Mascot, New South Wales

Mascot is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mascot is located 7 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the City of Botany Bay. Mascot is on the north-west side of Botany Bay and contains Sydney Airport.

History
The first land grants in the area were made in 1835, with market gardening being the main land use. Subdivision followed the construction of Botany Road in 1875 and a municipality known as North Botany was formed in 1888. A racecourse operated in this area in 1904 on land that was formerly owned by the Australian Golf Club. The race course was known as Ascot, named after its famous counterpart in England. Residents wanted the area to have an individual identity and a referendum was held in 1911 to choose between Mascot, Boronia and Booralee.

In 1920, Mascot was chosen as the site of a public airfield. Nigel Love was leasing 200 acre from the Kensington Race club and in 1921 the Commonwealth Government purchased 161 acre for this purpose. The first regular flights began in 1924. Cooks River was diverted away from the area in 1947-52 to provide more land for the airport.

Commercial area
Mascot has a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial areas. The main shopping centre is located on Botany Road. The area around Mascot railway station is being redeveloped to contain high-density commercial and residential developments. The Police Headquarters for the local Botany Bay Area Command is on Botany Road and Mascot Ambulance Station is situated directly opposite. Mascot Fire Station is located in Coward Street, beside the City of Botany Bay Council Chambers.

Sydney Airport, Sydney's principal airport, takes up a large part of the suburb. The head office of Qantas is the Qantas Centre at 203 Coward Street in Mascot. The regional airline Eastern Australia Airlines has its head office on the grounds of Sydney Airport in Mascot. The airline Impulse Airlines, when it existed, had its head office in the airport property.

Transport
Mascot is serviced by a number of bus routes, which are operated by Sydney Buses. The M20, 301, 303, 309, 310, 400 and 410 routes travel down Botany Road. The 343 and 418 services travel down Gardeners Road and the 305 route departs from Qantas Centre.

The suburb is served by three railway stations on the Airport Line. Mascot railway station is located in the residential and business area of the suburb. The International and Domestic railway stations are situated below the respective terminals of the airport. The Sydenham to Botany branch of the Metropolitan Goods railway line passes through the suburb and includes a yard in Mascot.

Recent improvements to Kingsford-Smith Airport have resulted in the creation of a bicycle path between Mascot (Coward Street) and the M5 East Freeway at Arncliffe. Other bike paths pass through Mascot to Botany Bay, the University of New South Wales and the Sydney CBD.

Population
In the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing, the population of the Mascot postcode area was 8517 people. 40.9% of the population was born overseas. The three strongest religious affiliations in the area were in descending order: Catholic, Greek Orthodox Church and Anglican. The three most common forms of dwelling were in decreasing order: a separate house; a flat, unit or apartment; a semi-detached, row or terrace house, or townhouse.

The Australian Test cricketer and rugby league player Ray Lindwall was born in Mascot.

Politics
Mascot is in the safe Labor federal electoral division of Kingsford Smith. As of 2009, the seat was held by Labor Environment Minister Peter Garrett, who was elected in the federal election, 2008.

For NSW state elections, Mascot is in the Electoral district of Heffron, which was held by former local member, Kristina Keneally, with a 23.7% margin, the 7th safest Labor seat in NSW.

Schools
Mascot Public School is a primary school in King Street and J. J. Cahill Memorial High School is located in Sutherland Street.

St Therese School Mascot is located in Sutherland Street.

Churches
Knox Presbyterian Church built in 1911 is located on Botany Road. St Catherine's Greek Orthodox Church is located in Coward Street.

Parks and recreation
L'Estrange Park is home to both the Mascot Kings (soccer) and the Mascot Jets rugby league teams. Mascot Oval is the venue for the Jets' home games. The Lakes Golf Club has hosted many international golf tournaments.