Hunters Hill, New South Wales

Hunters Hill (also spelt Hunter's Hill) is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located 9 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Hunter's Hill.

Hunters Hill is situated on a small peninsula that separates the Lane Cove River and Parramatta River. It can be reached by bus or by ferry.

History
The area's Aboriginal name is 'Mookaboola' or 'Moocooboola', which means meeting of waters.

Hunters Hill was named after John Hunter, the second Governor of New South Wales, who was in office between 1795 and 1800.

The area that is now Hunters Hill was settled in 1835. One of the earliest settlers was Mary Reiby, the first female retailer in Sydney. She built a cottage -- later known as Fig Tree House -- on land that fronted the Lane Cove River; Reiby Street is named after her. During the 1840s, bushrangers and convicts who had escaped from the penal settlement on Cockatoo Island would take refuge in Hunters Hill.

Many of the suburb's early houses were built from the local sandstone. A number were built by Frenchman Didier Numa Joubert (1816-1881), who bought 200 acre of land from Mary Reiby from 1847 and used seventy stonemasons from Italy to construct solid artistic houses. Hunters Hill was proclaimed as a municipality on 5 January 1861. The first Gladesville Bridge constructed in 1881 linked the area to Drummoyne and the southern side of the Parramatta River.

Demographics
In the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing, the population of Hunters Hill stood at 9,024 people, 49.3% females and 50.7% males, with a Median age of 41 years. 24.5% of the population was born overseas with England (4.2%), New Zealand (1.4%), China (1.4%) and Italy (1.4%) the most common. The five strongest religious affiliations in the area were in descending order: Catholic (38.2%), Anglican (18.9%), no religion (13.5%), Judaism (4%) and Eastern Orthodox (3.8%).

Hunters Hill's has a median weekly household income of $1,842, compared with $1,027 in Australia. The most common types of occupation for employed persons were Professionals (35.7%), Managers (22.4%), and Clerical and Administrative Workers (15.6%). 67.5% of the suburbs occupied private dwellings were family households, 24.1% were lone person households and 1.5% were group households.

Politics
Hunters Hill is in the federal electoral division of North Sydney. This seat was won by Joe Hockey, the current Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing at the 1996 federal election and retained most recently in the 2010 federal election. North Sydney is one of only two original divisions in New South Wales, along with Wentworth, which have never been held by the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

For NSW state elections, Hunters Hill is in the Electoral district of Lane Cove. As of 2003 this seat is held by Liberal MP Anthony Roberts, who was last re-elected in the 2007 state election.

Transport
Several bus routes run through Hunters Hill, consisting of the 506 to the city and the 536 to Chatswood. Also the 538 and 505 run through Hunters Hill and Woolwich.

The closest ferry wharves are Valentia Street Wharf in Woolwich and Huntleys Point. These provide access to the Inner Harbour ferry services which run between Circular Quay and Parramatta.

Commercial area
Hunters Hill has several commercial areas. A small group of shops is located on the corner of Alexandra and Ferry Street, with others scattered along these streets and Woolwich Road. A busier commercial area is located around the intersection of Ryde Road and Gladesville Road, near Burns Bay Road.

Schools
Hunters Hill is the site of the AAGPS Catholic boys' secondary school, St Joseph's College. It is also home to Hunters Hill High School, Boronia Park Public School, Hunters Hill Primary School and Villa Maria Primary School.

Sport
Hunters Hill Rugby Union Football Club was established in 1892 and competes in the New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union. It has won the Kentwell Cup 8 times and 1st Division club championship 5 times. The second most distinguished club in Subbies, it recently won the Stockdale Cup and Robertson Cup in 2010. The Robertson Cup was named after former Suburban Chairman (1978-80), Brian Robertson, this cup was first won by Port Hacking. After not being contested between 1988-93, the Robertson Cup was revived to become the Colts trophy for second division. The Farrant Cup was named after life member Don Farrant, a long-time supporter of sub-district rugby, Hunters Hill club stalwart Don Farrant presented the Farrant Cup to the MSDRU in 1974. Initially included in an expanded fourth division, it became the award for the Division Three second grade premiership in 1995. Hunters Hill Rugby Union Football Club is a club that caters for all ages and level of ability, and plays matches at Boronia Park from March through to August.

Landmarks
There is a private hospital in Alexandra Street and in High Street, a Jewish nursing home and synagogue named the Sir Moses Montefiore Home. The historic Hunters Hill Town Hall is located in Alexandra Street, close to the historic post office.

The Great North Walk, a walking trail from Sydney to Newcastle, passes through Boronia Park; a large waterfront parkland reserve which contains Aboriginal drawings thought to date back to before the start of the colony.

Heritage
The following buildings are listed on the Register of the National Estate.
 * Public School including Eulbertie, Alexandra Street
 * Post Office, Alexandra Street
 * Town Hall, Alexandra Street
 * St Ives, Crescent Street
 * Anglican Church of All Saints, corner Ferry and Ambrose Streets
 * Kyarra, Madeline Street
 * Fig Tree House, Reiby Road
 * Clifton, Woolwich Road
 * Waiwera, Woolwich Road
 * St Claire, Wybalena Road
 * The Chalet, Yerton Avenue
 * Woolwich Dock, Franki Avenue, Woolwich
 * Former Garibaldi Inn, Alexandra Street

Houses
Hunters Hill has an area of 5.75 square kilometres including some 650,000 square metres of parks and reserves. Developments are mostly residential.

Hunters Hill has a number of heritage-listed buildings and is positioned near the confluence of the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, as well as the headwaters of Sydney Harbour, which provides river and harbour views. Previously having a number of residents of French extraction, it was known as the "French Village" and shares a friendship with a sister city near Paris, Le Vésinet.

Notable residents

 * Henry Budden, architect
 * Cate Blanchett, actress
 * Andrew Upton, writer and spouse of Cate Blanchett
 * Kyle Sandilands, radio and TV host
 * Ann Sanders, newsreader
 * Brian McFadden, singer
 * Delta Goodrem, singer
 * Glenn Druery, ultra-distance cycle racer