Kingsford, New South Wales

Kingsford is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kingsford is located 7 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick. Kingsford is also considered to be part of the Eastern Suburbs region.

Location
Kingsford is a mainly residential area, which lies directly south of the University of New South Wales in Kensington. Many of the residents are students living in medium and high density housing. A large Australian Army depot lies in the east of Kingsford.

At the centre of Kingsford, on Anzac Parade and Gardeners Road, there is a large roundabout connecting an excellent public transport system to nine possible destinations via bus. For this reason the centre of Kingsford (at the roundabout) is sometimes referred to as “nine-ways”. Kingsford is less than 5km to Coogee Beach.

History
The area was once known as South Kensington. It was named Kingsford to honour the famous Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (1897-1935), as was the nearby Sydney Airport.

Kingsford was undeveloped until a land boom in the 1920s. In the 1940s many Greeks settled in the area, particularly migrants from the island of Castellorizo (or Kastellorizo). Many opened businesses in the area and in 1973 they built the Castellorizian Club on Anzac Parade.

Kingsford was originally intended to be the terminus of the Eastern Suburbs railway line, but as a cost-cutting measure the line was terminated at Bondi Junction in 1979.

Churches and Schools
St Spyridon is a Greek Orthodox Church on Gardeners Road. St Spyridon College is a private school, adjacent to the church.

Population
At the 2001 census the largest number of overseas-born residents came from Indonesia, China, Greece, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Politics
Federal Government: Kingsford is part of the Division of Kingsford Smith in the Australian House of Representatives. Kingsford Smith is a Labor (ALP) stronghold and is currently represented by ex-rock star Peter Garrett, formerly lead singer with the band Midnight Oil.