Meadowbank, New South Wales

Meadowbank is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Meadowbank is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Suburbs area. Meadowbank sits in a valley on the northern bank of the Parramatta River.

Aboriginal culture
The territory from Sydney Cove to Parramatta, on the northern side of the Parramatta River, was thought to be that of the Wallumedegal, and had the aboriginal name Wallumetta, the territory of the Wallumede people.

Aboriginal people in the Sydney district were clans of larger groups sharing a common language. Three language groups have been identified in the Sydney Region - the Kuringgai (or Guringai), the Dharug (or Dharruk / Dharuk / Darug), and the Dharawal (or Tharawal). The Wallumedegal are thought to have been within the Dharug speaking area.

European settlement


Land originally granted to Surgeon William Balmain in 1794, in the district of the Field of Mars, was bestowed the name 'Meadow Bank'. Balmain returned to England in 1801, leaving his estates to be managed by fellow surgeon D'arcy Wentworth. Wentworth agreed to sell Balmain's grants to John Bennett, an ex-convict who had been transported in 1795. By 1819 both the 'Meadow Bank Estate' and 'Chatham Farm' to the north, belonged to Bennett. In 1823 he was joined by his nephew William Bennett. John Bennett died in July 1829, a bachelor, and his nephew inherited his estate, building Meadowbank House around 1835. William then sold 'Chatham Farm' to Major Edward Darvall in 1855. William Bennett died in 1865 but his widow remained at Meadowbank until her death in 1879. The estate was subdivided in the late 1880s, given impetus by the opening of the railway from Strathfield to Hornsby in 1886. The station opened here was called Hellenic but this was later changed to Meadowbank, after the Meadowbank Estate.

Commercial area
Meadowbank is a mixed commercial-residential area. Meadowbank features a small group of shops on either side of Meadowbank railway station and a shopping centre within the residential apartment complex to the south, along Bay Drive.

Meadowbank TAFE is situated on the east side of the station and is a major educational institution.

Meadowbank is undergoing gentrification, with many of its factories being demolished and replaced by waterfront high-rise apartments with views of the Parramatta River.

Transport
Meadowbank is easily accessible by Road, Ferry, Bus and Train. Meadowbank experiences limited traffic as major roads circle rather than run through the suburb. Lane Cove road to the east, Victoria Road to the north and Adelaide Street to the West. Other central roads include Constitution Road, Meadow Crescent and Bank Street.

Meadowbank railway station is on Northern railway line of Sydney's CityRail network. Meadowbank has two side platforms. The station is served by two trains per hour each way, with additional trains on weekday peak hours. The station is within walking distance of a ferry wharf served by Sydney to Parramatta ferries.

Meadowbank has a ferry wharf on the Parramatta River as part of the Sydney Ferries network. The next wharf west is Sydney Olympic Park and east is Kissing Point. The ferry primarily services tourists on weekends and city workers during the week. RiverCat catamaran type ferries work the Parramatta River route due to shallow waters, particularly during low tides.

Schools

 * Meadowbank TAFE
 * St Michael's School is a Catholic primary school, founded in 1922 by the Sisters of Mercy.

Churches

 * Meadowbank International Church
 * Ryde Presbyterian Church
 * St Michael's Catholic Church
 * River City Church

Parks
Meadowbank features great public access to Parramatta River and surrounding parklands.
 * Meadowbank Park - 4 Cricket Pitches and 2 nets, 9 soccer fields and 24 netball courts.
 * Meadowbank section of Parramatta to Putney Cycleway.

Population
In the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing, the population of Meadowbank was 2683 people, in an area of 0.7 square kilometres. The population was 51.4% males, 48.6% females. 43.5% of the population was born overseas. The five strongest religious affiliations in the area were in descending order: Catholic, No religion, Anglican, Buddhism and Hinduism. The three most common forms of dwelling were in decreasing order: a flat, unit or apartment; a separate house; a semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc.

Politics
The Federal member for Bennelong is John Alexander and the current State member for Ryde is Victor Dominello.