Oatley, New South Wales

Oatley
Sydney, New South Wales

Oatley Clock Tower, Frederick Street
Coordinates 33°58′52″S 151°04′29″E / 33.98118°S 151.07479°E / -33.98118; 151.07479Coordinates: 33°58′52″S 151°04′29″E / 33.98118°S 151.07479°E / -33.98118; 151.07479
Population 10,098 (2011 census)[1]
Established 1883
Postcode(s) 2223
Location 18 km (11 mi) south of Sydney CBD
LGA(s) Georges River Council
State electorate(s) Oatley
Federal Division(s) Banks
Suburbs around Oatley:
Mortdale Penshurst Hurstville Grove
Peakhurst Heights Oatley Connells Point
Lugarno Como Oyster Bay

Oatley is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Oatley is located 18 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Oatley lies across the local government area of Georges River Council.

History

This suburb's name can be traced to James Oatley Snr, watch-maker, who was transported to Botany Bay for life in 1814. Seven years later, in 1821, Governor Lachlan Macquarie granted Oatley a conditional pardon and appointed him overseer of the Town Clock for his work in installing the clock at Hyde Park Barracks.[2][3]

The post office opened in 1903, thus giving the district its official suburban name of Oatley. Prior to this, the area west of the railway line was officially in the suburb of Hurstville and attached to the Hurstville Post Office with "Oatley's" in parenthesis at the end of the address. Likewise, the streets east of the railway line were officially in the suburb of Kogarah and attached to the Kogarah Post Office. In the late 1890s both Hurstville and Kogarah were much larger suburbs and were later divided up into separate suburbs.

Oatley is notable as the terminus of the first railway electrification project in Sydney, which reached this station from Sydney Central in 1926.

When a group gathered in Oatley Park in December 1959, to form a Bowling Club, it was inevitable that the founding members should choose a clock as the club emblem. The hands on the clock were set at 15 minutes after 10 - the precise time the first meeting of the Oatley Bowls Club was opened.[4] The Club has since closed, though the greens and Club premises remain.[5]

The Oatley campus of Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education opened in 1981 on the site of the former Judd's Brick Works and quarry.In 1981, when many teacher's colleges were amalgamated, it became The St George Institute of Education, part of Sydney College of Advanced Education, and then a campus of the University of New South Wales. It is now a secondary school, the Oatley Senior Campus of the Georges River College.

Commercial area

Frederick Street and Oatley Avenue intersection

The traditional main shopping centre is located on Oatley Avenue and Frederick Street, near the railway station. A small group of shops and a Coles Supermarket are also located on Mulga Road in Oatley West. The village atmosphere, along with good cafes, and large parklands located in the centre of the shopping area adjacent to the train station, has led Oatley to be commonly mentioned as the most picturesque shopping village in the St George area.

Transport

Originally, the railway ran east of the present Mortdale Railway Sheds and down the western side of Oatley Avenue, on the land that is now Oatley Memorial Gardens. The first station platform was located at the western end of Frederick Street and extended north as far as the Oatley Hotel car park. The electrification of the passenger network began in 1926[6] with the first suburban electric service running between Sydney's Central Station and the suburb of Oatley approximately 20 km south of Sydney.

Oatley railway station is the last station on the Sydney Trains Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra railway line before crossing the Georges River to Como in the Sutherland Shire. The 955 bus route operates a service from Mortdale through Oatley West and Oatley to Hurstville.

Parks

Oatley Parade

The area's main attraction is Oatley Park but there are also a number of local bush parks surrounding the suburb: Oatley Point Reserve, Oatley Pleasure Grounds, Moore Reserve, Renown Park, Lime Kiln Bay Bushland Sanctuary, Giriwa Picnic Ground, Stevens Reserve, Meyer Reserve, and the Miles Dunphy Bushland Reserve (in which foot tracks were improved in 2011, by Hurstville Council). They attract many birds both native and introduced, with Oatley Park alone recording 146 species; as many as 90 recently.[7][8]

Annette Street, with the entrance to Oatley Pleasure Grounds on the right.

Oatley Park

Oatley Park[9] is a tree covered area that is almost completely surrounded by water. It covers an area of about 45 hectares and it is one of the most significant areas of bushland remaining in the St George area.[10]

Oatley Park became a public recreation area on 25 March 1887. In October 1893, when the nearby residential subdivision was sold off, it was known as Peakhurst Park. It was renamed to Oatley Park in March 1922.

