Peakhurst, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Peakhurst
city = Sydney
state = nsw

---

caption = Peakhurst Inn, Forest Road
lga = City of Hurstville
postcode = 2210
pop =
area =
propval =
est =
stategov = Oatley
fedgov = Division of Banks
near-nw = Riverwood
near-n = Riverwood
near-ne = Hurstville
near-w = Padstow
near-e = Mortdale
near-sw = Padstow Heights
near-s = Lugarno
near-se = Peakhurst Heights
dist1 = 21
dir1 = south
location1= Sydney CBD

Peakhurst is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Peakhurst is located 21 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Peakhurst is in the local government area of the City of Hurstville. Peakhurst is colloquially known as 'Peaky'.

Peakhurst has a western border on Salt Pan Creek, on the Georges River. Peakhurst Heights is a separate suburb to the south, which is bordered by Boggywell Creek and Lime Kiln Bay, on the Georges River. Peakhurst Heights is sometimes still considered to be part of 'Peakhurst' by some residents of the area.

History

Peakhurst was named after landholder John Robert Peake. The area was originally part of a land grant to Captain John Townson. John Robert Peake bought 10 acres of land from William Hebblewhite in 1838. Peake donated land for the first Methodist church built in 1856. School Inspector Huffer suggested that Peake's name be used when the public school was founded in 1871 and it was later adopted by the suburb. The post office opened in 1885. [ *"The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, p.202, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8, page 202 ]

Commercial Area

Peakhurst's commercial centres are predominantly located along Forest Road and Boundary Road. Various retail shops, restaurants and cafes are located near the Peakhurst Inn Hotel on Forest Road. The hotel contains a pub and drive-through bottle shop. Peakhurst also contains a sizeable industrial area mainly on and around Boundary Road.

Transport

The main roads are Forest Road, Henry Lawson Drive, Stoney Creek Road, Boundary Road, Bonds Road, Broad Arrow Road, Isaac Street, Baumans Road. Forest Road, which links to Henry Lawson Drive at Peakhurst, is the busiest carriageway that extends through numerous other suburbs in Sydney.

Numerous bus companies operate routes through Peakhurst.

chools

There are four public schools: Georges River College Peakhurst Campus, Peakhurst Public School, [http://www.peakhursts-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/ Peakhurst South Public School] , Peakhurst West Public School.

Churches

Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, St Abraam and St Mikhail Al-Behairy Coptic Orthodox Church, Peakhurst Uniting Church, Spanish Evangelical Jerusalem Baptist Church.

port and Recreation

Popular recreational venues include Grandviews Bowling Club (lawn bowls), tennis courts, Peakhurst Park and the numerous sporting fields located at Gannon's Park. The walkers' club named "Peaky Striders" is known locally for its members' bright orange attire. The soccer team is Forest Rangers Soccer Club.

Population

Demograpics

The Australian Bureau of Statistics' 2001 Census records a population for Peakhurst of 8064 with nearly 22 percent being born overseas. Nearly 74.5% of the population speaks only English. The median age is 40 and mean household size is 2.6 persons. Residential dwellings in Peakhurst consist mostly of separate houses, at just over 74.5%. The area has many residents of different ethnic backgrounds, mainly Greek and Lebanese.

Politics

The City of Hurstville local government area which administers Peakhurst, consists of 12 councillors elected every four years. Peakhurst falls into two Wards of the city: Peakhurst Ward and Penshurst Ward. A further five suburbs are contained wholly or partly in the Peakhurst Ward: Riverwood, Mortdale, Oatley, Lugarno and Peakhurst Heights.

Environment

An audit of the environmental impact of the industrial area was commenced in September 2002. Bushcare volunteers help preserve remnant pockets of native forestation. A very small number of fresh water watercourses exist in the suburb, mostly draining into Salt Pan Creek. A portion of the Peakhurst tree population was included in the 1990 National Trust Lugarno Tree Study.

References

External links

* [http://www.hurstville.nsw.gov.au/ Hurstville City Council]
* [http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/census1.nsf/log?openagent&BCP%5FSSC12876%2Ezip&SSC12876&2001%20Census%20Basic%20Community%20Profile%20and%20Snapshot&A89D291BD5D1B373CA256BBC00251C44&0&2001&19%2E11%2E2002& Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001 Census Data for Peakhurst]
* [http://www.hurstville.nsw.gov.au/PageZone_Environment.asp?z=8&c=263&p=631 Peakhurst Industrial Area Audit Program]
* [http://www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/lts.html National Trust Lugarno Tree Study]
* [http://www.grc.nsw.edu.au/peakhurst/ Georges River College (Peakhurst Campus)]