St Ives, New South Wales

St Ives is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia 18 kilometres north of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. St Ives Chase is a separate suburb, to the north.

History
The St Ives area was first explored by Governor Arthur Phillip and a party of men in 1788 where they set up a campsite at Bungaroo which is close to what is now Hunter Avenue. The area produced a small scale timber felling industry. There are still some examples of the thirty metre and higher trees in nearby Pymble in the Dalrymple Hay forest and near Canasius College. Native turpentine trees were also once abundant and provided useful timber for cabinet making. It was once known for its apple orchards but due to residential demand, there is no longer any commercial fruit growing in the area. During World War Two there were significant numbers of troops barracked in the area, which provided the impetus to build Archbold Road as a supplementary and emergency route to the city. Since 1950 the suburb has expanded from the central shopping areas and the arterial main roads to include hilltop and valley areas bordering on the surrounding Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park to the north, now the area known as St Ives Chase, and Garigal National Park to the east and the south east.

St Ives Post Office opened on 10 November 1885 and the first public school opened on 6 May 1889. The school was formally opened by Mr. J. P. Burns, M.L.A. on Saturday 8 June. After inspecting the "neat and well-designed school and teacher's residence" the party had a luncheon to mark the occasion.

Commercial area
St Ives Shopping Village is a medium sized shopping centre across from the Village Green, Skate Bowl and Scout Hall.

Schools

 * Sydney Grammar School has a preparatory school in St Ives for primary school children.
 * St Ives Primary School
 * St Ives Park Public School
 * St Ives North Public School
 * St Ives High School, the only public high school in the suburb.
 * Corpus Christi, a Catholic primary school
 * Brigidine College, an independent, Catholic, girls secondary school
 * Masada College, a Jewish school

Sport and recreation

 * St Ives Rugby Club, who play at Hassell Park.
 * St Ives Cricket Club, who play at Hassell Park.
 * St Ives Soccer Club, who play at Warrimoo Oval, St Ives Chase.
 * St Ives Saints Australian Football Club (Australian rules football), who play at Acron Oval.
 * Northside Monash Soccer Club, who play at Mimosa Oval.
 * North St Ives Scouts whose hall lies adjacent to Warrimoo Oval, St Ives Chase.
 * 2nd St Ives Scout Groups
 * St Ives Radio Control Car Club, racing at St Ives Showgrounds.
 * Dalrymple-Hay Nature Reserve is situated on the east side of Mona Vale Road and covers 10.7 hectares. It consists of a blackbutt open forest and is used as a recreation area by locals, in spite of having problems with weeds and die-back. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
 * St Ives Netball Club.

Population
St Ives was initially slow to develop due to the perceived remoteness from the city. Settlement increased in the late 1890s, when St Ives was populated by market gardeners, a small dairy, orchard workers and related industries. The suburb since the end of WW2 has seen its most rapid period of expansion and a steady growth in families moving to the area. St Ives has a diverse population from many parts of the globe.

Notable residents

 * Andrew Denton, television presenter
 * Georgie Parker, television personality
 * Kyle Sandilands television and radio personality
 * Kimberley Starr, novelist
 * Karl Stefanovic, television presenter
 * Wayne Pearce, former Rugby League great
 * Basil van Rooyen, former South-African F1 racecar driver
 * Paula Duncan, actress
 * Andy Harper, football (soccer) commentator
 * Adam Kellerman, paralympic wheelchair tennis player