Fairfield Heights, New South Wales
| Fairfield Heights Sydney, New South Wales | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Woolworths, in the suburb's main street, The Boulevard | |||||||||||||
| Population | 6,649 (2011 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2165 | ||||||||||||
| Location | 31 km (19 mi) W of Sydney CBD | ||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Fairfield | ||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Fairfield | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | McMahon | ||||||||||||
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Fairfield Heights is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Fairfield Heights is located 31 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Fairfield Heights is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.
Fairfield Heights shares the postcode of 2165 with the separate suburbs of Fairfield, Fairfield East and Fairfield West. The majority of residents speak a language other than English at home, with the most common one being Assyrian Neo-Aramaic.[1] Fairfield Heights, like Fairfield, is also an ethnic enclave of Assyrians.[2]
The elevation of this suburb is approximately between 30–40 metres above mean sea level, owing to its name.
History
Early
Aboriginal people from the Cabrogal tribe, a sub-group of the Gandangara tribe, have lived in the Fairfield area for over 30 000 years. White settlement came to the area in the early 19th century.
Modern
An application for a post office at Fairfield Heights was made by Mrs Beard in 1950. In 1955, when the population had increased sufficiently a post office was opened.
The Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club opened in 1990, in The Boulevarde in Fairfield Heights where it held liquor and gaming licenses.[3] In 1997 the Club bought the premises at 52-54 Stanbrook Street. The project of turning the gymnasium, squash courts and fruit shop into a club began in January 2000. The new club site was eventually opened by former Mayor Anwar Khoshaba in a ceremony that was visited by politicians, Councillors and many Assyrians. In 2003, the reception hall was built and the club grounds were expanded to fit weddings and other social events.[4]
Commercial area
Fairfield Heights mostly consists of low-density residential and commercial developments. Its commercial area is centred on The Boulevard, the main street in Fairfield Heights, which is the highest point in the suburb at 40 metres above sea level, offering striking views of the lower areas to the south and east.
The boulevard prominently features cafes, ethnic restaurants (such as Hammurabi Restaurant and Al Basha) and convenient stores (which are namely Assyrian and Iraqi oriented),[5] dollar stores, health clinics, a radiology centre, cosmetic clinics, Domino's Pizza and Pizza Hut outlets, and a Vinnies store.
Parks and recreation
Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club is the prominent club in the suburb, which features a casino, restaurants (containing an all-you-can-eat buffet) and it hosts music concerts. Hammurabi Restaurant has a reception hall for joyous events. Prospect View Reserve, an urban park, is home to the historic Fairfield Hotspurs Football Club, the junior club of Harry Kewell. Fairfield Heights has small suburban parks containing natural bushland, children's playgrounds and footpaths for walking or jogging.
Education
There is one local primary school, Fairfield Heights Public School, established in 1952. There are no local high schools, though residents to the east of the suburb are in close vicinity to Fairfield High School and Fairvale High School.
Places of worship
St Therese's Catholic Church is located in this suburb.
Population
At the 2011 census, there were 6,649 residents in Fairfield Heights. 35.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were Iraq 22.3%, Vietnam 8.7%, Cambodia 2.7%, Italy 2.3% and China 2.2%. The majority of people (79.1%) spoke a language other than English at home, with the top languages being Assyrian Neo-Aramaic 15.3%, Arabic 12.6%, Vietnamese 12.2%, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic 4.5% and Spanish 4.3%.
The unemployment rate (11.5%) in Fairfield Heights was just over twice the national average. For employed people, the main occupations were Labourers (16.9%) and Technicians and Trades Workers (15.5%). The median weekly household income was $912 and this was lower than the national median of $1,234.[1]
Notable residents
Fairfield Heights was once the home of tennis player Jelena Dokić and her family.[6]
References
- 1 2 3 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Fairfield Heights (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
- ↑ B. Furze, P. Savy, R. Brym, J. Lie, Sociology in Today's World, 2008, p. 349
- ↑ Assyrian Australian Association & Ettinger House 1997, Settlement Issues of the Assyrian Community, AAA, Sydney.
- ↑ Gorgees, P. 2003, ‘The Assyrian Community’s Continued Needs in the Fairfield LGA’, in Checking the Pulse of Fairfield―Conference Report, Fairfield Migrant Resource Centre, Cabramatta.
- ↑ Deniz, F. 2000, ‘Maintenance and Transformation of Ethnic Identity: the Assyrian Case’, The Assyrian Australian Academic Journal
- ↑ "poidb.com". Retrieved 4 May 2013.
Coordinates: 33°52′07″S 150°56′33″E / 33.86848°S 150.94239°E