Carramar, New South Wales

Carramar is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Carramar is located 30 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield and is part of the South Western Sydney region.

Carramar Sydney, New South Wales
Carramar Railway Station
Population	3,475 (2021 census)[1]
Established	1926
Postcode(s)	2163
Elevation	11 m (36 ft)
Location	30 km (19 mi) west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)	City of Fairfield
State electorate(s)	Fairfield
Federal division(s)	Blaxland Fowler
Suburbs around Carramar: Fairfield Fairfield Fairfield East Fairfield Carramar Villawood Canley Vale Lansvale Lansdowne

History

Carramar's name comes from an aboriginal word meaning "shade of trees". The first land grant in the area was made by Governor King in 1803. One of Sydney's oldest trees, the Bland Oak, was planted in the suburb in the 1830s by William Bland.^[2]

When the railway station opened here in 1924, it was called South Fairfield. However, the area had been known as Carramar since at least the 1850s and the name of the station was changed to Carramar in 1926. A post office was opened the following year as the local population began to swell.^[3]

Von Heiden Estate

A granary tower at Heiden Park, constructed in the 1900s

The land east of what is now Haughton Street near Prospect Creek was once the home of pioneering German migrant and piano maker, Carl Wilhlem Gunther von Heiden. In the mid-1900s, Heiden's property, which was known as the Von Heiden Estate, was used for recreational boating opposite at Latty's Boatshed on Prospect Creek.^[4]

The von Heiden house featured a high gabled roof and broad verandahs, with the formal gardens being decorated in the fashion of the Edwardian era. The balustraded stairs and green walls were led down to the creek's banks. The estate also featured fishponds with ornate fountains, and white statues of water bearers which striped the pathways.^[5]

After Heiden's death in 1936, the Von Heiden Estate was inherited to a Protestant church in the area. In 1955 a retirement village was built on the site, though due to recurring flooding and high tides the homes were demolished in the late 1980s, and the village was moved to a new site. Fairfield City Council then designated part of the former estate on the creek's banks as a nature reserve called Heiden Park, adjoining Fairfield Park to the north, with very minor visible indication of the Von Heidon Estate.^[5]

Though remnants of the Von Heiden Estate do remain at the park, including a brick grain store that was built by Heiden himself, an ornamental fountain that has a statue of a boy which remained in site until the 1980s, an incomplete barricaded terrace, a grand staircase that leads down to the creek and a former boat dock, in addition to substantial trees which represent the last traces of the Late Victorian ornamental gardens.^[6]

Demographics

According to the 2021 census of population, there were 3,475 residents in Carramar. 36.8% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were Vietnam 18.0%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 3.7%, Iraq 3.5%, Lebanon 2.6% and Philippines 2.1%. 24.4% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Vietnamese 21.5%, Arabic 12.2%, Cantonese 3.4%, Mandarin 3.0% and Spanish 2.7%. The most common religious groups were Catholic 20.1%, Islam 16.7%, Buddhism 16.0%, No Religion 15.9% and Not stated 10.8%. Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (42.5%).^[1]

Schools

Carramar Public School features an infants and primary school, although the school technically falls within the suburb of Villawood.^[7]

Commercial areas and transport

Carramar has a small commercial shopping centre, and a small industrial area. The suburb also features a Rashay's, which is a family restaurant and café. Carramar railway station is on the Main Southern railway line. Ruby Manor, situated in Ruby Street, is a modern apartment block that is a nursing home and an aged care facility that has over 90 beds and 60 rooms.^[8]

Recreational areas

The area features Prospect Creek, which winds through the suburb and contains several parks and nature reserves on its corridor, such as, Fairfield Precinct Park which is adjacent to those residing in the suburb's northern outskirts, the adjoining Heiden Park, Oakdene Park (which features the Bland Oak), Artir Street Reserve, Waterside Crescent Reserve, Carramar Riverside Reserve, Sandal Crescent Reserve, Carrawood Park (which features a sports field) and Lansdowne Bridge Reserve (which features the David Lennox Walk track besides the creek and Lansdowne Bridge, which is observable to the south).^[9]

Economy

Residents have referred to Carramar as "the forgotten suburb" due to it having damaged footpaths, scarce street lighting and no disabled access for its train station. To improve the suburb, Fairfield City Council had planned in 2018 to establish a 3,200m² park in between Carramar and Villawood.^[10]

Notable people

• Maria Tran - actress, filmmaker^[11]