Camden is a historic town and suburb of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, located 65 kilometres south-west of the
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often referr ...
. Camden was the administrative centre for the
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
of
Camden Council until July/August 2016 and is a part of the
Macarthur region.
History
Indigenous people
The area now known as Camden was originally at the northern edge of land belonging to the
Gandangara people
The Gundungurra people, also spelt Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gandangara and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shir ...
of the Southern Highlands, who called it Benkennie, meaning 'dry land'. North of the
Nepean River were the
Muringong, the southernmost of the
Darug people, while to the east were the
Tharawal people
The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, ...
. They lived in extended family groups of 20–40 members, hunting
kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...
s,
possums
Possum may refer to:
Animals
* Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi
** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban ...
and
eels and gathering
yams and other seasonal fruit and vegetables from the local area. They were described as 'short, stocky, strong and superbly built' and generally considered peaceful. However, as British settlers encroached on their land and reduced their food sources, they turned to armed resistance which ended in 1816 after many of their number were massacred.
European settlement
Explorers first visited the area in 1795 and named it 'Cowpastures' after a herd of cattle that had disappeared was discovered there. In February 1805,
Governor King instructed (apparently reluctantly) a surveyor to measure for
John Macarthur John MacArthur or Macarthur may refer to:
*J. Roderick MacArthur (1920–1984), American businessman
* John MacArthur (American pastor) (born 1939), American evangelical minister, televangelist, and author
* John Macarthur (priest), 20th-century pr ...
at Cowpastures, where Macarthur had been promised land by the
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies,
Lord Camden. Macarthur named his property
Camden Park in honour of his sponsor.
As Macarthur's wool industry thrived, local citizens began pushing for the establishment of a town in the area to support the industry. Surveyor-General Major
Thomas Mitchell suggested Macarthur surrender of his land for the purpose to which he refused. Following his death in 1834, his children decided to subdivide the land and the first lots in the new town of Camden went on sale in 1840. Camden Post Office opened on 1 May 1841, the day after the nearby
Elderslie office (open from 1839) closed.
By 1883, the population had grown to over 300 and a movement began to establish a local council which held its first meeting in 1889.
Heritage listings
Commonwealth Heritage List places:
*
Camden Post Office, 135 Argyle Street
NSW State Heritage Register
The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Herit ...
listed places:
*
Camden Park House and Garden, Elizabeth Macarthur Avenue
*
Camden Park Estate and Belgenny Farm, Elizabeth Macarthur Avenue
*
Macquarie Grove, Aerodrome Road
*
Nant Gwylan and Garden, Exeter Street
* St Johns Anglican Church Precinct, incorporating
St John's Anglican Church, 6-22 Menangle Road
Transport
Between 1882 and 1963,
Camden station connected Camden to
Campbelltown and Sydney by the
Camden railway line. Camden is served by
Camden Airport, which is mostly used by trainee pilots for flying schools, the
Australian Air League, and other forms of general aviation.
Climate
Camden has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
: ''Cfa'').
Education
Camden is the location of research facilities for the veterinary and agricultural schools of the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
. The local government area has three public high schools,
Camden High School,
Elderslie High School and
Elizabeth Macarthur High School
Elizabeth Macarthur High School (abbreviated as EMHS) is a government-funded co-educational dual modality partially academically selective and comprehensive secondary day school, located in Narellan Vale, an outer south-western suburb of S ...
, as well as eight Catholic and three Anglican schools.
Culture
The Camden
Show is an annual event which combines
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
attractions with the elements of a
state fair. Camden is served by three local radio stations,
2MCR,
Vintage FM
Vintage FM is a low-powered open narrowcast radio station based in Western Sydney. Vintage FM broadcasts on 88.7 MHz in the Camden and Wollondilly regions. The station plays a mix of music from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.
The station ...
and C91.3FM. Local newspapers are the Camden Advertiser, the District Reporter and the Macarthur Chronicle.
File:Camden Show Main Arena 2011.jpg, Camden Show 2011, main arena.
