Bidwill, New South Wales

History

Bidwill takes its name from John Carne Bidwill (1815-1853) appointed as botanist in charge at the Botanic Gardens in 1847. Prior to settlement and colonisation of Australia, Bidwill and the surrounding area was inhabited by the Darug tribe.

Bidwill was dominated by the development of public housing in the 1960s and 1970s. In recent times, Bidwill has been associated with social and economic problems. These have resulted in an increase of crime and such trouble as riots.

Commercial areas

Bidwill is primarily a residential suburb with extremely limited commercial activity. It is quite close to the suburbs of Mount Druitt and St Marys, which have larger shopping centres, banking facilities and railway stations.

Limited commercial facilities such as supermarkets and service stations are available at Emerton and Plumpton rather than in Bidwill itself. A small supermarket complex existed at Bidwill in the 1990s, but failed due to competition from larger facilities nearby. There have been ongoing attempts to reopen the shopping complex.

Transport

On the day of the 2011 Census, the methods of travel to work for employed people were Car, as driver 57.8%, Car, as passenger 11.0% and Train, bus 5.2%. Other common responses were Bus 4.6% and Train 3.6%. Public transport through this area is provided by Busways.

By road Bidwill is adjacent to the Westlink M7 motorway which can provide very easy access to the Great Western Highway and the M4 Motorway, providing road access to the western sections of the city and eastward to the Sydney CBD. This suburb is linked by several private bus companies to the train stations located at Mount Druitt and St Marys.

Cycleways running through Bidwill run from Poppondetta Park to Mt Druitt and the M7 cycleway, which in turn connects to the cycleways on the M4 and M2 Motorways.

Education

Bidwill Primary School and the Bidwill campus of Chifley College share a campus with a pre-school. Combined, these separate organisations provide care and education from pre-school (3 years) to Year 12 (17–18 years).

Upon completing year 10 at the Bidwill campus, students continuing public education can either move on to Chifley College Senior Campus located in Mount Druitt, or continue their final years at Bidwill Campus.

In 2011 in Bidwill 39.2% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 32.8% were in primary school, 25.0% in secondary school and 9.8% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Population

According to the 2011 census of Population, there were 4,588 residents in Bidwill. 72.7% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were New Zealand 4.1%, Samoa 2.7%, England 1.8%, Philippines 1.1% and Fiji 0.8%. 72.3% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Samoan 6.2%, Arabic 2.4%, Tongan 1.4%, Maori (Cook Island) 1.3% and Spanish 1.3%. The most common responses for religion in Bidwill were Catholic 28.7%, Anglican 20.8%, No Religion 16.7%, Uniting Church 3.5% and Islam 2.9%.

Housing

Housing is very heavily dominated by public housing built throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with large numbers of freestanding fibro houses and extensive terrace-style complexes. The houses are gradually transferring to private ownership and as this continues these government-built premises are being replaced with privately built, modern homes, similar to those being built in other areas of Sydney.

Most local housing is owned by either the Department of Housing or Aboriginal Housing Office.

The three most common forms of dwelling were in decreasing order: a separate house; a semi-detached, row or terrace house, or townhouse; a flat, unit or apartment.

Politics

For federal elections, Bidwill is in the safe Labor electoral division of Chifley. This seat is currently held by Ed Husic, of the Australian Labor Party. The seat has been held continuously by the Labor Party since it was proclaimed in 1984.

For NSW state elections, Bidwill is in the Electoral district of Mount Druitt. This seat is currently held by Edmond Atalla, of the Labor Party. It has been held by a Labor candidate since it was proclaimed in 1971.