Waterloo

Waterloo is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Waterloo is located 4 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. {| class="toc" id="toc"

Contents

 * 1 History
 * 2 Location
 * 3 Transport
 * 4 Churches
 * 5 Demographics
 * 6 Recreation
 * 7 Gallery
 * 8 References
 * 9 External links
 * }

History
Waterloo Town Hall designed by John SmedleyWaterloo took its name from the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, when Allied and Prussian forces under the Duke of Wellington and Blücher defeated the French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte.

In the 1820s Waterloo began supporting industrial operations including the Fisher and Duncan Paper Mill and the Waterloo Flour Mills owned by William Hutchinson and Daniel Cooper. William Hutchinson, superindendent of convicts and public works, had been granted 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) of land in 1823. He sold Waterloo Farm to Daniel Cooper (1785-1853) and Solomon Levey (1794-1833). Cooper later bought out Levey's share and on his death the Waterloo Estate passed onto his son, also named Daniel Cooper, who was the first speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.[2]

Location
Waterloo was a relatively poor area, until the early 2000s. Waterloo has undergone and is still undergoing gentrification with a rising business district focusing on technology-oriented firms and the development of more green space such as parks. By 2006, median individual income in Waterloo was slightly higher than the Australian average.[3]

Waterloo is also a very popular suburb to live for Sydney's large Gay and Lesbian population due to its closeness to nearby suburbs of Surry Hills and Darlinghurst.

The Waterloo Urban Conservation Area is a residentialarea of predominantly 19th century terrace and cottage housing. New development and redevelopment in this area is encouraged to be sympathetic to the existing heritage style. South Dowling Street apartmentsGreen Square is a district in the south and east of the suburb including the suburbs of Waterloo and Zetland that is being redeveloped. It involves an urban renewal program which has seen many industrial buildings redeveloped or replaced by new residential and commercial developments. The area adjacent to South Dowling Street contains many high rise apartment buildings with retail space at ground level.

Transport
Waterloo is serviced by State Transit Authority Sydney Buses routes to the Sydney CBD. Green Square underground railway station, on the Airport line of the City Rail network, is located in the south-west corner of the suburb. Redfern railway station is located close to the north-west corner of the suburb.

Churches
Waterloo hosts the city campus of Hillsong Church (affiliated with the Assemblies of God). Other churches include Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, Waterloo Uniting Church, Waterloo Salvation Army, Waterloo Congressional Fellowship

Demographics
According to the 2011 census, Waterloo has a population of 10,657 people, 64.3% of the population was born overseas. English was primarily spoken at home by 47.7% of the population, with the most important other languages being Chinese languages (10.3%), Russian (5.2%) and Korean (2.5%). The largest religions were Catholicism (20.1% of the population), Anglicanism (8.1%), Buddhism (5.3%) and Pentecostalism (3.9%). Furthermore, 26.1% of the population identified with no religion/atheism, slightly above the national average. 80.8% of the population lived in apartments, significantly different to the rest of Australia (where only 13.6% of the population are apartment dwellers). Furthermore, 74.5% of dwellings were rented, compared to 29.6% in Australia as a whole.

Recreation
The Waterloo Skate Park, is a modern skate park and the first of its kind to copy the urban streetscape layout of popular skate spots like Martin Place and Cathedral Square in Sydney. The park is located next to Waterloo Oval and the South Sydney Youth Services building on Elizabeth Street.