File:SAM 0174.jpg, Traction engine, Camden Show
File:Camden 2011.jpg, Camden Show 2011, Cobb & Co. coach
People
Demographics
According to the
2016 census, there were 3,230 residents in Camden. In Camden, 80.0% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England 4.5%, New Zealand 1.6%, Scotland 0.9%, Ireland 0.8% and Germany 0.6%. 87.8% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Spanish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Croatian 0.5%, Mandarin 0.4% and Italian 0.4%. The most common responses for religion in Camden were Catholic 30.7%, Anglican 26.4% and No Religion 19.9%.
Politics
Camden lies within the local government area of
Camden Council. The council consists of nine councillors; three for each of the three wards; North Ward (Bringelly, Rossmore, Leppington, Cobbitty, Oran Park, Catherine Field, Harrington Park, Kirkham), Central Ward (Mount Annan, Currans Hill, Smeaton Grange, Narellan Vale) and South Ward (Ellis Lane, Narellan, Grasmere, Camden, Elderslie, Spring Farm, Bickley Vale, Cawdor, Camden South). Lara Symkowiak was elected mayor in 2012.
The southern part of the Camden LGA including Camden town centre is contained within the
federal electorate of
Hume
Hume most commonly refers to:
* David Hume (1711–1776), Scottish philosopher
Hume may also refer to:
People
* Hume (surname)
* Hume (given name)
* James Hume Nisbet (1849–1923), Scottish-born novelist and artist
In fiction
* Hume, ...
while the northern end of the LGA (north of Narellan Road) is within the
federal electorate of Macarthur. The state seat of
Camden covers all of the
Camden LGA, and parts of the
City of Campbelltown and the
City of Liverpool.
The state member for
Camden is
Peter Sidgreaves
Peter Bryan Sidgreaves is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2019, representing Camden for the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The ...
, first elected in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
. The federal member for
Macarthur is
Mike Freelander, first elected in
2016 and the federal member for
Hume
Hume most commonly refers to:
* David Hume (1711–1776), Scottish philosopher
Hume may also refer to:
People
* Hume (surname)
* Hume (given name)
* James Hume Nisbet (1849–1923), Scottish-born novelist and artist
In fiction
* Hume, ...
is
Angus Taylor, first elected in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. Both Angus Taylor and Peter Sidgreaves are members of the
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United A ...
while Mike Freelander is a member of the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
.
Planning issues
On 27 May 2008 Camden Council rejected plans from the Quranic Society to build a 1,200-student Islamic school in the nearby suburb of
Cawdor on
planning
Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is c ...
grounds. The site was south of the centre of Camden adjacent to the Camden General Cemetery and north of the then recently relocated
Camden High School. The issue received national and international media coverage. The proposal was opposed from within the local community, many expressing fear and hatred about the presence of
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
in an area where relatively few Muslims live. There were angry comments by a number of residents in Camden that were viewed as racist and Islamophobic. The
Christian Democratic Party
__NOTOC__
Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
(CDP) opposed the proposal. Speaking at a public meeting in December 2007, CDP leader
Fred Nile
Frederick John Nile (born 15 September 1934) is an Australian politician and ordained Christian minister. Nile has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 1981, except for a period in 2004. Nile was re-elected at the Mar ...
(present alongside Robert Balzola) said he opposed the school "because Islam opposed Christianity". A spokesman for the Quranic Society said it was "absurd" to claim that Muslims are anti-Christian.
In making its decision several council members, including Mayor Chris Patterson, said the school was inappropriate for the semi-rural area of Camden and likely to cause parking, traffic and other problems. Australian Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
indicated before the council decision that he wouldn't support the school on planning grounds. The Quranic Society said it will appeal the council's decision in the
Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a court within the Australian court hierarchy established pursuant to the to hear environmental, development, building and planning disputes. The Court’s jurisdiction, confined to the state ...
.
