Belmore, New South Wales 2653236 225178074 2008-07-12T08:43:22Z J Bar 1452350 restored deleted photos [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 225009299 by [[Special:Contributions/122.107.48.149|122.107.48.149]] ([[User talk:122.107.48.149|talk]]) {{Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb | name = Belmore | city = [[Sydney]] | state = [[NSW]] | image = Belmore2.jpg | caption = Burwood Road, Belmore | lga = [[City of Canterbury, New South Wales|City of Canterbury]] | lga2 = | postcode = 2192 | est = | pop = | area = | propval = | stategov = [[Electoral district of Lakemba]] | fedgov = [[Division of Watson]] | near-nw = [[Greenacre, New South Wales|Greenacre ]] | near-n = [[Belfield, New South Wales|Belfield]] | near-ne = [[Campsie, New South Wales|Campsie]] | near-w = [[Lakemba, New South Wales|Lakemba ]] | near-e = [[Campsie, New South Wales|Campsie]] | near-sw = [[Roselands, New South Wales|Roselands]] | near-s = [[Kingsgrove, New South Wales|Kingsgrove]] | near-se = [[Clemton Park, New South Wales|Clemton Park]] | dist1 = 15 | dir1 = south-west | location1= [[Sydney CBD]] }} '''Belmore''' is a [[suburb]], in [[South-western Sydney| south-western]] [[Sydney]], in the state of [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]]. Belmore is located 15 kilometres south-west of the [[Sydney central business district]] in the [[City of Canterbury, New South Wales|City of Canterbury]]. ==History== Belmore is named after the fourth [[Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore|Earl of Belmore]], [[Governors of New South Wales|Governor]] of New South Wales from 1868-1872. The area was known as Darkwater in its early days. Some of the first land grants in 1810 were <span style="white-space:nowrap">40.5&nbsp;[[hectare]]s&nbsp;(100&nbsp;[[acres]])</span> to Richard Robinson east of Sharp Street and Kingsgrove Road and 60 acres to Thomas Mansfield, to the west. Francis Wild and John Sullivan were each granted 30 acres in 1823. The area was originally used for [[market gardening|market gardens]] and [[orchard]]s. Subdivision started after the railway came through in 1895.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Book of Sydney Suburbs|last=Pollen|first=Frances|publisher=Angus & Robertson Publishers|year=1990|location=Australia|id=ISBN 0-207-14495-8|page= page 26}}</ref> The first school opened in 1903 and the post office opened in 1907. The shopping centre began developing in the 1920s and features some classic examples of [[art-deco]] architecture. ==Commercial Area== Belmore contains a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial developments. The main commercial area is located along Burwood Road, near Belmore railway station. Commercial and industrial developments are also located along Canterbury Road and surrounding streets. <gallery> Image:Belmore1.jpg| [[Art-deco]] building, corner Burwood Road and Bridge Road Image:Belmore4.JPG| [[Art-deco]] amenities block Image:Belmore3.JPG| Stationmaster's cottage on Burwood Road </gallery> ==Transport== [[Belmore railway station, Sydney|Belmore railway station]] is located on the [[Bankstown railway line, Sydney|Bankstown line]] of the [[CityRail]] network. The line was opened in 1895 and [[electrified]] in 1926. The station at Belmore opened on [[1 February]] [[1895]]. ==Churches and Schools== * All Saints Greek Orthodox Church, St Albans Anglican Church, St Josephs Catholic Church, Belmore Church of Christ. * Belmore South Public School, Belmore North Public School, Belmore Boys High School, St Josephs Primary School, All Saints Grammar.<ref>[http://www.allsaints.nsw.edu.au/ All Saints Grammar]</ref> <gallery> Image:Belmore Church 1.JPG|All Saints Greek Orthodox Church Image:Belmore Church 2.JPG|St Josephs Catholic Church Image:Belmore Boys High School.JPG|Belmore Boys High School Image:Belmore The Towers.JPG|The Towers, All Saints Grammar </gallery> ==Culture== ===Sport=== [[Belmore Sports Ground]] is the former home ground of the [[National Rugby League]] team [[Canterbury Bulldogs]], It is the current home ground for New South Wales Premier League team [[Sydney Olympic]]. The "Back to Belmore" campaign was established in August 2005 to upgrade Belmore Sports Grounds as a top-class sporting facility to NRL standards for the Bulldogs to stage a select number of NRL games at their traditional home ground in the long-term future. <gallery> Image: Belmore5.JPG |Belmore Hotel Image: Belmore Hotel 1.JPG |Belmore Brewery, St George Hotel Image: BelmoreLeaguesClub.JPG |Canterbury Leagues Club </gallery> ==Population== ===Demographics=== Belmore is one of Australia's more ethnically diverse suburbs. According to the 2001 Census, 48.5 per cent of Belmore residents (6,053 persons) stated they had been born overseas<ref>{{Census 2001 AUS|id=SSC11191|name=Belmore (State Suburb)|accessdate=2007-06-30}} </ref>, far higher than the Australian average of 23.1 per cent. Nonetheless, the Australia-born still constituted the largest birthplace group at 41.0 per cent (5,115 persons), followed by those born in [[Greece]] at 8.1 per cent (1,007 persons), [[Lebanon]] at 5.2 per cent (651 persons) and [[People's Republic of China|China]] at 4.4 per cent (544 persons). In terms of ethnicity, the largest group in 2001 were those claiming [[Greek people|Greek]] ancestry with 16.7 per cent of responses or 2,262 persons, followed by those claiming "[[Australian]]" background at 8.0 per cent or 1,083 persons, and thirdly by those claiming [[English people|English]] descent with 7.9 per cent or 1,069 persons. Census data on language spoken at home in Belmore reveals that '[[English language|English]] only' is used by 25.6 per cent of residents (3,197 persons), followed by [[Greek language|Greek]] of 17.3 per cent (2,160 persons) and [[Arabic language|Arabic]] which is spoken by 13.7 per cent (1,708 persons). The English language was spoken exclusively or "very well" or "well" by 71.1 per cent of the suburb's overseas-born in 2001. According to the census, [[Christianity]] was the most followed faith in the suburb with 65.5 per cent of residents (8,170 persons) claiming to be Christian. However, Christians in the area belong to many sects, with the largest proportions being [[Catholic]] at 26.0 per cent or 3,242 persons, [[Orthodox]] with 21.4 per cent or 2,675 persons, and [[Anglican]] with 6.7 per cent or 839 persons. If Christianity is thus separated statistically, [[Islam]] overtakes Anglicanism as the third largest faith grouping and accounts for 8.5 per cent of residents or 1,063 persons; the census does not differentiate between [[Sunni]] and [[Shi'a]]. ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == {{Mapit-AUS-suburbscale|lat=-33.91752|long=151.08782}} * [http://www.canterbury.nsw.gov.au/www/html/7-home-page.asp City of Canterbury] * [http://www.allsaints.nsw.edu.au All Saints Grammar] * [http://www.backtobelmore.com.au Back to Belmore - Back to the Future, Back to Basics] {{Sydney Canterbury suburbs}} [[Category:Suburbs of Sydney]]