Wolli Creek, New South Wales

Wolli Creek is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It sits beside the Wolli Creek and Cooks River waterways. Wolli Creek is situated between the suburbs of Arncliffe and Tempe, 10 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Rockdale and is part of the St George area.

History
Wolli Creek was named after the waterway on its northern border.

The suburb was previously part of Arncliffe. Reuben Hannam was granted land in 1825 on the banks of Cooks river. Alexander Brodie Spark purchased land in 1826 and built Tempe house in 1836. It was named after 'Vale of Tempe', a beautiful valley in ancient Greek legend set at the foot of Mount Olympus. Tempe House, designed by John Verge, has a Georgian feel and is regarded as one of the great houses of Sydney.

Philanthropist Caroline Chisholm leased Tempe House as a boarding school for young women (1863–1865). The estate was known as Greenbank during this time and presented an ideal location for Chisholm's work. She remarked on the spacious and lofty rooms and the 'fine large and open orchard of fruit trees, intersected by wide and shady walks'.

In 1884 the estate was sold to the Sisters of the Good Samaritan for use as a charitable refuge for women. The Sisters added the impressive St Magdalen's Chapel (1888), which is believed to be the work of Sheerin & Hennessy, an important firm of Sydney architects, who designed the Archbishop's Residence and St Patrick's College at Manly. The neo-Gothic style Chapel is of major cultural significance. It is now deconsecrated and has been restored as part of the Discovery Point redevelopment. Tempe House is now listed on the Register of the National Estate.

The area became predominantly industrial until a redevelopment was planned in the late 1990s. The new suburb was to be called North Arncliffe, but residents in the area petitioned the council to conduct a vote to select a better name. Wolli Creek was the most popular choice. Wolli Creek railway station opened in 2000. Wolli Creek was officially declared a suburb in 2002.

Commercial area
Wolli Creek is currently being redeveloped from a predominantly industrial precinct into a high density residential and commercial area. Its close proximity to the Sydney CBD and Sydney Airport make it an attractive residential area. A 4,200m2 flagship Woolworths store with the latest technology, opened on the 10th of October 2012 and a Dan Murphy's store will open early 2013.

Transport
The Princes Highway links Wolli Creek north to Tempe and the Sydney CBD and south to Arncliffe and Rockdale. The M5 South Western Motorway, with entrances and exits at nearby Arncliffe, runs south-west towards Liverpool and north-east towards Botany and the city.

Wolli Creek railway station is a railway junction for the Illawarra line and East Hills line on the City Rail network. The train trip to Town Hall railway station takes approximately 16 minutes on the Illawarra line via Sydenham, while the trip to Museum railway station takes approximately 18 minutes on the East Hills line via the Airport. There is also a single bus route at Wolli Creek, bus route 348, that runs from Wolli Creek station to UNSW, stopping at various stops in between.