Wahroonga, New South Wales

Wahroonga Sydney, New South Wales
Knox Grammar Preparatory School, Billyard Avenue
Population:	11,388
Established:	1822
Postcode:	2076
Area:	8.2 km² (3.2 sq mi)
Location:	22 km (14 mi) north-west of Sydney CBD
LGA:	Ku-ring-gai Council
State electorate:	Ku-ring-gai
Federal Division:	Bradfield
Suburbs around Wahroonga: Hornsby Waitara North Wahroonga North Turramurra Normanhurst Wahroonga Turramurra Pennant Hills Warrawee South Turramurra

Wahroonga is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wahroonga is located 22 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council and Hornsby Shire.

History

Wahroonga is an Aboriginal word meaning our home. In the early days of British settlement in New South Wales, the main activity was cutting down the tall trees which grew there. Wahroonga was first settled in 1822 by Thomas Hyndes, a convict who became a wealthy landowner. Later there were many orchards. After the North Shore railway line was opened in 1890 it became a popular place for businessmen to build out-of-town residences with large gardens. Much of this development occurred in the 1920s and 1930s.

Commercial area

Wahroonga has several small shopping villages, such as Wahroonga shopping village with several small restaurants and Hampden Avenue shopping centre in East Wahroonga. The Sydney Adventist Hospital is in Wahroonga, as is Globalstar's Australian office, and the offices of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists.

Transport

Wahroonga railway station is on the North Shore line of the City Rail network. Wahroonga is the Sydney end of the F3 Freeway to Newcastle.

Schools

Wahroonga has private schools such as: Knox Grammar School and Abbotsleigh, Pacific Highway, as well as several other schools, including St Leo's Catholic College and Wahroonga Adventist School. Wahroonga Public School is a government school, founded in 1944 and commonly known as "The Bush School", as well as Prouille Catholic Primary School and Wahroonga Preparatory School in East Wahroonga.

Streets

Wahroonga is known for its tree lined, shady streets. Typically streets on the east side of the rail line command stronger property values. Notable streets include Burns Road, Billyard Avenue, Water Street, Braeside Street and Kintore Street.

Houses

Rose Seidler House, Clissold Road

The Rose Seidler House, in Clissold Road, built by Harry Seidler between 1948 and 1950, was one of the first examples of modern residential architecture in Australia.

Highlands, in Highlands Avenue, is a timber house designed by John Horbury Hunt and built in 1891 for Alfred Hordern. Hunt was a Canadian architect who used the Arts and Crafts style and the Shingle Style popular in North America. Highlands is now on the Register of the National Estate.

Architect William Hardy Wilson designed and built his own home, Purulia, on Fox Valley Road. Built in 1913, the home is in the Colonial Revival style and became, according to some observers, a prototype for North Shore homes. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate.

Berith Park, in Billyard Avenue, was designed by F. Ernest Stowe for Alfred Smith, who bought the land in 1897. The house was finished circa 1909.

Westholme, in Water Street, was designed by Howard Joseland in the Arts and Crafts style for John Bennett, one of the pioneer developers of Wahroonga. Bennett came from England but migrated to Australia with his wife and acquired property at Wahroonga in 1893. Westholme was built in 1894. Another house was added at the other end of the block, but this was demolished in 1991 after changing hands several times.

Craignairn, in Burns Road, was also designed in the Arts and Crafts style by Howard Joseland for Walter Strang.

Churches

Wahroonga is home to a number of churches including Holy Name Catholic Church, St. John's Uniting Church, St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Wahroonga Presbyterian Church and the Wahroonga Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Parks

Wahroonga Park is located north of the railway station, and features a significant number of well established introduced trees, and a children's playground. The Glade, located near Abbotsleigh, has two tennis courts, a half basketball court and a large circular oval where Football and Cricket can be played. There is also small rainforest and fern forest, next to the tennis courts.

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is located north of Wahroonga. It is the second oldest national park in Australia and is very popular, offering many walking tracks, picnic spots and Aboriginal sites with rock carvings. The park has a large proportion of the known Aboriginal sites in the Sydney area.

Ku-ring-gai area

Population

Demographics

According to the 2006 Census, the most common languages spoken at home in Wahroonga were English (82.0%), Cantonese (3.1%), Mandarin (1.4%), Korean (0.9%) and Italian (0.7%).

Notable residents

• William Hardy Wilson, architect, artist and author
• Adam Garcia, actor
• Hugh Jackman, actor
• Richard Clapton, musician
• Nicholas Fitzgerald, footballer currently playing for the Central Coast Mariners in the Hyundai A-League
• Martin Flood, Australian quiz champion
• Mel Gibson, actor
• Yvette Wilkinson, Australian basketball representative
• Harry Wolstenholme, lawyer and keen amateur ornithologist lived in Wahroonga

Gallery

• 

  Westholme, Water Street

• 

  Berith Park, Billyard Avenue

• 

  Two-storey home in the Arts and Crafts style, Burns Road

• 

  Craignairn, Burns Road

External links

• Information on Wahroonga at Ku-ring-gai council's website
• Rose Seidler House
• Heritage Homes of Wahroonga
• Rover Crews - for young people aged 18–25 - at nearby Turramurra & Kissing Point

• Wahroonga, New South Wales is at coordinates 33°43′06″S 151°07′07″E