In September 2008, a proposal to build a private Catholic school received media attention for not provoking the same sort of outcry as the previous proposal. Some residents who were not supportive of the Islamic school now welcomed the Catholic school proposal.
On 2 June 2009, The Land and Environment Court passed down the decision to reject the appeal by the Quranic Society, with the court stating that the "development application was not suitable for the rural nature of the land."
However, on 17 May 2021, it was announced that
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
team
Macarthur FC had acquired of the planning grounds to construct a football precinct to house the team's future W-League squad, as well as the
National Premier Leagues NSW squads.
Notable residents
*
Jason Behrendorff
Jason Paul Behrendorff (born 20 April 1990) is an Australian cricketer, currently listed with Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers in Australian domestic cricket.
Although born in New South Wales, Behrendorff grew up in Canberra and play ...
, cricketer
*
Steven Bradbury
Steven John Bradbury OAM (born 14 October 1973) is an Australian former short track speed skater and four-time Olympian. He won the 1,000 m event at the 2002 Winter Olympics after all of his opponents were involved in a last-corner pile-u ...
, short track speed skater who won Australia's first
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
gold medal
* Professor
Graeme Clark, inventor of the
Bionic Ear
A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech und ...
*
James Francis Dwyer
James Francis Dwyer (22 April 1874 – 11 November 1952) was an Australian writer. Born in Camden Park, New South Wales, Dwyer worked as a postal assistant until he was convicted in a scheme to make fraudulent postal orders and sentenced to se ...
(1874–1952), author
*
Chloe Esposito
Chloe Esposito (born 19 September 1991) is an Australian shooter and modern pentathlon competitor. She competed at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in the 10 m air pistol. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, ...
, modern pentathlon competitor who won the gold medal in the 2016 Rio olympics
*
Amy Harrison
Amy Bianca Harrison (born 21 April 1996) is an Australian international football (soccer) player, who plays for PSV in the Vrouwen Eredivisie and the Australian national team, the Matildas.
Club career Sydney FC
Harrison signed with Sydney ...
, association football player (
Sydney FC
Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was f ...
and
Washington Spirit)
*
Daniel Heckenberg
Daniel Heckenberg (born 27 October 1979) is a former Scotland international rugby league footballer. He played as a at club level in the NRL for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Parramatta Eels and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, in the Su ...
, rugby league player
*
Rob Hirst, drummer with the band
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 ...
*
John Macarthur John MacArthur or Macarthur may refer to:
*J. Roderick MacArthur (1920–1984), American businessman
* John MacArthur (American pastor) (born 1939), American evangelical minister, televangelist, and author
* John Macarthur (priest), 20th-century pr ...
, father of the Australian wool industry
*
Francis Arthur Macarthur-Onslow (1875–1938), grazier and businessman
*
James William Macarthur-Onslow (1867–1946), soldier, grazier and politician
*
Dustin Martin
Dustin Martin (born 26 June 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Martin was drafted by Richmond with the third pick in the 2009 national draft, and ...
, Australian rules footballer ()
*
Hugh McCrae, Australian poet, biographer, illustrator
*
Mat Mladin
Mathew Mladin (born 10 March 1972, in Camden, New South Wales) is a retired Australian professional motorcycle racer who last raced in 2009, riding a Yoshimura Suzuki in the AMA Superbike series. He won the title seven times (no other rider ...
, world motorcycle champion
*
Elizabeth Ralston, association football player at
Sydney FC
Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was f ...
.
*
Garry Rush
Garry Rush (born July 5, 1944)) is a retired Australian professional motor racing driver. Born in the New South Wales town of Camden, he competed in Sprintcars, Speedcars, NASCAR, Formula Ford and Touring cars in a 40 year career. Rush won a recor ...
, racing driver
References
External links
*
Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA
A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work".A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyric ...
]
Camden Council website
Heritage
Camden Park House & Garden
Camden Park Estate and Belgenny Farm
St Johns Anglican Church Precinct
{{authority control
Suburbs of Sydney
Populated places established in 1840
1840 establishments in Australia