Hurstville Grove, New South Wales
Hurstville Grove stretches from Hillcrest Avenue to the shore of Oatley Bay, on the Georges River. It is mainly residential with a few shops located on Hillcrest Avenue. Hurstville and South Hurstville are separate suburbs located to the northeast.
History
The Hurstville area was granted to Captain John Townson and his brother Robert Townson in 1808; Captain Townson was granted 1,950 acres (7.9 km) which was on the land now occupied by the suburb of Hurstville and parts of Bexley, while Robert was granted the land which is now occupied by Penshurst, Mortdale, and parts of Peakhurst. The next year, Captain Townson was granted an additional 250 acres (1.0 km) in the area now occupied by Kingsgrove and Beverly Hills. The Townson brothers, however, were not happy with the heavily timbered land that they were given because it was not suitable for the farming of sheep for wool; consequently, it is likely that the brothers never occupied their land.
The land was sold to a wealthy merchant named Simeon Lord (1771–1840) in 1812, who called his land Lord's Bush. When Simeon Lord died, the land became the property of John Rose Holden and James Holt of the Bank of N.S.W.
The land was sold to Michael Gannon (1800–61) in 1850 and became known as Gannon's Forest. The Gannon's Forest post office opened in 1881. The local school was known as Hurstville by School Inspector MacIntyre in 1876. When the railway arrived in 1884, the station took the name "Hurstville" from the school. Hurstville municipality was incorporated in 1887.
Churches
Parks and waterways
- Poulton Park, Willunga Reserve, Moore Park, Grove Park, Quarry Reserve
- Oatley Bay, part of the Georges River waterway
Population
According to the 2021 census, there were 2,606 residents in Hurstville Grove. 39.2% stated they were born overseas with the top countries of birth being China 12.3%, Hong Kong 2.6%, Greece 1.9%, Croatia 1.7% and England 1.6%. English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 47.0% of residents and the most common other languages spoken were Mandarin 12.8%, Cantonese 9.1%, Greek 8.8%, Arabic 4.4% and Macedonian 2.8%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were No Religion 28.2%, Catholic 23.7%, Orthodox 17.5%, Anglican 7.9% and Islam 3.6%.
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Hurstville Grove (State Suburb)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Pollon, F. (1990.) The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Angus & Robertson Publishers, Sydney, pg. 130.