Concord, New South Wales

Concord is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay.

Concord is known as the 'Parkland Suburb' of the Inner West. Concord West is a separate suburb, to the north-west.

History
Concord takes its name from Concord, Massachusetts, in the USA, which was the site of the Battle of Concord, one of the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1778). Some historians believe the Sydney suburb was named Concord to encourage a peaceful attitude between soldiers and settlers. The first land grants in the area were made in 1793.

The original Concord Council was established in 1883. Concord Council amalgamated with Drummoyne Council in 2000 after 117 years of self governance to form the City of Canada Bay. It is also the name of the surrounding parish.

Commercial area
Concord features a small shopping strip on Majors Bay Road. Several cafes and restaurants featuring outside dining are located here. The restaurants and shops include Italian, Chinese & Thai restaurants, a wood-fired pizzeria, steak house, cafes, pharmacy, clothing, TAB, news agent, general practitioners, estate agent, florist, video rental, take-aways, an Italian delicatessen, a Coles supermarket, dry cleaners, family butcher and Squash Courts.

Churches
St Mary's Catholic Church is a prominent architectural landmark on Parramatta Road. The first church on the site was built in 1845 until a new church was built in 1874. A school operated in the original church building until a separate school building was built and opened by Cardinal Moran in 1894. A convent for the Sisters of Charity was erected next to the church in 1898. The present church building was completed in 1929.

Parks
Concord has many parks, including:
 * Queen Elizabeth Park (formerly known as 'Concord Park', renamed to honour Queen Elizabeth II after her visit to Australia in 1954)
 * Henley Park (site of the former general cemetery - 1938)
 * Majors Bay Reserve, including Arthur Walker and Ron Routly Reserves (beginning of the Concord Foreshore Trail).
 * Concord Golf Course, Massey Park, Cintra Park
 * Concord Oval (home ground of Inter Lions Soccer Club and the West Harbour Pirates Rugby Union Club)
 * Sid Richards Park (home ground of the Concord Comets Baseball Club)Concord Comets/Wikipedia Link To Concord Comets
 * Central Park, St Lukes Park, Bayview Park, Edwards Park, Greenlees Park, Goddard Park, Rothwell Park.

Transport
Concord is well served by Sydney Buses services that connect Burwood and Strathfield with Ryde and Macquarie Centre (via Concord Road; routes 458 and 459, respectively), and Burwood with Mortlake/Breakfast Point, Cabarita, and Bayview Park (routes 462/464, 466, 463 respectively). During peak hours, there is limited bus service from Mortlake to the City (route L03), and an all-stops service from Bayview Park to the city via Five Dock (route 502). There is a weekday low frequency off-peak service from Five Dock to Rhodes via Concord Hospital that passes through

Concord was once serviced by an independent tram line which ran from Mortlake and Cabarita junction through Majors Bay Road, Concord, though to Burwood Road (formerly Warf Street on the Concord side of Parramatta road) south though Burwood CBD and terminating at Enfield, its most southern point. This tram system did not join with the rest of the Sydney wide tram network which ceased operating in the early 1960's.

Bus services between Mortlake/Breakfast Point and Cabarita to Burwood (and eventually to Ashfield via Enfield, i.e. routes 462/4 and 466) follow the old tram lines through the suburb, which were removed in 1948. Few hints of Concord's trams remain today apart from the extra width of Major's Bay Road and Brewer Street in order to accommodate a double track tramway and the existence of Tramway Lane and Cabarita Junction which is where the tram tracks split, with one track providing the Mortlake branch and the other the Cabarita branch.

Schools
Schools in the suburb are Concord Public School, Concord High School, St Mary's Primary School and Mortlake Public School.

Notable residents
Notable people who have resided in the suburb have included:
 * Neil Armfield - Theatre, film and opera director grew up in Sanders Parade opposite Exile Bay.
 * Isaac Nichols - Australia Post's first postmaster and original owner of Walker Estate.
 * Thomas Walker (1804 - September 2, 1886) - Australian politician, banker, prominent land owner in Concord, and father of Dame Eadith Campbell Walker. Walker built the Italianate mansion Yaralla in the 1860s. It was extended in the 1890s by John Sulman and is now used as the Dame Eadith Walker Convalescent Hospital. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate. Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital was built in fulfilment of Walker's will. It too was designed by John Sulman and is on the Register of the National Estate.
 * Dame Eadith Walker (1861-1937) - Australian philanthropist and major land owner in Concord for much of the late 19th and early 20th Century. Aided in establishing Concord Repatriation General Hospital.
 * Dominic Li, an accountant, was murdered by two gunmen at his Concord home with acid poured down his throat at gunpoint on the 13 December 2002.

Popular culture

 * Australian drama series All Saints, is set in the fictional All Saints General Western Hospital. The external shots (the sweeping shots of the skyline and hospital) are filmed at the Concord Repatriation General Hospital. Some scenes have been shot in and around Concord and Majors Bay Road.


 * Australian series Grass Roots was set in the fictional suburb of Arcadia Waters. Many external shots of Arcadia waters Council chambers used Concord Council Chambers as a setting and as was other various locations around Concord, particularly in the shopping centre and cafes in Majors Bay Road.


 * Australian mini series Bangkok Hilton was partly filmed in the grounds of the Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital.


 * Australian drama/comedy series Packed to the Rafters is partly filmed in Riverview Street, where the Rafter family home is located.


 * Dirty Deeds a 2002 Australian/Canadian production filmed in Concord, utilising Henley park and a nearby 1960's period home for the setting.


 * Brides of Christ a 1991 miniseries used St Marys Catholic Church Concord for some of the internal Church Mass scenes.