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Ashbury Sydney, New South Wales
NASA image of Sydney's CBD and inner west suburbs, with borders of Ashbury shown in orange
Population	3,224 (2001 census)
Established	1919
Postcode(s)	2193
Location	10 km (6 mi) from Sydney CBD
LGA(s)	City of Canterbury
State electorate(s)	Canterbury
Federal division(s)	Grayndler
Suburbs around Ashbury: Croydon Ashfield Summer Hill Croydon Park Ashbury Dulwich Hill Campsie Canterbury Hurlstone Park

Ashbury is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashbury is located 9km south west of the Sydney central business district and lies in the local government areas of the City of Canterbury and partly in the Municipality of Ashfield. The postcode is 2193, the same as neighbouring Canterbury.

Ashbury is a mostly residential area, located close to Canterbury Race Course. It has no commercial centre although there are a handful of shops located on King St. Its major landmark is Peace Park, the highest point in the Canterbury local government area. Ashbury derived its name from the two neighbouring suburbs Ashfield and Canterbury.

History

Prior to the establishment of the British colony at Sydney, the Ashbury area was home to the Wangal and Cadigal people, clans of the Darug tribe. After pressure from colonists, the British administration began subdividing land in the area surrounding the settlement of Sydney and granting it to colonists. The first land grant in the area was 100 acres made to Reverend Richard Johnson (1753-1827), the colony's first chaplain.

The land that extended over Ashbury was known as Canterbury Vale. When it was sold to Lieutenant William Cox in 1800, it covered 600 acres. It was then sold to Robert Campbell (1769-1846) in 1803 when it covered 900 acres and then proceeded to purchase more land to Liverpool Road. The estate passed onto his son-in-law Arthur Jefferey and was eventually split up. This area then became known as Goodlet's Bush, after an early settler, John Hay Goodlet. In 1878 Goodlet had bought Canterbury House, which had been built by Arthur Jeffreys.

The South Ashfield Brickworks (later called the Ashbury Brickyard) opened in 1910 from the site of what is now Peace Park. Widescale housing development of the area began in 1919. A primary school began taking students in 1924 and in 1926 changed its name from South Ashfield to Ashbury Public School, leading to the area adopting its own identity. A non-official post office was established on King St in the same year.

Residents

According to the 2001 census, Ashbury had just over 3000 residents living almost entirely (94%) in detached houses. Its most notable feature was no blocks of flats at all in the suburb. The consistency of housing contributes to a high percentage of family households (81%). Most residents were Australian citizens (88%) although a substantial number (36%) were born overseas with the most common places being Italy (8.2%), Greece (3.3%), Lebanon (3.1%) and China (2.1%). The figures for the respective languages are all much higher indicating a substantial number of second-generation migrants in the suburb with 13.8% speaking Italian, 9.3% speaking Greek and 6.2% speaking Arabic.

Notable residents

The following people were either born or lived in Ashbury:

Selina Anderson (1878-1964): first woman to stand as a candidate for the Australian House of Representatives (in 1903). She lived in Ashbury from 1928 till her death in 1964.

Rev Richard Johnson (1753-1827): first chaplain of the colony in Sydney and first landowner in Ashbury, described by Watkin Tench as "the best farmer in the country".

Transport

There is no train station in Ashbury although it is relatively close to Ashfield on the Inner-West line and Canterbury on the Bankstown line. Sydney Buses service Ashbury with the 471 & 472 Five Dock to Rockdale bus services linking Ashbury to both Ashfield and Canterbury stations via King St. The 409 also connects Ashbury with Ashfield and Hurlstone Park via Holden St.

Ashbury borders the Cooks River for a small way so offers excellent access for cyclists and walkers to the Cooks River Cycleway.

Schools

The only school in Ashbury is Ashbury Public School, built in the 1920s. Its catchment area includes students from southern Ashfield as well as Ashbury.

• Ashbury Public School]]
• Ashbury Public School dome]]

Politics

Ashbury is located in the East Ward of the City of Canterbury. Canterbury City is dominated by Labor councillors and East Ward returned two Labor councillors and one Independent at the last council elections in 2004.

For state government elections, Ashbury is in the Electoral district of Canterbury held by Labor's Linda Burney since 2003. For federal government elections, it is in the Division of Grayndler, held by Labor's Anthony Albanese since 1996.

References

• The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8

External links

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