For the local government area, see City of Campbelltown.

Campbelltown is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Campbelltown is located 51 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Campbelltown.

Campbelltown is a major commercial centre and a central business district of South-western Sydney and part of the Macarthur Region.

History

Aboriginal habitation

The area that later become Campbelltown, among other suburbs, was inhabited prior to European settlement by the Tharawal people.

European settlement

The history of Campbelltown began with former Governor of New South Wales Lachlan Macquarie who ordered a town to be built on the site in 1820 with the name Campbell-Town in honour of his wife whose maiden name was Elizabeth Campbell. However, the area had been settled long before 1820.

Not long after the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney in 1788, a small herd of six cattle escaped and weren't seen again by the British settlers for seven years. They were seen, however, by the Tharawal people whose territory covered the Campbelltown area. In a rock art site called Bull Cave near Campbelltown, they drew a number of cattle with pronounced horns. The Tharawal described the cattle to British explorers in the area and in 1795 the British found a herd of around 60 cattle grazing in the area now known as Camden.

The colonial administration was keen for the herd to establish itself so forbade killing of the cattle or settlement in the area. But John Macarthur, who wanted to establish sheep in the colony, took a liking to the prime grazing land. He convinced the British government to overrule the local administration and grant him 5000 acres just south of the Nepean River in 1805. Four years later a number of other grants were made to farmers between Camden and Liverpool.

The Tharawal initially worked with the local farmers but a drought in 1814 led to large numbers of neighbouring Gandangara people moving into the area in search of food. Tensions developed between the British and the Gandangara leading to skirmishes and a number of deaths on each side. Governor Macquarie felt a permanent settlement would lead to order in the area and so Campbell-Town (to be simplified later as Campbelltown) was born in 1820.

Development of the town was slow at first, particularly after the departure of Macquarie, and it wasn't until 1831 that residents took possession of town land. However, it was during this period that Campbelltown's most famous incident occurred. In 1826, local farmer Frederick Fisher disappeared. According to folklore, his ghost appeared sitting on a fence rail over a creek just south of the town and pointed to a site where his body was later found to be buried. In memory of the incident, the Fisher's Ghost festival is held each November in Campbelltown.

Campbelltown's population increased steadily in the decades following. The southern rail line was extended to Campbelltown in 1858, leading to further development, and in 1882, Campbelltown Council was established allowing municipal works to occur in earnest. Campbelltown became the first country town in New South Wales to have piped water in 1888 and in the period between the World Wars, a local power station was built to supply electricity to residents.

Campbelltown was designated in the early 1960s as a satellite city by the New South Wales Planning Authority, and a regional capital for the south west of Sydney. There was extensive building and population growth in the intervening time and the government set aside land surrounding the township for public and private housing and industry.

Heritage

The following buildings are on the Register of the National Estate.

• Denfield and Curtilage, Appin Road
• St Peter's Church of England, Cordeaux Street
• Glenalvon and Stable, 8 Lithgow Street
• Richmond Villa, 12 Lithgow Street
• Englorie Park, off Old Menangle and Appin Roads
• Queen Street Group, 284-294-298 Queen Street
• Former Post Office, Queen Street
• Town Hall, 315 Queen Street
• Campbelltown Court House, Queen Street
• Campbelltown Police Station, Railway Street
• Former St John's Church and Cemetery, George and Broughton Streets
• Graves of Matthew Healey, James Ruse, Cemetery, George and Broughton Streets
• Denham Court and Chapel

Schools

• Broughton Anglican College
• The Macarthur Campus of the University of Western Sydney is located at Campbelltown.
• Campbelltown High School of the Performing Arts
• Rosemeadow Public School
• St Gregory's College, Campbelltown
• Campbelltown Public School
• Campbelltown East Public School
• Campbelltown North Public School
• John Therry Catholic High School
• Robert Townson Public School
• Saint Patrick's College, Campbelltown
• Thomas Reddall High School
• Thomas Acres Public School
• Ambarvale High School
• Ambarvale Public School
• Our Lady Help of Christians Parish School

Commercial Areas

Campbelltown has a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial areas. The main shopping precinct is located along Queen Street. Campbelltown Mall is a major shopping centre located on Queen Street.

