Camden, New South Wales

Camden
Sydney, New South Wales
Camden
Coordinates 34°03′16″S 150°41′45″E / 34.05444°S 150.69583°E / -34.05444; 150.69583Coordinates: 34°03′16″S 150°41′45″E / 34.05444°S 150.69583°E / -34.05444; 150.69583
Population 3,244 (2011 census)[1]
Established 1840
Postcode(s) 2570
Location 65 km (40 mi) south-west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s) Camden Council
State electorate(s) Camden
Federal Division(s) Macarthur
Localities around Camden:
Ellis Lane Cobbitty Kirkham
Grasmere Camden Elderslie
Cawdor Camden South Spring Farm
House designed by John Verge at Camden Park – built between 1832–35 for John Macarthur

Camden is a historic town, south-west of Sydney, New South Wales, located 65 kilometres from the Sydney central business district. Camden is the administrative centre for the local government area of Camden Council and is a part of the Macarthur region.

History

Indigenous people

The area now known as Camden was originally at the northern edge of land belonging to the Gandangara people of the Southern Highlands who called it Benkennie meaning 'dry land'. North of the Nepean River were the Muringong, southernmost of the Darug people while to the east were the Tharawal people. They lived in extended family groups of 20–40 members, hunting kangaroos, possums and eels and gathering yams and other seasonal fruit and vegetables from the local area. They were described as 'short, stocky, strong and superbly built' and generally considered peaceful. However, as British settlers encroached on their land and reduced their food sources, they turned to armed resistance which ended in 1816 after many of their number were massacred.[2]

European settlement

Explorers first visited the area in 1795 and named it 'Cowpastures' after a herd of cattle that had disappeared was discovered there. In February 1805, Governor King instructed (apparently reluctantly) a surveyor to measure 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) for John Macarthur at Cowpastures, where Macarthur had been promised land by the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Lord Camden. Macarthur named his property Camden Park in honour of his sponsor.[3]

As Macarthur's wool industry thrived, local citizens began pushing for the establishment of a town in the area to support the industry. Surveyor-General Major Thomas Mitchell suggested Macarthur surrender 320 acres (130 ha) of his land for the purpose to which he refused. Following his death in 1834, his children decided to subdivide the land and the first lots in the new town of Camden went on sale in 1840. Camden Post Office opened on 1 May 1841, the day after the nearby Elderslie office (open from 1839) closed.[4] By 1883, the population had grown to over 300 and a movement began to establish a local council which held its first meeting in 1889.

Transport

Between 1882 and 1962 Camden was connected to Campbelltown and Sydney by the Camden railway line. Camden is served by Camden Airport, which is mostly used by trainee pilots for flying schools, the Australian Air League, and other forms of general aviation.

Climate

Camden has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa).

Climate data for Camden Airport
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 46.4
(115.5)		 43.2
(109.8)		 41.0
(105.8)		 38.5
(101.3)		 27.5
(81.5)		 24.9
(76.8)		 25.4
(77.7)		 30.2
(86.4)		 36.0
(96.8)		 40.5
(104.9)		 42.6
(108.7)		 43.1
(109.6)		 46.4
(115.5)
Average high °C (°F) 29.5
(85.1)		 28.6
(83.5)		 26.7
(80.1)		 23.8
(74.8)		 20.5
(68.9)		 17.7
(63.9)		 17.2
(63)		 19.0
(66.2)		 21.9
(71.4)		 24.1
(75.4)		 26.1
(79)		 28.4
(83.1)		 23.6
(74.5)
Average low °C (°F) 16.8
(62.2)		 16.8
(62.2)		 14.8
(58.6)		 11.0
(51.8)		 7.0
(44.6)		 4.5
(40.1)		 3.0
(37.4)		 3.8
(38.8)		 6.7
(44.1)		 9.9
(49.8)		 12.9
(55.2)		 15.1
(59.2)		 10.2
(50.4)
Record low °C (°F) 7.9
(46.2)		 7.2
(45)		 5.9
(42.6)		 −0.7
(30.7)		 −2.2
(28)		 −5.4
(22.3)		 −6.0
(21.2)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 −1.8
(28.8)		 1.3
(34.3)		 3.8
(38.8)		 5.7
(42.3)		 −6.0
(21.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 77.9
(3.067)		 100.9
(3.972)		 85.8
(3.378)		 66.9
(2.634)		 57.4
(2.26)		 59.0
(2.323)		 38.7
(1.524)		 42.4
(1.669)		 39.6
(1.559)		 65.3
(2.571)		 77.0
(3.031)		 54.9
(2.161)		 767.3
(30.209)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 10.1 10.9 10.3 9.2 8.7 8.7 8.1 7.6 7.9 9.8 10.6 9.0 110.9
Average relative humidity (%) 49 52 52 52 52 53 50 43 44 47 50 46 49
Source: [5]

Education

Camden is the location of research facilities for the veterinary and agricultural schools of the University of Sydney. The local government area has three public high schools, Camden High School, Elderslie High School and Elizabeth Macarthur High School, as well as eight Catholic and three Anglican schools.

