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Newtown is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Approximately 4 km south-west of the central business district, Newtown straddles the border between the Local Government Areas of the City of Sydney and of Marrickville Council.

Geography and setting

To the north of Newtown is the suburb of Camperdown, to the east is Darlington, to the south-east is Erskineville, to the south-west is Enmore, and to the west is Stanmore.

Originally a blue-collar area, its proximity to the main Camperdown campus of University of Sydney has gained it a reputation as a bohemian center, with a strong student, gay and lesbian population, although it has become somewhat gentrified in recent years. It is also home to the Anglican seminaries Moore Theological College and Mary Andrews College.

The main strip of Newtown is along King Street, which is sometimes referred to as "eat-street" in the press due to its large number of cafes, pubs and resturants. King Street and Enmore Road, which branches away from it, together comprise a 9.1 kilometre round trip that takes in some 600 shopfronts.

History of Newtown

Newtown was established as a residential and farming area in the early 19th century. It got its name from a grocery store opened there by John and Eliza Webster in 1832, at a site close to where the Newtown railway station stands today. They placed a sign on top of their store that read "New Town Stores". Passers by took this to mean that the area was called New Town and the name caught on, with the space gradually disappearing over the years to form the name Newtown.

On December 12, 1862 the Municipality of Newtown was incorporated, covering 480 acres (1.92 square kilometers), and divided into three wards: O'Connell, Kingston and Enmore. In 1893 a plan to rename the area "South Sydney" was discussed (as two municipalities had merged to form North Sydney three years earlier), but nothing came of it.

In 1949, Newtown was incorporated into the City of Sydney. A reorganisation of local government boundaries in 1968 saw part of Newtown placed under Marrickville council.

Population statistics

In the 2001 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing, the population of the Newtown postcode area was 15,027 people, in an area of 1.9 square kilometres. The population was 49% females, 51% males. 33% of the population was born overseas. The eight strongest religious affiliations in the area were in descending order: No religion, Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox Christian, Buddhism, Uniting Church, Presbyterian and Reformed, and other Christian. The 3 most common forms of dwelling were in decreasing order: a semi-detached, row or terrace house, or townhouse; a flat, unit or apartment; a separate house.

Transportation

Newtown railway station is located on the Inner West line of the CityRail network. Travelling towards the city, the railway stops in order are , Macdonaldtown, Redfern, Central, Town Hall, Wynyard. Travelling west towards Strathfield, the stops are Stanmore, Petersham, Lewisham, Summer Hill, Ashfield, Croydon, Burwood, and Strathfield.

Newtown Station opened in 1855, as one the original four intermediate stations on the Sydney to Parramatta rail line (the others being Ashfield, Burwood, and Homebush), and it was soon serviced by ten steam trains per day. In 1878 the station was moved from its original location at the end of Station Street to its current location by the fork of King Street and Enmore Road.

Regular bus services also run along King Street, going inwards to the city and outwards to Tempe, Kingsgrove, Dulwich Hill and Canterbury.

Politics

For Federal elections, Newtown lies partly in the electorate of Grayndler, currently represented by Anthony Albanese of the ALP, and partly in the electorate of Sydney, currently represented by Tanya Plibersek, also of the ALP. Both of these electorates saw strong Green votes in the 2001 election, and it was expected that the Green candidates, rather than the Liberal Party, would provide the main opposition to the ALP in the 2004 election, although the Liberals ultimately did narrowly retain their lead over the Greens in these electorates.

For State elections, Newtown is predominantly in the State Electoral District of Marrickville, currently represented by Deputy Premier Andrew Refshauge.

Live Music

Newtown is a hub for live music, with the suburb both home to many musicians and several live venues. In the late nineties it boasted several venues, namely Goldmans/Newtown RSL, The Globe, Feedback and The Sandringham, which progressively closed over the years due to noise complaints and other facts. However since the new millennium, the suburb has enjoyed a renaissance with the return of live music to The Sandringham (dubbed by regulars as The Sando), the re-opening of the Newtown RSL under the name of @Newtown, and the addition of the purpose built venue The Vanguard.

Local events and organisations

Newtown Festival

The Newtown Festival is a community festival of music, events, workshops, and stalls which has been held annually since 1981. Held in Camperdown Memorial Park adjacent to St. Stephens Church, it features free live music, market stalls, food and drink from many local restaurants and cafés, and other entertainment, and always draws a large crowd. The purpose of the Festival is to raise funds for the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, an association which provides services to the aged, people with disabilities, people from non-English speaking backgrounds and people on low incomes.

Newtown Jets

The Newtown Jets were Australia's first rugby league club, founded as the Newtown RLFC on January 8, 1908 (the "Jets" nickname was picked up in 1973). They competed in the NSWRL's premiership from 1908 until 1983, winning on 3 occasions, before being suspended from the competition due to financial difficulties. They currently compete in the NSWRL First Division competition, a tier below the NRL's national premiership, and enjoy strong support in the local area and good crowds at their home ground of Henson Park.

External links

• Newtown Festival
• Newtown Neighbourhood Centre
• The Newtown Project, historical documents from Newtown
• Marrickville Council website
• Council of the City of Sydney website
• Newtown Jets Rugby League Football Club

• Suburbs of Sydney