Camellia, New South Wales

Camellia is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Primarily industrial with no residential population, environmental remediation commenced in late 2015, with the suburb ear-marked as a major centre for future high density living.[2]

Camellia
Sydney, New South Wales
Aerial view of Camellia
Population0 (SAL 2021)[1]
Postcode(s)2142
Elevation9 m (30 ft)
Location17 km (11 mi) west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)City of Parramatta
State electorate(s)Parramatta
Federal division(s)Parramatta
Suburbs around Camellia:
Parramatta Rydalmere Rydalmere
Parramatta Camellia Silverwater
Harris Park Rosehill Silverwater

Camellia is located 17 kilometres (11 mi) west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. The suburb is bounded by the Parramatta River to the north, Clay Cliff Creek to the west, Duck River to the east, and Grand Avenue. Major roads dissecting the suburb are Grand Avenue (east-west) and James Ruse Drive (north-south).

Camellia shares the postcode of 2142 with the separate suburbs of Granville, South Granville, Holroyd and Rosehill.

History

The Burramattagal clan were the indigenous people who originally inhabited this area, relying on the fish, shellfish, bird life reptiles and marsupials that were once abundant in the waterways and forests adjoining the Parramatta River and the freshwaters of Clay Cliff Creek.

On 22 April 1788 Governor Arthur Phillip and his party of officers and marines journeyed inland by boat from Sydney Cove to find better farmlands for the new settlement. They landed at the head of a navigable river near what is now Clyde, which he called Duck River due to the abundance of ducks in the area.[3] They left their boats to explore the area but could not penetrate the thick bush. The party moved to the banks of Clay Cliff Creek, where they decided to camp because of its fresh water.[4]

Romanticised painting of Elizabeth Farm viewed from the northern riverbank of Parramatta River by Joseph Lycett. The freshwater stream depicted in the middle as a tributary is Clay Cliff Creek.

In his Journal, surgeon John White recorded:

...we fell in with an hitherto unperceived branch of Port Jackson harbour, along the bank of which the grass was tolerably rich and succulent, and in height nearly up to the middle, interspersed with a plant much resembling the indigo. We followed this branch westward for a few miles, until we came to a small fresh-water stream that emptied itself into it. Here we took up our quarters for the night, as our halts were always regulated by fresh water, an essential point by no means to be dispensed with, and not very abundant or frequently to be met with, in this country. We made a kettle of excellent soup out of a white cockatoo and two crows, which I had shot, as we came along. The land all around us was similar to that which we had passed.

— John White, Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales, 1790

Clay Cliff Creek was the common boundary of the land grants to wool pioneer John Macarthur, who by the early 1800s extended his land grants and his Elizabeth Farm holdings to gain the complete river frontage between the township of Parramatta and Duck River.[4]

The railway station that opened here in 1885 was originally called Subiaco, but it caused confusion because this was the name of the Benedictine school on the opposite side of Parramatta River. In 1901, the station name was changed to Camellia, after the Camellia Grove Nursery nearby that specialised in growing camellias. This land was leased by Silas Sheather since 1852 on what was originally part of the 850 acres (3.4 km2) of Elizabeth Farm.[5]

Heritage listings

Camellia has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

In the northwest of Camellia, today within an inaccessible industrial zone, lies the lone grave of First Fleet convict Eleanor Magee (née McCabe), her child Ian Magee, and her unborn baby. The three drowned in the adjacent Parramatta River when their boat capsized in 1793, and they were buried on what was then the land of convict Christopher Magee, their husband and father. It is one of the oldest European graves in Australia.[7]

Commercial area

Camellia is predominantly an industrial and commercial area. An office block close to the railway station contains an Aldi supermarket. This is the former site of the James Hardie asbestos plant where Bernie Banton worked.

Transport

Camellia railway station on the Carlingford Line was formerly part of the Sydney Trains network.

The Sandown railway line served the industry in Camellia.[8] Passenger service ceased in 1991.[9]

A conversion of the Carlingford to Camellia section of the Carlingford railway line as well as part of the Sandown line to light rail was announced in 2015 as part of the Parramatta Light Rail project.[10] A second line, from Sydney Olympic Park, will join with the Carlingford line at either Camellia or Rydalmere before both lines proceed to Westmead.[11][12]

Grand Avenue is the main road in Camellia.

  • Grand Avenue, decorative rocks
    Grand Avenue, decorative rocks
  • Industry in Camellia
    Industry in Camellia

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Camellia (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. "Camellia".
  3. "Plants – Duck River". Duck River Sydney Biodiversity. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  4. McClymont, John (June 2009). "Camellia". Sydney Journal. 2 (1): 82–91. doi:10.5130/sj.v2i1.1191. ISSN 1835-0151. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  5. The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8
  6. "Sewage Pumping Station 67". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01643. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
  7. "Eleanor McCabe | Parramatta History and Heritage". historyandheritage.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. John McClymont. "Camellia". dictionaryofsydney.org. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  9. "Cityrail launches new timetable". Railway Digest (February 1992): 45. 1992.
  10. "Parramatta Light Rail – How the preferred network was chosen". Transport for NSW. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  11. "Parramatta Light Rail to Sydney Olympic Park". Transport for NSW. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  12. Constance, Andrew. "We're planning light rail extension to Sydney Olympic Park to improve public transport for 1000's[sic] of event goers". Retrieved 19 October 2017 – via Twitter.

33°49′15″S 151°1′33″E

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