Milperra, a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

City of Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown Council, trading as the City of Canterbury Bankstown and stylised as CBCity, is a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Th ...

, is located 24 kilometres west of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, 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 ...

in the state of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and is a part of the South

Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

region.

History

Milperra is an Aboriginal word for ''a gathering of people''. The land at Milperra was taken over by George Johnson Jr. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, returning soldiers established poultry farms and vegetable gardens in the area. The area commonly known as Thorns Bush, became officially known as Bankstown Soldier Settlement in 1917. Many streets in the area are named after World War 1 battles and officers. The

Milperra College of Advanced Education Macarthur Institute of Higher Education was an Australian tertiary education institution (College of Advanced Education) from 1974 to 1989. It was known as the Milperra College of Advanced Education until 1983. Milperra College of Advanced Educati ...

was established in 1974, bringing tertiary education to south-western Sydney. It became the Macarthur Institute of Higher Education in 1983, and then became the Bankstown campus of

Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus public research university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university in its current form was founde ...

in 1989. In September 1984, on Father's Day, members of rival motorbike gangs the

Comanchero The Comancheros were a group of 18th- and 19th-century Merchant, traders based in northern and central New Mexico. They made their living by trading with the nomadic Great Plains Native Americans in the United States, Indian tribes in northeaste ...

and the

Bandidos Bandidos may refer to: * Bandidos (film), ''Bandidos'' (film), a 1967 Italian spaghetti western film * Bandidos Films, a Mexican film production house * Bandidos (TV series), ''Bandidos'' (TV series), a 2024 Mexican TV series See also

* Ba ...

had a showdown in the car park of the Milperra Viking Tavern, which is technically located in Revesby. This altercation has since been called the '

Milperra Massacre The Milperra Massacre, Milperra bikie shoot-out or Father's Day Massacre was a gunfight between rival motorcycle gang members on 2 September (Father's Day in Australia) 1984, in Milperra, a south-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. The ...

'. Six bikies (bikers) and a 14-year-old girl were killed. Milperra Georges River 2

Parks

Milperra sits on the bank of the

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, that is located in Sydney, Australia. The Georges River is located south and south-west from the Sydney central business district, w ...

and features a number of parks and reserves along the river, including Deepwater Park, Bankstown Golf Course and Vale of Ah Reserve.

Schools

Milperra is home to Western Sydney University Bankstown Campus. Milperra is also home to

Mount Saint Joseph, Milperra Mount Saint Joseph, Milperra (commonly known as MSJ) is a Systemic Roman Catholic comprehensive single-sex secondary day school for girls, located in Milperra, a south-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1960, t ...

, an all-girls high school with grades 7-12. Milperra Public School is located on Pozieres Avenue.

Commercial areas

Milperra features a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial areas. A number of small retail strips are scattered throughout the suburb including Milperra Shopping Village on Bullecourt Avenue and Ashford Village on the corner of Bullecourt Avenue and Ashford Avenue. Another small group of shops is located on the corner of Pozieres Avenue and Amiens Avenue, opposite the public school and many commercial developments are situated along Milperra Road. Milperra shops 1

Transport

Milperra Road is a major road on the northern border which links to Newbridge Road and Moorebank, on the western side of the Milperra Bridge, over the

. The M5 South Western Motorway runs along the southern border and Henry Lawson Drive is the other major road through the area.

Notable residents

Robyn Denholm Robyn M. Denholm (; ; born 27 May 1963) is an Australian business executive and former accountant who is chair of Tesla, Inc. In November 2018, Denholm was chosen by Elon Musk to succeed him as chair of Tesla. Prior to her appointment, she was r ...

(born 1963), chair of

Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it designs, manufactures and sells battery electric vehicles (BEVs), stationary battery energy storage devices from h ...

, born and grew up in Milperra *

Daniel Sams Daniel Richard Sams (born 27 October 1992) is an Australian international cricketer. Nicknamed "the Karate Kid", he made his international debut for the Australia cricket team in December 2020. Career Sams made his first-class cricket debut fo ...

(born 1992), cricketer, born and grew up in Milperra *

Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle swimming, freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the medley swimming, individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the se ...

(born 1982), swimmer, grew up in Milperra

References

External links

How Did Your Suburb Get Its Name?
* C-By-SA{{City of Canterbury-Bankstown topics, state=collapsed Suburbs of Sydney City of Canterbury-Bankstown