INNER WEST (SYDNEY)

The 'Inner West' is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the west of the Sydney central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs of the inner west are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River), stretching south to the shores of the Cooks River. Parramatta Road runs through the middle of this area.

Contents

Suburbs

History

Indigenous Land

Geography

Government

Character

Public transport

Gay & Lesbian Inner West

Sport

References

External links

Suburbs

The inner west is not a precise geographical region. The Australian Bureau of Statistics limits its Inner Western Sydney statistical region to the local government areas of Canada Bay, Strathfield, Burwood, and Ashfield. One local newspaper, the Inner-West Weekly, confines its circulation to this area while another, the Inner West Courier, also includes the suburbs in the local government areas of Leichhardt and Marrickville as well as some western suburbs of the City of Sydney such as Glebe and Erskineville. The Telstra Inner West telephone directory covers a slightly larger area again, including some more inner Sydney suburbs such as Pyrmont, Ultimo and Redfern as well as the suburbs of Ashbury, Canterbury and Hurlstone Park from the City of Canterbury. There are also some who claim parts of the North Shore such as Hunter's Hill fall within the definition of the Inner West.

History

Indigenous Land

Prior to the arrival of the First Fleet, the Sydney region was home to the Darug people. This nation was broken up into a number of clans who tended to live in a certain geographic area. Each clan contained about 50 to 100 people and, to avoid genetic problems, the men would marry women from other clans. So the clans were interrelated and members from one clan would frequently travel in the territory of others, including to hunt, trade and perform ceremonies. They didn't consider themselves owners of the land, rather custodians.
What is now the Inner West was formerly home to two clans, the Cadigal, whose land stretched along Port Jackson from South Head to Lewisham, and the Wangal, whose land was immediately to the west of the Cadigals and stretched to about Homebush Bay. Other clans that would have been regular visitors to the area would have included the Birrabirragal and Muru-ora-dial in what is now the Eastern Suburbs, the Bediagal and Kameygal from the Cooks River area to the south, the Burramattagal from the Parramatta area to the west, and the Wallumattagal, Cammeraigal and Gorualgal from the northern shores of the Parramatta River.[1]

Geography

The topography of the inner-west reflects rolling hills intersected by shallow valleys through which waterways including Iron Cove Creek, Hawthorne Canal (formerly 'Long Cove Creek'), White's Creek and Johnston's Creek flow. These waterways have been drastically altered since the late 19th century by the means of concrete lining. For example, in the 1860s Iron Cove Creek was a freely flowing waterway which in places broadened into ponds that made excellent and picturesque swimming holes. It is now barely a trickle lined by residential areas, parkland and fast-food restaurants.

Government

Politically, the area is represented Federally by the electorates of Grayndler, Lowe and Sydney. These three seats are currently held by Labor, Grayndler and Sydney are considered safe seats whilst Lowe is marginal. In the state parliament the region is represented by the electoral districts of Balmain, Canterbury, Drummoyne, Marrickville and Strathfield. At the 2007 state election, each of these seats was won by the Labor party. The local government areas with responsibility for the Inner west are Canada Bay, Strathfield, Burwood,Ashfield and parts of Canterbury, Marrickville and City of Sydney.

Character

The suburbs within the region are characterised by medium to high-density housing and include some of the older constructions in Sydney such as the terrace houses of Glebe and Newtown. It is also the location of several tertiary institutions such as Australian Catholic University, University of Sydney and the University of Technology, Sydney and the more downtown areas have high student populations. The inner west also features some of New South Wales best schools such as Fort Street High School (Public), Burwood Girls High School (Public), Strathfield Girls High School (Public), Homebush Boys High School (Public), Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney (Private), MLC School (Private), Trinity Grammar School (Private), Newington College (Private), Santa Sabina College (Private), St Patrick's College (Private) and Meriden School (Private).

Public transport

Public transport in the region includes trains, buses, ferries and light rail. CityRail's Inner West railway line runs from Central station, largely running south of Parramatta Road to Strathfield and then to Liverpool. The Northern railway line follows the same route to Strathfield and then branches off to the north to Hornsby, with stops at North Strathfield, Concord West and Rhodes. There are various bus routes provided largely by Sydney Buses. Sydney Ferries operates services in the inner harbour and Parramatta river. There is also the Metro Light Rail which runs from Central to Lilyfield, via Pyrmont and Glebe.

Gay & Lesbian Inner West

The Inner West is home for the other half of Sydney’s large gay and lesbian population. The gay and lesbian community is well established in Newtown and Erskineville and extends into neighbouring Glebe, Leichhardt, Annandale, Marrickville, Enmore and Dulwich Hill.
The Inner West is home to two of Sydney’s well-established gay and lesbian pubs the Newtown Hotel [2] and the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville [3] . The Imperial or “Impy” is famous for its flamboyant drag queens and as a pub/club venue staying open well into the early hours on weekends.
The Metropolitan Community Church [4] located in nearby Petersham. The MCC Sydney is part of a network of other MCC's in Australia and forms part of an international denomination. The MCC extends its welcome to anybody who feels excluded by established religious groups, especially members of the gay, lesbian, transgendered and bi-sexual communities.
Located in Newtown is Twenty 10 [5] a support organisation for young gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, same-sex attracted and gender-questioning people who are under 26 and having problems at home or have recently become homeless.
Once the pinnacle of the gay and lesbian community the fading Sydney Pride Centre [6] is located in Erskineville and provides support, referral and fund-raising services for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community of Sydney.

Sport

The inner west is represented in the National Rugby League by the Wests Tigers, a merger of the Balmain and Western Suburbs clubs. In rugby union the area is represented by Sydney Uni and West Harbour in the Sydney grade competition.

References

★ ''Speed the Plough - Ashfield 1788-1988'', by Sheena & Robert Coupe, published by Ashfield Municipal Council, 1988 ISBN 0 9595234 1 3

External links

★