Villawood, New South Wales

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Villawood
Sydney,  New South Wales
Villawood shops.JPG
Woodville Shopping Village (now demolished)
Villawood, New South Wales
Map
Population6,032 (2016 census) [1]
Postcode(s) 2163
Elevation25 m (82 ft)
Location27 km (17 mi) west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s) Blaxland
Suburbs around Villawood:
Old Guildford Guildford Chester Hill
Carramar Villawood Chester Hill
Lansdowne Bass Hill Bass Hill

Villawood, a suburb of local government areas City of Canterbury-Bankstown and City of Fairfield, is 27 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Contents

History

The Aboriginal tribe of Gandangara once lived in the area. European settlement began in the early 1840s. During the 1860s, Villawood was used as pastoral land, but it was overrun with wild dogs. Woodville Road, which runs through Villawood, was once named Dog Trap Road because many farmers set dog traps for these wild dogs. A train station opened in 1922 to service the area was originally known as Woodville Road. Unfortunately, there was confusion with another place called Woodville in the Hunter Valley and thus the name was transposed into 'Villawood'. [2]

The Villawood area is home to a large public housing estate constructed around the 1950s-1970s consisting of detached cottages, semi-detached townhouses, walk up apartments on Urana street, and formerly a [Radburn design housing] complex within a precinct between Villawood Road, Kamira Avenue & Kamira Circuit (behind the Woodville Shopping Village), which became infamous for serious social issues, such as drugs and anti-social youth crime, even eventually breeding a gang called "the Bronx boys", dabbling in the drug trade and car-rebirthing before the eventual demolition of the complex in 1998.

Schools and churches

Villawood East Public School and Sacred Heart Primary School are located in the suburb. There are also day and community centres, several Christian churches and a Mosque conducts Islamic services in the old post office building on Woodville Road at the shopping centre.

Commercial area

Villawood Place was once a major shopping centre, serving the surrounding areas. After nearby Bass Hill Plaza opened, many Villawood businesses went into decline, leaving a legacy of abandoned shop fronts and buildings, including the abandoned Franklins supermarket and large Australia Post office. There has been rejuvenation and renovation of Woodville (Villawood) Place since with construction of the new supermarket and homegoods stores, a bakery, chemists, grocers and other shops. It is located in proximity to Villawood railway station.

A business park in Villawood holds enterprises concerning hardware products, furniture, auto parts and second-hand goods. Leightonfield railway station services an industrial area in the eastern part of Villawood.

Transport

Villawood railway station and Leightonfield railway station are on the Main Southern railway line.

Sport and recreation

Apart from the Woods Action centre (see above) which includes Indoor Climbing, Ten-pin bowling, Go-karting and the Wiggles indoor play centre, Villawood is home to three other major sport and recreation areas: The Wran Leisure Centre, Thurina Park and Villawood Skatepark.

The Wran Leisure Centre (named after Neville Wran) houses a swimming pool, tennis courts, a gymnasium and squash courts. Thurina Park houses two multi purpose sporting fields that cater for soccer, cricket and baseball. Thurina Park is also home to the Villawood United Soccer Club.

Demographics

At the 2016 census, Villawood recorded a population of 6,032. Of these: [1]

Detention centre

Protesters at the detention centre (April 2011). Asylum seekers on the roof of Villawood Immigration Detention Centre 2.jpg
Protesters at the detention centre (April 2011).

The suburb is home to Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, which is situated at 15 Birmingham Avenue. It was originally a hostel, constructed in 1949, to accommodate post-war refugees from Europe. In 1976, a subdivision of the original camp was converted into an immigration detention centre. In addition to housing asylum seekers, people refused entry into the country at international airports and seaports may also be detained in the centre.

The centre has been the focus of much controversy, with accusations of human rights abuses. [3] In January 2008, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) said the high-security section of Villawood Detention Centre was the "most prison like" of all Australia's immigration detention centres, and demanded it be closed immediately. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Villawood (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 12 April 2018. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson , 1990, Published in Australia ISBN   0-207-14495-8, page 260
  3. "Villawood Immigration Detention Facility in Sydney (NSW) - Facilities - Detention Services". Immi.gov.au. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  4. "Villawood targeted as worst in country". Sydney Morning Herald . 10 January 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2008.

33°53′10″S150°58′44″E / 33.88611°S 150.97889°E / -33.88611; 150.97889