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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.

Boundaries and size

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.

Characteristics

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 yuppiefied of late. 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.

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.

Transportation

Newtown is serviced by a railway station, and regular bus services run along King street.

External links

• The Newtown Project, historical documents from Newtown
• Marrickville Council website
• Council of the City of Sydney website

Template:Sydney suburb stub

• Suburbs of Sydney