Smithfield Sydney, New South Wales
Smithfield Museum
Population	11,019 (2011)
Established	1836
Postcode(s)	2164
LGA(s)	Fairfield, Holroyd
State/territory electorate(s)	Smithfield
Federal Division(s)	McMahon, Blaxland
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 23.7 °C 75 °F 11.1 °C 52 °F 742.4 mm 29.2 in
Suburbs around Smithfield: Greystanes Greystanes Merrylands West Wetherill Park Smithfield Woodpark Fairfield West Fairfield Heights Guildford West

Smithfield Gallery

Smithfield is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Smithfield is located 30 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of the City of Fairfield and the City of Holroyd. The suburb is a mix of residential, industrial and commercial areas. Though, it's mostly characterized by low-density housing. Smithfield is mainly a light industrial and residential area and this inheritance was predicated early in the colony’s history.

History [edit]

Aboriginal people from the Cabrogal tribe, a sub-group of the Gandangara tribe, have lived in the Fairfield area for over 30,000 years. The Aborigines who lived in Smithfield and the surrounding areas referred to themselves as the Darug. The impact of white settlement was disastrous for the Darug, with competition for land and resources, and the devastation of European diseases.

European settlement began in the area in the early 19th century. Smithfield was originally known as Chilsholm's Bush. In 1867, Smithfield was a semi-rural settlement populated by vine growers, gardeners, wood timber cutters, orchards and tanneries. Early settlers were attracted to Smithfield by its good soil, dependable water supply and easy access to the Colony's established towns. Some of the best farming land was in the district to the west and southwest of the Smithfield area.

In 1803, homeless children were becoming a problem after convicts turned their children out into the streets. As a consequence, Governor Philip Gidley King, put aside a large area of 12,300 acres (50 km²) for a Male Orphan School. By 1836, some of this land was offered for sale by the colonial government of the time. John Ryan Brenan (1798–1868), an attorney who was appointed Police Magistrate in 1836, bought 1,650 acres (7 km²) here.

Brenan planned to make money with a meat market and a cattle saleyard. He subdivided the estate and named it Smithfield after the meat markets of London and Dublin. Saleyards opened in 1841 but the project to establish a village around the yards failed. Despite this, Smithfield did become a thriving commercial centre and remains a significant employment centre in south-western Sydney as part of the Wetherill Park/Yennora industrial block.

When a railway was constructed in the 1850s, the forest lands were opened up to timber cutters and there was a saw mill at just about every station along the railway line. When the timber ran out, orchardists and vignerons moved in, along with the tanners who, in the 1880s, set up their enterprises alongside Smithfield's Prospect Creek which still flows past modern industrial establishments today.

Smithfield still has the street patterns Brenan planned and the street names he chose. In the subdivision, Brenan offered an extra adjoining allotment to any buyer who built a cottage with a brick chimney and enclosed the property with a fence. The public school opened in 1850 and by 1880s Smithfield was well provided with churches, many of which still remain today as important relics of Smithfield's rich local heritage.^[1]

Commercial area [edit]

The commercial area is centred around The Horsely Drive, the main street in Smithfield. The shopping centre features a Coles supermarket, specialty shops, restaurants and a pub. There is a large industrial area in Smithfield with a number of factories and warehouses.

Transport [edit]

The Horsley Drive is the major road which runs through Smithfield. Other major roads include Polding Street, Brennan Street and Victoria Street. Bus services are provided by (Westbus). The closest train station is Fairfield train station, on the South line and Cumberland line. There are bus links to that station. There is a cycle way that runs through the suburb, which is part of the Western Sydney Regional Park recreational route.^[2]

Education [edit]

There is two local primary schools. Smithfield Primary and Smithfield West Primary. There are no local high schools, however residents are usually in the area for Westfields Sports High School. There is a TAFE nearby.

Places of worship [edit]

St James Anglican church is on the corner of The Horsley Drive and Justin Street. St Benedicts Catholic Church is in Justin Street. Smithfield Uniting Church is on The Horsley Drive.

Smithfield has one of the oldest and only Mosques (Masjids), established by Bosnian migrants from the early-1960s to late-1970s under the name Bosnian Brothers Islamic Society (Bosanska Bratska Islamska Zajednica N.S.W). It was later renamed to Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in memory of the founder of the city of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today it is commonly known as Smithfield Mosque.^[3]

Parks and recreation [edit]

Smithfield features an art gallery, museum and an RSL club. Brenan Park is a recreational area with tennis courts.

Geography [edit]

Smithfield's altitude ranges from 21 to 48 meters above sea level (to the west of the suburb areas, around Brenan Park, are the relatively highly elevated places). The suburb is in the Greater Western Sydney/Western Sydney region and is 30 km west of Sydney CBD. Geologically, the suburb sits on the Cumberland Plain.

Climate [edit]

Like most of the suburbs in the greater Western Sydney area, Smithfield is warmer and drier than the Sydney CBD. Summer weather may come from north-east (hot and humid) or the north west (hot and dry). The winter months are slightly more drier than summer, although fair amount of rain is spread throughout the year. Smithfield is usually a few degrees warmer than Sydney on summer days and a few degrees cooler on winter nights. There could be a temperature differential of 5 degrees Celsius in summer due to sea breezes in the City that don't penetrate inland. In extreme cases there could be a 10 degrees differential.^[4]

NOTE: Smithfield is a large suburb, therefore some areas in it may be adjacent to the climate of the top or bottom table.

Demographics [edit]

According to the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population, there were 11,019 persons usually resident in Smithfield. The median age of people in Smithfield was 37 years. Children aged 0-14 years made up 20.6% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 16.0% of the population. Smithfield had an unemployment rate of 8.4%. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.2% of the population.

Of the people in Smithfield, 48.7% of them were born in Australia. 21.9% of people had both parents born in Australia and 69.8% of people had both parents born overseas. The other common countries of birth were Iraq (9.9%), Vietnam (5.9%), Italy (4.2%), Lebanon (2.1%) and New Zealand (1.9%). The most common ancestries in Smithfield were Australian (13.1%), English (11.0%), Italian (9.2%), Vietnamese (6.5%) and Assyrian (5.7%). 39.6% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arabic 10.2%, Vietnamese (8.0%), Assyrian Neo-Aramaic (6.1%), Italian (5.9%) and Spanish (5.1%).

Almost three in four residents (51.7%) practice Christianity, followed by Buddhism (8.3%), Irreligion (7.0%) and Islam (5.9%).

Separate housing dominates the area, comprising 84.3% of total occupied private dwellings. The majority of dwellings are owned (62.2%). 33.2% of dwellings are rented, of these 17.6% are in private rental and 8.6% in public rental. The occupied private dwellings (5.9%) had 1 bedroom, 13.1% had 2 bedrooms and 51.2% had 3 bedrooms. The average household size was 2.9 people. 46.8% were couple families with children, 28.3% were couple families without children and 22.5% were one parent families. 18.0% of single parents were male and 82.0% were female.^[7]

Notable residents [edit]

Smithfield was the childhood home of footballer Harry Kewell and performance coach Jimmy Petruzziello also known as Jimmy Petruzzi.^[8][9]

Politics [edit]

Smithfield is led by Fairfield City Council, with Nick Lalich (Labor) as Mayor, Andrew Rohan (Liberal) as State MP for Smithfield, and Chris Bowen and Jason Clare (both Labor) as Federal MPs for the seats of McMahon and Blaxland respectively.

References [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Smithfield, New South Wales

Coordinates: 33°51′10″S 150°55′55″E / 33.85287°S 150.93208°E / -33.85287; 150.93208

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