Camperdown, New South Wales

Camperdown is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Camperdown is located 4 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Inner West region. Camperdown lies across the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council.

Camperdown is a heavily-populated suburb, home to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the University of Sydney and the historic Camperdown Cemetery. It was also once home to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, which was relocated to be next to Westmead Hospital in Sydney's west. The hospital buildings and grounds have been redeveloped into apartment complexes.

History
Camperdown takes its name from the Battle of Camperdown (or Camperduin in Dutch). It was named by William Bligh who received a grant of 240 acres (1 km²) of land covering present day Camperdown and parts of Newtown. The land passed to Bligh's son-in-law Maurice O'Connell, Commandant of the New South Wales Corps when Bligh returned to England. Camperdown was established as a residential and farming area in the early 19th century.

In 1827, a racecourse was opened on land where the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital now stands. The University of Sydney was incorporated in 1850 and its first building were designed by Edmund Blacket (1817-1883). In 1859, Blacket's Great Hall was opened at the university.

Education
A large part of Camperdown is taken up by the University of Sydney and the residential colleges within the university. These colleges include: St John's College, St Andrew's College, St Paul's College, Sancta Sophia College, Wesley College, Mandelbaum House, The Women's College,and International House.

Houses
In common with neighbouring inner city suburbs such as Newtown and Enmore, Camperdown has large areas of Victorian terraced housing, including many examples of single storey terraces. There are several examples of semi-detached houses which became popular around the time of Australia's Federation at the turn of the 20th century. With the advent of gentrification, from the late 20th century, modern infill development now tends to be sympathetic with the traditional Victorian and Edwardian streetscapes.