Panania, New South Wales



Panania, a suburb of local government area City of Bankstown, is located 23 kilometres inner south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydney region. The postcode is 2213, which it shares with adjacent suburbs East Hills and Picnic Point.

Panania is bounded on the north by the M5 South Western Motorway and the suburb of Milperra. Picnic Point, to the south, features parklands along the Georges River. East Hills is the suburb to the west and Revesby is located to the east.

History
The name Panania was on the original list of stations proposed for the Tempe-East Hills railway line in 1929. Prior to this, Panania was part of what was generally known as the East Hills district. Panania is an Aboriginal word meaning sun rising in the east and shining on the hills. An alternative theory is that the name may be a derivation of "Pannonia", which was an ancient province of the Roman Empire southeast of the Danube River. During the construction of the railway line the name Nioka was used for the station which is an Aboriginal word meaning the green hill. Other names suggested for suburb were Linden Park and Elmswood.

The arrival of the railway in 1931 stimulated the development of the East Hills district. Prior to this, the district was rural. There was a soldiers' settlement at Milperra which consisted mostly of poultry and horticultural enterprises. The only public transportation was bus service to Bankstown railway station on the Bankstown line from various locations throughout the district, which posed a great inconvenience to people who needed to visit the Sydney CBD for work.

Development began apace after World War II. The Australian Legion of Ex-Servicemen and Women sponsored the mass production of housing at Panania beginning from 1946 with the construction of 34 houses.

St Christopher's Catholic Church on Tower Street was originally the Panania Star cinema. Panania North Public School, a short two block walk on the northern side of the railway line, became a demonstration school in the late 1970s so that trainee teachers from newly established, Milperra College of Advanced Education, could observe teachers at work.

Commercial area
Panania has a shopping area adjacent to Panania railway station. It runs along Weston Street, Anderson Avenue and Tower Street. Anderson Avenue features several local government facilities including a senior citizens centre and a public library. Panania Hotel is located on the northern side of Panania railway station.

The active Business Chamber is a significant strength of Panania (excerpt "Panania Issues Paper - Town Centre Improvement Program", Bankstown Council December 2010

Transport
Panania railway station is on the East Hills line of the Sydney Trains network. Parts of Panania are serviced by buses operated by Transdev NSW, generally following the routes established by McVicar's Bus Services.

The East Hills railway line, which originally terminated one stop away at East Hills divided the suburb into two distinct precincts. During the 1980s, the railway line was extended with a rail bridge over the Georges River, to Campbelltown. This had the effect of raising Panania's suburban status as it was no longer second last on the line, but comfortably midway.

Demographics
Panania had a population of 10,984 people at the 2006 census, or 6.4% of the total population of the City of Bankstown. 48.4% of the population is male; 51.6% is female. 68.7% of the population are over the age of 18. 91.7% of the population are Australian citizens but only 73.8% were born in Australia. 1.1% of the population are indigenous Australians.

Employment
At the 2006 census, 45.6% of Panania's population were employed.

Religious affiliation
Most of the population (76.7%) call themselves Christians. Islam (3.9%) and Buddhism (2.7%) are the next most popular religions. 9.3% of the population claimed no religion.

Churches
Panania features notable buildings such as Holy Trinity Anglican Church and St Christopher's Catholic Church. St Christopher's is housed in the building formerly known as the Panania Star Cinema. The Panania Star Cinema was built in 1952 in the Art Deco style, and was the twin of the Padstow Star Cinema in nearby Padstow. The building retains a number of original features, including a decorative ceiling. After a grant from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and many donations from parishioners, the building underwent renovations costing $165,000 which were completed early in 2006.

The Salvation Army also has a Corps in Panania. The old building was recently refurbished.

Panania Unining Church, was established in the early 1950s and moved to its current location at 206 Marco Ave, Panania in 1967.

Schools
Panania Public School, Panania North Public School, Tower Street Public School, St Christopher's Catholic School.

Houses
Panania is mostly a residential suburb, which was developed after World War II and originally contained many modest freestanding bungalows built from asbestos cement sheeting (commonly known as fibro). Today, most of these houses have been rebuilt as larger residences or two-storey duplex houses.

Sport

 * Runamux Softball Club - based at Kelso Park North Georges River Softball Association
 * Panania-East Hills RSL Youth Soccer Club based at Kelso Reserve.
 * Revesby Workers Football Club based at Marco Reserve.
 * St Christopher's Soccer Club based at Marco Reserve.
 * St Christophers Junior Rugby League Club plays in the Canterbury-Bankstown District Junior Rugby League and has produced such players as Brent Sherwin, Graeme Hughes, Corey Hughes, Jarrad Hickey and Mark Riddell.

Notable residents
The following are or have been residents of Panania:
 * Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh, former Australian cricketers, attended Panania Public School and East Hills Boys Technology High School.
 * Actor Bryan Brown was raised in Panania.
 * Andrew and Michael Tierney from Human Nature
 * Paul Makin of Willesee at 7 fame and currently Today Tonight Adelaide was raised in Panania and attended the Panania North Public School
 * Paul Abrahams bass player for The Reels, attended Panania Public School and East Hills Boys Technology High School

Politics
Panania is in the Hughes electorate for federal politics the local member is Craig Kelly (LP). For state politics, Glenn Brookes (LP) is the member for East Hills.