When it comes to Sydney, Roselands may not be as talked about as say Bondi or Parramatta but the tiny little suburb in Sydney’s upper, inner south west holds its own. Plus of course, it’s the place we call home.
To show our love for our favourite Sydney suburb, we’ve made a short little history on the suburb known as Roselands.
The original inhabitants of Roselands
The surrounding areas of what we now call western Sydney were first inhabited by Australian Aboriginals as long as 40,000 years ago. The British settlement of course came to Botany Bay in 1788 and the local inhabitants at that time were Aborigines of the Darug language group, who called themselves Kuri or Koori. A colonial government began in Roselands in about 1810.
1. Early settlement
For the first century and a half, Roselands was just part of Punchbowl and today it still shares its postcode of 2196. In about 1880, a lad named John Fenwick bought 100 acres (0.40km2) from another lad, Matthew Norman, in the area between Canterbury, Canarys and Bonds Roads. There he built Belmore House. In the 1960s, this was demolished for the construction of the Roselands Shopping Centre.
Later, a golf course was built with the same name which was also taken over to build the shopping centre.
2. Roselands the suburb is born
On 9 February 1986, Roselands officially became its own suburb and took its name from the plant nursery that originally occupied the land. The border of Roselands is surrounded by Chapel St, Canterbury Rd, King Georges Rd and Moorefields Rd.
3. Roselands Shopping Centre
The Roselands Shopping Centre was just the third fully enclosed shopping precinct in Australia when it opened in October 1965 (Chermside Drive-in Shopping Centre opened in May 1957 in Brisbane and Top Ryde Drive-in Shopping Centre opened in November 1957).
This shopping centre was built on the site of a golf course and boasted a large Grace Bros Department Store (which is now still running under the ‘Myer’ name), a single movie cinema, an indoor rainfall water feature (the ‘raindrop fountain’), tennis courts and the first food court in Australia. Many local bus services were diverted to service the new shopping centre upon its opening, but the centre was modern in that it knew the automobile was now king and therefore plenty of parking was built.
Roselands has had plenty of facelifts over the years but compared to the Westfields of Miranda and Parramatta, it’s quite small. It is now owned and operated by Vicinity Centres and has a three-floor Myer store, Target, Coles, Food For Less, JB Hi-Fi, a large Food Court and other speciality stores.
4. Census Stats
According to the 2011 Census, here is who you’ll find in Roselands:
- 6774 men, 6948 women (13,722 total)
- There are a lot of kids in the area, 20% of Roselands residents are 14 or under. However over 25% of residents are over 55 years of age
- 44% of residents were born overseas. About a quarter of those were born in Europe and another quarter in Asia. The most popular backgrounds are Greek (13.2% of residents), Lebanese (12.1%)
- For 56% of residents, English is their second language
- 53% of Roselands residents (15 years or over) are married
5. Places to stretch your legs
#1 – Parry Park
This beautiful park on Punchbowl Road features sporting fields and tennis courts. It’s also home to the Australian National Sports Club and features a creek to walk the dog along.
#2 – Scott Reserve
The corner of Bonds and Canterbury Roads boasts a small playground by a walking track. The park is scattered with trees and has a slight slope, perfect for rolling, running or cartwheeling down, if you’re feeling so inclined.
#3 – Roselands Aquatic Centre
The centre (which coincidentally happens to be in Centre Avenue) has a 50m outdoor pool and a 25m indoor pool, both of which are heated. It also has a toddler pool with a ramp, a large grassy area and grandstand and new sauna facilities. It’s a great place for a BBQ on a hot day- with BBQ and picnic facilities in the grounds of the aquatic centre.
Programs include Learn To Swim, Swimming Squads & Swim coach training, intensive school holiday swim programs, aquarobics and fitness classes.
#4 – Lantern Club
Of course, we weren’t going to leave little old (well, relatively new) Lantern Club out of a Roselands feature, were we? The Mingara Leisure Group amalgamated with the Roselands Bowling Club on 12 November 2012. While the bowling greens remain, the club itself has been transformed into a premier venue with its showpiece being the MàZi Restaurant. But don’t take our word for it, see what some of our customers have had to say about Lantern Club!
To request a table at the amazing MàZi Restaurant, simply fill out the form below.
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