A portion of the former Brighton Farm located between Georges River Road and the Cooks River was purchased by Henry Parkes and was subdivided and sold by auction at the Temperance Hall, Pitt Street on Saturday, 29 September 1877. Parkes renamed this subdivision as Croydon Park to differentiate it from the larger suburb of Croydon to the north.

Parkes was a colonial Australian politician and longest non-consecutive Premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia. He has been referred to as the "Father of Federation" due to his early promotion for the federation of the six colonies of Australia, as an early critic of British convict transportation and as a proponent for the expansion of the Australian continental rail network.

--------oOo--------

About:

Croydon Park is close to the larger shopping and town centres of Burwood, Ashfield and Campsie.

It is relatively large compared to neighbouring suburbs.

It is largely residential, but has a commercial strip along Georges River Road, a local arterial road that runs through the centre of the suburb.

In 1878 and 1880, following the building of a railway station at Croydon to the north, two large subdivisions of land were undertaken using the name Croydon Park. These constituted the entire area of the current suburb. A piece of flood-prone land at the junction of Croydon Avenue and the Cooks River was reserved as a public park.

1887 sale marketing material

Between 1891 and 1948, Croydon Park was served by a tram line centred around a depot in Tangarra Street. The line began as a steam tramway, opened in 1891, between Ashfield Station and Enfield. In 1901, this line was extended north via Liverpool Road and Burwood Road through Burwood to Mortlake, and in 1909 a branch to Cabarita Park was opened. The system was electrified in 1912.[10] The line was never connected to any of the other tram lines in Sydney, although its eastern terminus, at Ashfield station, was only one station away (on the main suburban railway line) from the nearest tram terminus at Summer Hill station.

--------oOo--------

Gallery:

Circa 1890, the mansion But-har-gra (formerly Mandama) was built on Georges River Road. A substantial two-storey house of brick, it combines Italianate and Federation elements. Gifted to the Church of England in 1934 by the Button Family, it is currently used as residential accommodation for students of Moore Theological College and is heritage-listed.

Tram depot in Tangarra Street, in the late 1940s

The Croydon Park Theatre was opened in early-1922. It was a ‘reverse’ theatre, having its screen at the front entrance end of the building. Seating was provided in stalls and circle levels. It was slightly remodeled in May 1934, to the plans of architect J.C.R. Mills, which included the re-modeling of the proscenium. The Croydon Park Theatre was closed in 1960, and was converted into a carpet store, which remains in operation today. Both the exterior and interior of the building have had little to none alterations.

Croydon Park Motor Bus Service