Epping, New South Wales

Epping is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Epping is located 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of the City of Ryde, the City of Parramatta and Hornsby Shire and is located in the Northern Suburbs.

History
The Wallumedegal Aboriginal tribe lived in the area between the Lane Cove River and Parramatta River.

In 1792, Governor Phillip began the granting of parcels of lands to marines, and the area was referred to on Phillip's maps as the Field of Mars, Mars being the Roman god of War. It contained the area of what is now Epping, along with the surrounding suburbs of Ryde and Marsfield.

Epping railway station was originally called 'Field of Mars' and then was changed to Carlingford. The first post office opened as East Carlingford. In 1899 the suburb name of Epping was adopted after suggestion by a local landowner William Midson (1849–1924), after a town near Epping Forest in Essex, where his father was born.

Commercial area
Epping features a small shopping centre close to Epping railway station. Other commercial and industrial developments are also located in the surrounding area.

Epping RSL club is a popular venue, which attracts many people including students from the nearby Macquarie University. Epping also has a bar (Epping Hotel) with its own nightclub.

Until 2009 Epping featured some television production studios owned by the Seven Network.

Transport
Epping Station is on Northern railway line of Sydney's CityRail network. Epping is also a junction for the Epping to Chatswood line, which became fully operational in early 2009. The second stage of this project which was intended to run west from Epping to Parramatta has been put on indefinite hold.

Epping is also well-serviced by bus facilities by Sydney Buses and Hillsbus. The M2 Hills Motorway runs along the northern border to the Sydney CBD. Epping Road is a major arterial road in the area that runs east from the railway station to the Pacific Highway.

Churches

 * Chester St Uniting Church
 * Chinese Lutheran Church
 * Emmaus Bible College
 * Epping Baptist Church
 * Epping Church of Christ
 * Epping Gospel Chapel
 * Epping Presbyterian Church
 * Epping Seventh-day Adventist Church
 * North Side Chinese Alliance Church
 * Northern Districts Chinese Christian Church
 * Our Lady Help of Christians (Roman Catholic) Church
 * Oxford St Uniting Church
 * Presbyterian Reformed Church Epping
 * St. Albans (Anglican), St. Aidens - West Epping (Anglican) - part of the Epping Parish
 * St Mark's Lutheran Church Lutheran Church of Australia
 * West Epping Uniting Church

Schools

 * Arden Anglican School (formerly the Catholic girls' school Our Lady of Mercy College)
 * Epping Boys High School (located in Marsfield)
 * Epping Heights Public School(page deleted)
 * Epping North Public School
 * Epping Public School
 * Epping West Public School
 * Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Primary School

Population
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census, Epping had a population of 18,970, of which 9,216 (48.6%) were male and 9,754 (51.4%) were female. Approximately 53.6% of residents living in Epping are Australian born and the majority of its migrant residents hail from China (8.2%), Hong Kong (5.6%), Korea (5.0%), India (3.6%) and Britain (2.6%) respectively.

Epping is also known to be a more affluent suburb in its region, as evidenced by its higher median house prices compared to neighbouring suburbs, and the high proportion of professionals who reside in Epping (nearly double the Sydney average).

Notable natives and residents

 * Maureen Nyholm nee Richardson - Nurse and wife of Sir Ronald Sydney Nyholm of Broken Hill.

Politics
Epping is divided between three different local government areas: the Hornsby Shire, the City of Parramatta, and (to a lesser degree) the City of Ryde.

On a state level, Epping is represented by the electoral district of Epping, while on a federal level it currently falls in the Division of Bennelong.