Warwick Farm, New South Wales
| Warwick Farm Sydney, New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Replica of Sydney Harbour Bridge | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 4,494 (2011 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2170 | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 30 km (19 mi) west of Sydney CBD | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Liverpool | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Liverpool | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Fowler | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Warwick Farm is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Warwick Farm is located 30 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool and is part of the South-western Sydney region.
History
This area was occupied by Irish political prisoners transported after the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Land grants of 40 acres (160,000 m2) were made to transportees in 1809 and for some time it was known as Irish Town. John Hawley Stroud, the superintendent of Liverpool Orphans School, received a grant in 1804 on the present site of Warwick Farm Racecourse and named his property after Warwick in England.[2]
Landmarks
Warwick Farm Racecourse sits on the western shore of the Georges River. A large replica of the Sydney Harbour Bridge sits outside the Peter Warren car dealership, on the Hume Highway. It was built and assembled during half-time at the 1987 Rugby League Grand Final at the Sydney Cricket Ground by Royal Australian Navy apprentices before being purchased by Peter Warren.[3]
Motorsport
Warwick Farm Raceway was a motor racing facility which was in operation from 1960 to 1973. Located within the Warwick Farm Racecourse site,[4] it hosted numerous major events including the Australian Grand Prix. The first big meeting at the track, a round of the Tasman Series in January 1961, drew a crowd of 65,000 spectators.[5] However, the circuit was expensive to run, as two "crossings" had to be placed over the horse racing track, and thus large crowds were needed to sustain racing.[5] By the early 1970's the Australian Jockey Club (AJC) was receiving financial support from the TAB, and thus did not need the relatively low returns fron motor racing, and didn't want to improve the circuit.[5] When the Confederation of Australian Motorsport requested to have Armco fencing erected around the circuit, the AJC refused, and the circuit closed. The last major race was a round of the 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship on the 15th of July, which was won by Peter Brock.[5]
Transport
Warwick Farm railway station is on the Airport, Inner West & South Line, Bankstown Line and Cumberland Line of the Sydney Trains network. A branch line ran to Warwick Farm Racecourse for race day trains until closed in August 1990.[6] The Hume Highway is the main arterial road through the suburb. The William Long Bridge crosses the Georges River to Chipping Norton.
Population
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011 census, the suburb of Warwick Farm had a population of 4,494. These came from a wide variety of ancestries; just over one-third (36.8%) of residents were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 69.8%. The next most common countries of birth were India 7.3%, Vietnam 5.2%, Iraq 3.7%, Fiji 2.9% and Croatia 2.7%.[1]
The age distribution is quite typical of the whole country: the median age of Warwick Farm residents was 35 years (national median is 37). Children aged 0–14 years made up 19.0% of the population (19.3% nationally) and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.1% of the population (14.0% nationally).[1]
Warwick Farm is remarkable for the high proportion of people who reported following some religion in the Census; only 6.9% stated that they had no religion, much lower than the national average of 22.3%. However, it should also be noted that this Census question is optional and 13.8% of residents did not respond to it, which introduces some uncertainty into all the religious figures. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 24.0%, Islam 9.9%, Eastern Orthodox 8.8%, Anglican 8.1% and Buddhism 7.7%.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Warwick Farm(NSW)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
- ^ The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8
- ^ Sydney Harbour Bridge Australia for Everyone
- ^ Galpin, Darren. "Warwick Farm". GEL Motorsport Information Page. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d Walker, Terry. Fast Tracks - Australia's Motor Racing Circuits: 1904-1995. Wahroonga, NSW: Turton & Armstrong. p. 184. ISBN 0908031556.
- ^ Warwick Farm Racecourse Branch NSWrail.net
33°54′50″S 150°56′15″E / 33.91395°S 150.93739°E
