Narellan Vale, New South Wales

History

The area now known as Narellan Vale was probably originally home to the Tharawal people, based in the Illawarra region, although the Western Sydney-based Darug people and the Southern Highlands-based Gandangara people were also known to have inhabited the greater Camden area. Very early relations with British settlers were cordial but as farmers started clearing and fencing the land affecting food resources in the area, clashes between the groups arose until 1816 when a number of indigenous people were massacred and the remainder retreated from direct conflict with the settlers.

In 1805, wool pioneer John Macarthur was granted 5,000 acres (20 km²) at Cowpastures (now Camden). After the land was cleared, it was used for farming for most of the next 200 years until Sydney's suburban sprawl reached the town of Camden and modern suburbs like Narellan Vale were subdivided into housing blocks.

Demographics

In the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, the suburb of Narellan Vale had a population of 7,250 people with a high percentage of families with children (57.4%). The percentage of children aged 0–14 (26.8%) is substantially higher than the national average (19.3%). Like its neighbouring suburbs, there is also a very high proportion of detached houses in the area (97.9%).

Education

There are three schools in Narellan Vale

Governance

Narellan Vale lies in the central ward of Camden Council, currently represented by Fred Anderson, Rob Elliott and Debby Dewbery. It sits within the state electorate of Camden, represented by Labor's Geoff Corrigan, the former Mayor of Camden, and the federal electorate of Macarthur, represented by Liberal's Pat Farmer, the former ultra-marathon runner.