Bardwell Park, New South Wales

Bardwell Park was named after free settler Thomas Hill Bardwell who owned land in the area.[2] His grant was originally heavily timbered and bounded by Wolli Creek, Dowling Street and Wollongong Road. In 1881, the land was auctioned and 1,600 acres (6.5 km²) were subdivided. The railway station opened on 21 September 1931 which opened up the area for home sites. The school opened in September 1943 and the post office opened in May 1946.[3] Up until 2016 it was the only suburb in Sydney not to have traffic lights. However, due to many road incidents at the Slade Road and Hartill-Law Avenue intersection, which also proved to be a risk to pedestrians, and to community action which was also faced with ongoing delays from the then Rockdale Council,[4] traffic lights were eventually installed and turned on on 11 August 2016.[5]

Bardwell Park borders an important piece of remnant bushland, the Wolli Creek Valley, beside Wolli Creek.[6] There have been active citizens' movements lobbying for its preservation in the face of demands for urban expansion. The most public of these prevented the building of the M5 South Western Motorway through the valley, resulting in the road being built as a tunnel under the valley.[7] Nevertheless, community concern remains over what is seen as the release of particle pollution from exhaust emissions into the atmosphere in the Bardwell Valley.[8]

The Wolli Creek Valley contains the only bushland of any size left in inner south-west Sydney. It is also the only large undeveloped natural space that remains in a heavily developed residential and industrial region. The park offers public transport access, family picnic areas, parkland, birdwatching, bushwalking, extensive views of sandstone escarpments, heathland and woodland forest. A 60 hectare regional park is under development.[6][7]

Other surrounding recreational areas include Coolibah Reserve, Shepard Reserve, Lambert RD Reserve, Ron Gosling Reserve, and Silver Jubilee Park. Currently, a group of local volunteers is helping to improve the surrounding bushland density of the suburb,[9] and have been doing so since 2013.[10]

Bardwell Park is a leafy, predominantly residential area but features a small shopping centre around Hartill-Law Avenue and Slade Road, beside the Bardwell Park railway station. The Bardwell Park - Earlwood RSL is also located beside the railway station and includes a new gym and the club has undergone a renovation in October 2011.

Bardwell Park railway station is on the T8 Airport & South Line of the Sydney Trains network. Bardwell Park is also serviced by 2 bus services, including Transit Systems route 473 from Campsie to Rockdale and route 491 from Five Dock to Hurstville.

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 2,242 residents in Bardwell Park; 69% of whom were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were China 7.8% and Greece 5.4%. The most common reported ancestries in Bardwell Park were Greek 18.0%, English 14.1%, Australian 12.3%, Chinese 10.2% and Italian 5.5%. 48.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 18.5% and Mandarin 6.5%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were Catholic 25.5%, Eastern Orthodox 24.2%, No Religion 19.9% and Anglican 7.4%.[1]

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