Thai Town () is a neighbourhood in

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 Australia with a high concentration of Thai retail outlets. It is located in Haymarket on Campbell Street, to the east of George Street, close to Central railway station. It is the second largest of its kind in the world to

Thai Town, Los Angeles Thai Town () is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. In 2008, it was one of the five Asian Pacific Islander neighborhoods in the city—along with Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Historic Filipinotown, and Koreatown—that received ...

. , Sydney had the highest population of Thais in Australia, with a growing population of around 100,000. Around 17.5 per cent of people who live in the suburb of Haymarket were born in Thailand, according to the

2021 Australian census The 2021 Australian census, simply called the 2021 Census, was the eighteenth national Census of Population and Housing in Australia. The 2021 Census took place on 10 August 2021, and was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). ...

. Thai Town contains many Thai restaurants, video stores, grocery stores, salons and other businesses. Thai Town was established in the 1990s when rent was relatively affordable, and because it provided a source for Thai speciality foods, many Thai businesses moved into the area. In 2013, the area was officially recognised by the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...

and given signage to indicate the hub's location on Campbell Street.

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, created in 1980, and

Koreatown A Koreatown (), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have only been in existence s ...

are adjacent to Thai Town.

History

Pontip Walpolehad arrived in Australia from Thailand in 1974, and after a stay in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, spent her time in

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...

in 1977 before moving to Sydney. In Sydney, she began supplying Thai ingredients to most of Sydney's Thai restaurants before establishing a Thai grocery store called 'Pontip' in modern-day Thai Town in 1991. She would go on to sell the store in 2012 before dying on 6 March 2020. The ''

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

'' describes Pontip's store as the unofficial 'foundation stone of the city's Thai Town'. In the 1990s, several more Thai restaurants opened around Pontip, also drawn by the area's relatively cheap rent. In 2013, the area was officially recognised by the City of Sydney and given signage to indicate the hub's location on Campbell Street. Following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in 2023, the City of Sydney announced funding of $44 million to the Haymarket area, with some of funding going to Thai Town. The funding is to allow local businesses in the area to celebrate their cultural heritage.

Culture

Most of Thai Town's groceries sell Thai newspapers and magazines, including the ''

Bangkok Post The ''Bangkok Post'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount ...

''. Natui TV is a Thai news website established by Amy Chanta in Thai Town. The website is designed for Thais moving to or in Australia. The Thai Consulate in Sydney organises annual concerts performed by Thai singers; while bars and pubs around Thai Town sometime features Thai rock and pop music. Many Thai festivals, such as the Songkran Festival (Thai New Year) held every April, are celebrated in Thai Town.

References

{{reflist Asian-Australian culture in Sydney Thai-Australian culture Ethnic enclaves in Australia Thai Towns Haymarket, New South Wales Restaurant districts and streets in Australia