Culture

The Camden Show is an annual event which combines amusement park attractions with the elements of a state fair. Camden is served by three local radio stations, 2MCR, Vintage FM and C91.3FM. Local newspapers are the Camden Advertiser,[6] the District Reporter and the Macarthur Chronicle.

People

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, there were 3,244 residents in Camden. In Camden, 80.7% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England 5.4%, Scotland 1.1%, New Zealand 0.9%, Ireland 0.6% and Germany 0.5%. 90.6% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 0.7%, Spanish 0.4% and Indonesian 0.3%. The most common responses for religion in Camden were Catholic 31.5%, Anglican 30.9% and No Religion 13.8%.[1]

Politics

Camden lies within the local government area of Camden Council. The council consists of nine councillors; three for each of the three wards; North Ward (Bringelly, Rossmore, Leppington, Cobbitty, Oran Park, Catherine Field, Harrington Park, Smeaton Grange, Currans Hill, Kirkham), Central Ward (Mount Annan, Narellan, Narellan Vale) and South Ward (Ellis Lane, Grasmere, Camden, Elderslie, Spring Farm, Bickley Vale, Cawdor, Camden South). Lara Symkowiak was elected mayor in 2012.

Camden is contained within the federal electorate of Macarthur and the state electorate of Camden. The state seat of Camden covers all of Camden Council, and parts of the City of Campbelltown.

The MLA for the Camden is Chris Patterson, first elected in 2011. The MP for Macarthur is Russell Matheson, first elected in 2010. Both are members of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Planning issues

On 27 May 2008 Camden Council rejected plans from the Quranic Society to build a 1,200-student Islamic school in the nearby suburb of Cawdor on planning grounds. The site was 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) south of the centre of Camden adjacent to the Camden General Cemetery and 800 metres (2,600 ft) north of the then recently relocated Camden High School. The issue received national[7] and international media coverage.[8] The proposal was opposed from within the local community, many expressing fear about the presence of Muslims in an area where relatively few Muslims live.[9] There were angry, racially based comments by a number of residents in Camden.[10] The Christian Democratic Party (CDP) opposed the proposal. Speaking at a public meeting in December 2007, CDP leader Fred Nile (present alongside Robert Balzola) said he opposed the school "because Islam opposed Christianity". A spokesman for the Quranic Society said it was "absurd" to claim that Muslims are anti-Christian.[11]

In making its decision several council members, including Mayor Chris Patterson, said the school was inappropriate for the semi-rural area of Camden and likely to cause parking, traffic and other problems.[12] Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd indicated before the council decision that he wouldn't support the school on planning grounds.[13] The Quranic Society said it will appeal the Council's decision in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales.

In September 2008, a proposal to build a private Catholic school received media attention for not provoking the same sort of outcry as the previous proposal. News authority failed to note this school had already been located in Camden (Cobbity) for several years and was a special needs school. Some residents who were not supportive of the Islamic school now welcomed the Catholic school proposal. The Catholic school proposal is set in a different location, where it has been argued that such a development would be suitable.[14]

On 2 June 2009, The Land and Environment Court passed down the decision to reject the appeal by the Quranic Society, with the court stating that the "development application was not suitable for the rural nature of the land."[15]

Notable residents

James William Macarthur-Onslow

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Camden(State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  2. ↑ "The History of Camden". Camden Historical Society. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  3. ↑ "The History of Camden". Camden Council. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  4. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 2008-04-11.
  5. ↑ "Climate statistics for Camden Airport AWS". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "camdenadvertiser.com.au". camdenadvertiser.com.au. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  7. ↑ Camden locals oppose proposed Islamic school; Politicians, locals oppose Islamic school; Backlash over new Islamic school; Cops block mass Muslim protest; Camden Council rejects Islamic school; Anti-Islamic school Camden 'not racist'
  8. ↑ Town moves against Islamic school; Australia Muslim school rejected; Australia Muslim school rejected.
  9. ↑ Residents uneasy amid opposition to Muslim school; pigs heads staked at Islamic-school-site
  10. ↑ "The Islamic school furore in Australia. Camden, Sydney". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  11. ↑ "Nile party behind anti-Muslim school rally". Smh.com.au. 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  12. ↑ Dart, Jonathon (28 May 2008). "Islamic school rejected". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax). Retrieved 2008-05-28.; Lyons, John (28 May 2008). "Camden Council votes down Islamic school". The Australian (News.com.au). Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  13. ↑ Rudd opposed to Islamic school
  14. ↑ "smh.com.au". smh.com.au. 2008-09-09. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  15. ↑ "Court rejects Sydney Islamic school – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
  16. ↑ Stewart, Ken (1981). "Dwyer, James Francis (1874–1954)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Ken Stewart.
  17. ↑ Walsh, G.P (1986). "Macarthur-Onslow, Francis Arthur (1875–1938)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. G.P Walsh.
  18. ↑ Walsh, G.P. (1986). "Macarthur-Onslow, James William (1867–1946)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  19. ↑ Brown, Dianna (2012). "Woodhill, Joan Mary". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  20. ↑ Knight, Kenneth W. (2012). "Stuckey, Roy Darrell (1900–1985)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 30 March 2015.

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