Kareela, New South Wales

Kareela is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 24 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire.

Kareela is located on Oyster Bay, on the southern banks of the Georges River. Kareela Golf Course and Kareela Oval are prominent recreational areas located on either side of Bates Drive. Kareela Primary School is in Freya Street.

History
Kareela was the first mixed-use estate developed by Stockland, developed in 1969. The estate was originally called Sylvan Headland. Sylvan Headland changed to Kareela almost exactly after the estate opened. Kareela is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'place of trees and water' or alternatively 'south wind'. The name for the suburb was approved by the Geographical Names Board in 1968. Most of the streets in Kareela are named after outright winners and line-honours winners of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race between 1945 and 1970.

Commercial area
Kareela has a small shopping centre located between Bates Drive and Freya Street. Shops include a Coles supermarket, a newsagent, bakery, butcher, Black Olive deli, Chicken Ace, Kareela Patisserie, and Kareela Chinese Restaurant. The doctor's surgery located opposite the shopping centre in Freya Street is called Kareela Family Practice.

Population
According to the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population, there were 2,391 people usually resident in Kareela. 21.1% stated they were born overseas with the top countries of birth being United Kingdom 5.0%, New Zealand 1.3% and Italy 1.2%. English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 83.8% of residents and the most common other languages spoken were Greek 3.5%, Italian 2.2% and Cantonese 1.8%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were Catholic 32.0%, Anglican 25.7% and Orthodox 7.1%.