Smithfield, New South Wales

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Smithfield
Sydney, New South Wales

Smithfield Museum

Population: 10,950 (1996)

Established: 1836

Postcode: 2164

Property Value: AUD $313,200 (2009)

Location: 29 km (18 mi) west of Sydney CBD

LGA: City of Fairfield City of Holroyd

State District: Smithfield

Federal Division: Prospect

Suburbs around Smithfield:

Merrylands
Greystanes Greystanes
West
Wetherill Park Smithfield Woodpark
Fairfield
Fairfield West Guildford West
Heights
Smithfield Gallery

Smithfield is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Smithfield is located 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the
local government areas of the City of Fairfield and the City of Holroyd.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History
• 2 Places of worship
• 3 Population
o 3.1 Demographics
o 3.2 Notable Residents
• 4 References

• 5 External links

[edit] History
Smithfield was originally known as Chilsholm's Bush. In 1867, Smithfield was a
semi-rural settlement populated by vine growers, gardeners, wood timber cutters,
orchards and tanneries. Early settlers were attracted to Smithfield by its good soil,
dependable water supply and easy access to the Colony's established towns. Some of
the best farming land was in the district to the West and South West of the Smithfield
area.

In 1803, homeless children were becoming a problem after convicts turned their
children out into the streets. As a consequence, Governor Philip Gidley King, put
aside a large area of 12,300 acres (50 km2) for a Male Orphan School. By 1836, some
of this land was offered for sale by the colonial government of the time. John Ryan
Brenan (1798-1868), an attorney who was appointed Police Magistrate in 1836,
bought 1,650 acres (7 km2) here. Brenan planned to make money with a meat market
and a cattle saleyard. He subdivided the estate and named it Smithfield after the meat
markets of London and Dublin. Saleyards opened in 1841 but the project to establish
a village around the yards failed. Despite this, Smithfield did become a thriving
commercial centre and remains a significant employment centre in south-western
Sydney as part of the Wetherill Park/Yennora industrial block.

Smithfield still has the street patterns Brenan planned and the street names he chose.
In the subdivision, Brenan offered an extra adjoining allotment to any buyer who built
a cottage with a brick chimney and enclosed the property with a fence. The public
school opened in 1850 and by 1880s Smithfield was well provided with churches,
many of which still remain today as important relics of Smithfield's rich local
heritage. [1]

[edit] Places of worship

St James Anglican church is on the corner of The Horsley Drive and Justin Street. St
Benedicts Catholic Church is in Justin Street. Smithfield Uniting Church is on The
Horsley Drive.

A mosque (Masjid) was established by Bosnian migrants in the late 1970s by the
Bosnian Brothers Islamic Religious Community NSW. It was later renamed the Gazi-
Husrev-beg Mosque, in memory of the founder of the city of Sarajevo in Bosnia-
Herzegovina, although today commonly known as Smithfield Mosque. [2]

[edit] Population
[edit] Demographics

According to the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population, there

were 10,950 persons usually resident in Smithfield, of which the large majority were
over the age of 15 (78.7%), Australian born (53.5%) and Australian citizens (85.6%).
[3]
Interestingly, at the census date Smithfield had a rather low unemployment rate of
0.1%. The largest age groups in the suburb in 1996 comprised persons aged 25-34
(16.1%), 35-44 (16.1%), followed by those aged 45-54. Persons aged over 65
comprised 10.0% of the total population. The majority of families in the area were
two parent families (54.3%) with single parent families comprising 16.3% of total
families.

Approximately 40% of the population was born overseas, with the top countries of
birth being Iraq 4.8%, Vietnam 4.6% and Italy 4.5%. The largest proportions of
households were one family households (77.3%) and lone person households
comprised 17.1%. Detached housing dominates the area, comprising 87.9% of total
occupied private dwellings. The majority of dwellings are fully owned (47.5%).
26.6% of dwellings are rented, of these 17.6% are in private rental and 8.6% in public
rental.

The largest proportion of the population earned between $1-$199 per week (33.9%) in
1996. The largest group in the area were trades persons and related workers (18.7%).
3.7% were managers and administrators and 8.0% were professionals.

[edit] Notable Residents

Smithfield was the childhood home of footballer Harry Kewell and performance
coach Jimmy Petruzziello also known as Jimmy Petruzzi. [4] [5]

[edit] References
1. ^ Smithfield - Post Code: 2164, Fairfield City Council [Online], Fairfield City
Council
2. ^ http://maps.google.com.au/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=30+Bourke+St,
+Smithfield+New+South+Wales+2164&um=1&ie=UTF-
8&split=0&gl=au&ei=aDFcSsSmPJPEsQP8upykCg&sa=X&oi=geocode_resu
lt&ct=title&resnum=1 30 Bourke St, Smithfield New South Wales 2164
3. ^ http://id.com.au/dosydney/Default.aspx?pg=1&gid=5520
4. ^ http://www.buryfc.co.uk/page/LatestNews/0,,10422~732562,00.html
5. ^ http://fairfield.yourguide.com.au/news/local/sport/general/player-returns-to-
the-old-school/734289.aspx

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Smithfield, New South Wales

[edit] External links