Chester Hill

History

The name for Chester Hill is an inversion of Hillchester which some have thought to be an English locality but such does not seem to exist. 'Chester' is one of the English forms of the Latin word 'castra' meaning a fortified camp. The name for the suburb was conferred by Mrs H. A. McMillan, who first wished to call the place Hillcrest, after an estate near Regent's Park, and then Hillchester but neither of these names met with official approval.

Originally part of John Thomas Campbell's estate, known as Campbell Hill, it covered 1,000 acres (4.0 km²). Land was used for market gardens and orchards until the opening of the railway line in 1924 when the area developed into residential and light industrial.

A significant tract of land between Priam and Hector Streets had been occupied by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from the 1960s. This area was used for accommodation and mess facilities for the nearby 2 Stores Depot (Regents Park) and the Ground Equipment Maintenance Squadron (Villawood). These properties were disposed of and subsequently acquired first by the Southern Cross Bible College and then by Salamah (Muslim) College.

Commercial area

Chester Square in Chester Hill is the main shopping centre, catering for the catchment of Chester Hill, Sefton, Birrong and Bass Hill, and directly situated behind the main road of Waldron Road. Amenities in the suburb include the Chester Hill branch of the Bankstown City Library, Chester Hill Fire Station, a community centre.

Transport

Schools

There are five schools in Chester Hill, Chester Hill Public School and Chester Hill North Public School, which cater for Years K-6, Chester Hill High School catering for Years 7-12, Sefton High School which is a partially selective high school also catering for Years 7-12 and Salamah College (sister school of Al Amanah College) only established in 2012.

Parks and recreation

Parks in Chester Hill include Campbell Hill Reserve, Everley Park, Nugent Park, the Terry Lamb Complex, which incorporates Frank Bamfield Oval, and Abbott Park which is home to the Chester Hill Youth Cricket Club and Chester Hill Hornets Junior Rugby League Club. Recreational amenities also include an RSL Club, bowling club and community garden.

Churches

St John Mark's Parish Church (Anglican), Proctor Parade (that replaced St Mark's Church,Chester Hill and St John's Church, Sefton), Immacuate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, Proctor Parade, Sefton - but including Chester Hill within its parish),Hope Central Church (formerly Priam, now Christina Road) Campbell Hill Road, St Columba's Presbyterian Church, Baptist Church (both in Priam Street), and Gnadenfrei, German Lutheran Church.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, there were 11,752 residents in Chester Hill. 54.8% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were Vietnam 10.1%, Lebanon 6.5% and China 3.0%. In Chester Hill 39.1% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arabic 20.0%, Vietnamese 11.9% and Cantonese 5.5%. The median household weekly income in Chester Hill was $935, lower than the national median of $1,234.

Chester Hill is officially the gun capital of Sydney, with one registered firearm for every 3.8 residents according to 2015 police data.

Notable residents

Politics

Chester Hill is part of the Canterbury-Bankstown Council. The area to the north of the pipeline is part of the City of Parramatta. For state elections, Chester Hill is split between the electorates of Bankstown and Auburn. Federally, it lies in the division of Blaxland.