Ashbury is a suburb on the Inner West of Sydney and part of the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown. Located 10 kilometres south-west of the Sydney CBD, the suburb occupies 98 hectares of land and is bounded by the Inner West Council area in the north, Holden Street in the east, Canterbury Park and the Canterbury Park Racecourse in the south, and the Cooks River, the suburb of Croydon Park, Leith Street and Leopold Street in the west.
The mostly residential suburb shares the postcode 2193 with neighbouring Canterbury.
ABOUT ASHBURY
History
Before becoming the gentrified region that it is in the 21st century, the Inner West was home to the Darug people, which was divided to the Cadigal and Wangal clans. The clans occupied the land along Port Jackson, from South Head to Lewisham, as well as the land stretching to Homebush Bay.
The earliest European settlements in the land now occupied by the Inner West dates back to 1790s, when the first land grants were made. Most of the residents in the area used to make a living through farming and timber-getting.
The Municipality of Strathfield and Burwood derived their names from an early property in the respective areas. Their names were adopted upon the incorporation of the municipalities in the 1880s and 1870s, respectively. Canada Bay, on the other hand, was named in commemoration of a group of 58 French-Canadian exiles sent to New South Wales and held in the Longbottom Stockade on Parramatta Road in Concord after the 1838 rebellion in Canada.
Ashbury derived its name from the two neighbouring suburbs Ashfield and Canterbury.
The first land grant in the area was a 100 acre land for Reverend Richard Johnson the colony’s first chaplain. The land was then known as Canterbury Vale and was extended to cover 600 acres before being sold to William Cox in 1800. Three years later, it was sold to Robert Campbell when it covered 900 acres. More land was purchased to Liverpool Road until the estate was passed on to Arthur Jefferey and eventually split up.
The population of the rest of Inner West region grew significantly in the 1850s as a result of land subdivision and improved access through the Sydney-Parramatta railway line. From 1870s to 1880s, there has been significant residential and industrial growth across the area, followed by a continuous expansion from the post-war years through to late 1960s. Immigration and gentrification led to the rise of the apartment market.
Inner West’s population continued to expand in the 1990s, aided by high- and medium-density housing.
Demographics
As of 2019, Ashbury is home to 3,570 people, with an average population density of 36.41 persons per hectare. Australia-born citizens represent 65.8 per cent of the local population, with other residents born in Italy, China and Lebanon. About 59.4 per cent of people spoke only English at home, while others Italian, Greek and Arabic.
Famous residents
Among the most notable residents of Ashbury are Selina Siggins, who was the first woman candidate for the Australian House of Representatives; Reverend Ricahrd Johnson, the first chaplain of the colony in Sydney and was then known as “the best farmer in the country; and Jake Lloyd-Jones, an Australian television producer best known for documentaries such as Which Way To China and An Occupied Country.
LIFESTYLE
Often dubbed as one of the unofficial “hipster” capitals of the world, Inner West boasts lively arts and culinary scene, live music, impromptu park parties, whimsical stores and Instagrammable restaurants and cafes. Excellent coffee, vegan meals, endless cuisine choices—from Thai, Japanese and Indian to Italian, Czech and Nepalese— and craft beers are abundant across suburbs. Old and new meet in the streets lined with European-inspired buildings, restored cottages and historic pubs.
Proud of its cultural diversity, Inner West also prides itself for numerous cultural centers, which are as abundant as recreational areas and even more prominent than shopping malls.
Ashbury’s neighbourhood is largely characterised by a consistent subdivision pattern, building form and streetscape, a high standard of design and residential amenity, and character-filled Federation and Californian bungalows.
Public transport
In most council areas in Sydney’s Inner West, the top modes of transportation are cars (as drivers), trains, buses, ferries and light rail.
Sydney Trains Airport and Inner West & South Line runs south of Parramatta Road to Strathfield and to Macarthur via Granville, while the North Shore and Northern & Western Line follows the same route to Strathfield before it branches off to the north to Epping, stopping at North Strathfield, Concord West and Rhodes. The Bankstown Line services Erskineville, St Peters, Sydenham, Marrickville and Dulwich Hill, while the Dulwich Hill line connects Pyrmont, Glebe, Lilyfield, Leichhardt and Lewisham to Central railway station.
While Ashbury has no railway station, it is closest to both the Ashfield station on the Inner West & Leppington Line and the Canterbury station on the Bankstown Line.
State Transit provides most of the bus routes across the Inner West, while ferries are mostly operated by Sydney Ferries, servicing the inner harbour and Parramatta River.
Transit Systems Sydney buses serve Ashbury, with the 491 Five Dock to Hurstville bus linking Ashbury to Ashfield and Canterbury stations from King Street, the 413 bus linking Ashbury to the City and Campsie, the 418 bus linking Ashbury to Burwood, Ashfield, Hurlstone Park, Marrickville, Sydenham, Mascot, Randwick and Bondi Junction via Queen Street and the 406 bus linking Asbury to Five Dock, Ashfield and Hurlstone Park via Victoria Street and Old Canterbury Road
Bicycles have also been a part of the overall transport task since the 1990s. Bicycle paths and routes run through Five Dock to the Anzac Bridge cycleway (East-West route), Gladesville Bridge to Anzac Bridge (Northwest route) and Marrickville to the City via Newtown (Southwest route).
Schools and universities
Some of the most notable schools across Sydney’s Inner West are:
- Ashbury Public School
- St Francis Xavier’s Primary School
- Newington College (Inner West’s oldest school, 1863)
- Rosebank College (Inner West’s second oldest school, 1867)
- Sydney College of the Arts - the University of Sydney (Rozelle Campus)
- Sydney TAFE (Petersham College and Design Centre Enmore)
- University of Tasmania (School of Medicine Rozelle Campus)
Hospitals
Among the major hospitals in the Inner West are:
- Balmain Hospital
- Yaralla Estate (Dame Eadith Walker Hospital)
- Concord Repatriation General Hospital
Landmarks
Some of the major landmarks across Sydney’s Inner West are:
- Peace Park, the highest point in the local government area
- Parramatta River
- Barnwell Park Golf Club
- Concord Golf Club
- Massey Park Golf Club
- City of Canada Bay Museum
- Strathfield Park
- Sydenham Green Tempe Recreational Reserve
- Haberfield heritage conservation area
- Harbour Circle Walk
Shopping centers
Some of the major shopping centres and shopping districts across Inner West are:
- Great North Road
- Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre
- Rhodes Waterside Shopping Centre
- Westfield Burwood Shopping Centre
Sports and recreation
Rugby League is arguably the most popular sport in the Inner West, as well as most parts of Sydney and New South Wales.
Aside from the Rugby League, Sydney’s Inner West also participates in semi-professional soccer in the various divisions of the NSW State Leagues. Among the most notable clubs are the NSW Premier League and the APIA Leichhardt Tigers.
Some of the sports centres in Sydney’s Inner Wests are:
- Concord Golf Club
- Drummoyne Oval
- Erskineville Oval
- Sydney Homebush Street Circuit
- Leichhardt Oval
- Sydney Olympic Park (including Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre, Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, Sydney Showground-Olympic Park, Sydney Showground Stadium, Sydney Super Dome).
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