Macarthur Square is another large shopping centre on three floors which is located close to Macarthur railway station. It features an outdoor entertainment and restaurant precinct known as "Kellicar Lane" which opened after the most recent expansion in November 2005. It features a food court that has large glass windows that look over Kellicar Lane, Campbelltown and the surrounding countryside.

Transport

Campbelltown lies on the main road and rail links from Sydney to the south-west. The M5 South Western Motorway links Campbelltown north to Liverpool, Sydney Airport and Sydney CBD and south to Goulburn and Canberra.

Campbelltown railway station and Macarthur railway station are on the Southern line of the CityRail network. Campbelltown also services the Airport and East Hills Line and is the main terminus of the Cumberland Line and the intercity Southern Highlands Line.

Campbelltown is also well serviced by buses. Busways provides a number of services from Campbelltown Station to virtually all the surrounding suburbs of Campbelltown as well as to Camden. Interline provides a service from Campbelltown to Glenfield and Picton Buslines provides a service from Campbelltown to Picton via Camden.

Media

Campbelltown is home to two local radio stations, 2MCR and C91.3FM. The two local newspapers are the Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser and the Macarthur Chronicle.

Culture

Fisher's Ghost Festival

The Fisher's ghost Festival is an annual festival held in recognition of Frederick Fisher, an emancipated convict who owned farming land in Campbelltown. Legend has it that Fisher appeared to local man John Farley as a ghost after being murdered by George Worrall, his friend and neighbour, over a land dispute. An annual parade through Campbelltown's main street, Queen Street, is held every November and a carnival including fairground rides and other entertainment is held at Bradbury oval, a local sports ground. Over a period of three weeks many activities take place including the Fisher's Ghost Fun Run, the Fisher's Ghost Art Award and the Street Party which was formerly known as the "Mardi Gras." The Fisher's Ghost festival is responsible for a great amount of town pride in Campbelltown and many citizens can state that they or someone they know have been in the Fisher's Ghost parade at some point in time.

Population

According to the 2006 census conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the suburb of Campbelltown had a population of 8013, which could be categorised broadly as mortgage belt battlers. The median household income of $822 per week was substantially lower than the national figure of $1027 while the median housing loan repayment of $1390 per month was higher than the national figure ($1300). The majority of Campbelltown residents were Australian born (69%) with the next most common places of birth being England (4.3%) and New Zealand (2.5%). There was a significant minority of Arabic speakers and a higher than average number of people with indigenous backgrounds (2.9%).

Notable residents

• Frederick Fisher (died 1826) - local murder victim who inspired the legend of Fisher's ghost
• John Marsden (1942 - 2006) - high profile lawyer
• Jim Piper (born 1981) - Australian breaststroke swimmer
• Kate Ritchie (born 1978) - Australian actress and Gold Logie winner
• James Ruse (1759 - 1837) - early settler and farmer

Sport and recreation

Campbelltown's leading sporting team is the Wests Tigers who play in the National Rugby League competition. The Wests Tigers are a merger of two foundation clubs of the old New South Wales Rugby League premiership, the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Balmain Tigers. As such, they play some of their home games at Campbelltown Stadium in neighbouring Leumeah and others at Leichhardt Oval. The Magpies still exist as a stand-alone team in the lower tier competition, the New South Wales Cup.

Another tenant of Campbelltown Stadium is the Macarthur Rams soccer team which plays in the New South Wales Premier League competition. Campbelltown is also represented in the Sydney Grade Cricket competition by the Campbelltown-Camden Ghosts who play their home games in Raby. The Campbelltown District Netball Association, based in Minto, plays in the third division of the Netball NSW State League.

References

External links

• Campbelltown City Council website
• 2001 Census Information