It protects important examples of natural environment which occur in all parts of the park. There is a swimming area, a playground featuring an old steamroller,[11] lookouts, barbecues, a Soccer/Cricket Oval, a castle, as well as the natural environment in the park and it has become popular with the local community. The man-made wetlands of Lime Kiln Bay Reserve,[12] which adjoin Oatley Park, provide refuge for bird species, such as, chestnut teal, Pacific black ducks, dusky moorhens and purple swamphens. Native mammals which are uncommon in the region can still be found within the park, including the short-beaked echidna and swamp wallaby.[13][14]

Oatley Pleasure Grounds

Oatley Pleasure Grounds is a bush park located on Annette Street. It has a size of 3.4 hectares (34,000 m2) and was built by Harry Linmark at some point before 1934. Numerous performances were performed in the park previously, and a wine bar was constructed. The bar was later shut down due to noise complaints.[15]

Schools

Churches

Oatley Hotel on Oatley Avenue

Landmarks

Community events

Sport

Water sports and recreation are a way of life in the peninsula suburb of Oatley whose eastern, southern and western boundaries are formed by the Georges River and its bays. Oatley has many sporting teams and sporting fields:

Population

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, there were 10,098 people usually resident in Oatley. 74.7% stated they were born in Australia. The top countries of birth for those born outside Australia being China (3.3%), England (3.2%), New Zealand (1.2%) and Hong Kong (1.1%). English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 77.1% of residents and the most common other languages spoken were Mandarin (3.2%), Greek (3.1%), Cantonese (2.9%) and Croatian (1.6%). The most common responses for religious affiliation were Roman Catholic (30.1%), Anglican (22.1%), no religion (17.9%), Eastern Orthodox (6.8%) and Uniting Church (5.2%).[1]

Notable residents

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Oatley (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  2. Arch Gray Collection, Society of Australian Genealogists, Sydney, NSW
  3. AGCI Index (Australian Genealogical Computer Index), Society of Australian Genealogists
  4. The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8, page 193
  5. http://orao.oatleypark.com/myles2.html
  6. Jubilee of Sydney's Electric Trains Brady, I.A. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, March 1976 pp41-66
  7. Oatley Flora and Fauna Conservation Society, 2003. Birds of Oatley Park
  8. Field, D. 21 August 2007. Ospreys spotted in Oatley and Lugarno The Leader, p9.
  9. About Oatleypark.com
  10. Benson, D. & Howell, J. 1990. Taken for Granted: the bushland of Sydney and its suburbs. Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst. ISBN 0-86417-331-8
  11. Hurstville City Council
  12. http://www.hurstville.nsw.gov.au/Parks-Reserves.html
  13. Oatley Park Wildlife, Where Light Meets Dark
  14. Wallabies at Oatley Park, Oatley Flora and Fauna Conservarion Society, Inc
  15. Lawrence, Joan (1996). St George Pictorial Memories: Rockdale, Kogarah, Hurstville. Kingsclear Books. p. 65. ISBN 0908272456. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  16. Oatley Public School
  17. Oatley West Public School
  18. St Joseph's Catholic School Archived 5 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  19. Oatley Senior Campus - Georges River College
  20. All Saints' Anglican Church
  21. St Joseph's Catholic Church
  22. Oatley Anglican Church
  23. Mortdale Oatley Baptist Church
  24. Oatley Uniting Church
  25. http://www.livingtruth.info/
  26. http://oatleyhotel.tripod.com/home.html/
  27. http://off.oatleypark.com/?page_id=251
  28. http://www.hurstville.nsw.gov.au/SPContent.aspx?PageID=14&ItemID=685
  29. http://www.livingtruth.info/pipeorgan.html
  30. http://www.oatleylions.org.au/
  31. http://www.artcraftowps.org.au/
  32. http://www.oatleyrugby.com/
  33. http://www.oatleysoccer.com/
  34. http://www.asowsoccer.com.au/
  35. http://www.oatley.gymnastics.org.au/
  36. Australian Dictionary of Biography
  37. Sonny Bill Williams, the contender, by Greg Bearup, The Australian, dated 2 March 2013.

Bibliography

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