Cheltenham, New South Wales

Cheltenham is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cheltenham is 21 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsby Shire. Cheltenham is considered to be part of the North Shore.

This residential suburb has a distinctive English atmosphere, with a number of 19th Century mansions on tree-lined streets. Cheltenham shares its postcode of 2119 with Beecroft and has sometimes been viewed as simply part of that suburb. Most residents of Cheltenham see themselves as distinct from Beecroft, although local issues are addressed together in the Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust.

History
Cheltenham takes its name from a house built by William Chorley, a Sydney tailor and men’s outfitter, who acquired the land when it was released from the Field of Mars Reserve. He named the house after his birthplace of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Chorley asked the government to build a station here and asked to name it after his property when it opened in 1898. Sutherland Road was named for John Sutherland, Minister for Public Works 1887-1889.

Demographics
According to the 2011 Census, there were 2,067 residents in Cheltenham. The most common ancestries in Cheltenham were English 26.4%, Australian 23.0%, Chinese 9.9%, Irish 8.4% and Scottish 8.0%. The median weekly household income in Cheltenham was $2,568, more than double the national median weekly income of $1,234.

Transport
Cheltenham railway station is on the on Northern railway line of the Sydney Trains network. It is one of the few stations with no surrounding business district, due to William Chorley placing covenants on the surrounding land.

The M2 Hills Motorway runs along the southern border of the suburb. For many years, Sutherland Road ran through both Beecroft and Cheltenham, and acted as a short cut between Beecroft Road and Epping Road. This road ran to the east of the Railway line and, during peak hour, was quite busy.With the opening of the M2 Hills Motorway in 1997, Sutherland Road was closed at the Devlins Creek bridge - where the M2 enters a tunnel under North Epping. The result of this closure is that the areas east of the railway line are now very quiet and the house values have benefitted.

Schools
Cheltenham Girls' High School, a government school is located along Beecroft Road and The Promenade. Beecroft Public School and Arden Anglican School are primary schools in nearby Beecroft.

Commercial area
From its early days, Cheltenham was almost exclusively a residential suburb with no shopping area developed at all in its planning. Residents of Cheltenham shop in Beecroft or Epping. A Service Station did exist along the western side of Beecroft road, but this was closed down in 1975.

Ahimsa
Ahimsa (an Indian word meaning non-violence) is the name of a bush retreat located near Pennant Hills Park. It can be accessed at the rear of Day Road and Cobran Road (both roads are cul-de-sacs). The site is administered by the National Trust of Australia. The house is leased privately but the bush area is open to the public within certain restrictions.

Other Cheltenhams
There are six other places in the World named "Cheltenham."
 * Cheltenham, England (Namesake)
 * Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, United States
 * Cheltenham, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
 * Cheltenham, Ontario, Canada
 * Cheltenham, Auckland, New Zealand
 * Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia