Kingsgrove is located 13 km south of the Sydney’s CBD and lies across the local government areas of the City of Rockdale, the City of Hurstville and the City of Canterbury.
Kingsgrove is bounded by the Wolli Creek and the railway line in the north, a line running between Staples Street and Laycock Street in the east, generally by Stoney Creek Road in the south and Kingsgrove Road in the west.
Kingsgrove is thought to be named after Governor Phillip Gidley King. Development of the area dates primarily from the late 1800s, when slaughter yards, market gardens, dairies and poultry farms were scattered through the area. Substantial growth did not occur until new housing estates opened in the 1930s, spurred by the opening of the railway line, although growth was slow until the 1940s.
The main shopping centre is located on Kingsgrove Road, south of Kingsgrove railway station. Commercial and industrial developments are located on the northern side of the railway line, west of Kingsgrove Road. There are also some commercial developments scattered along Stoney Creek Road and Canterbury Road. A small group of shops on Stoney Creek Road is known as the Kingsway locality.
Major features of the area include Our Lady of Fatima Primary School and De La Salle & St Ursulas College.
Parks in the suburb include Kingsgrove Avenue Reserve, Smith Reserve and Beverly Grove Reserve. Kingsgrove is also home of the Lions den Academy where many of the states top mixed martial artist and amateur boxers train.
Governor Philip King granted 500 acres in 1804 to Hannah Laycock (1758-1831), the wife of Quartermaster Thomas Laycock (1756-1809). She named the farm King's Grove in Governor King’s honour. This was later simplified to Kingsgrove.
Governor King made Thomas Laycock an officer of merit and recommended him to fill the vacancy an ensign in the New South Wales Corps. Two of their sons, William and Samuel were also given land grants of 100 acres each in the same area in 1804 and Hannah received another 120 acres in 1812. The entire 820 acres of Kingsgrove farm when sold to Simeon Lord in 1829, extended from Campsie and Clemton Park to Stoney Creek Road.
The first inn built in the area was the Man of Kent on Kingsgrove Road, near Morris Avenue and was licensed by Evan Evans, a former sea captain, on the 1st July 1850. His daughter Maria married Thomas Smithson, who manufactured snuff and tobacco from premises in Stoney Creek Road. Smithson also had a vineyard on the site of today’s Bexley Golf Course. Kingsgrove railway station opened in 1931 and development in the area followed.
The following statistics are provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census for the suburb of Kingsgrove.
Population
There were 10695 persons usually resident in Kingsgrove: 48.7% were males and 51.3% were females. Of the total population in Kingsgrove 0.4% were Indigenous persons.
Age
The majority of residents are aged between 25 – 54 years with a total of 39.6%. 17.8% of the population usually resident in Kingsgrove were children aged between 0-14 years, and 30.9% were persons aged 55 years and over. The median age of persons in Kingsgrove was 40 years, compared with 37 years for persons in Australia.
Country of birth
Australian born residents totalled 54.2%. Other common responses within Kingsgrove (Suburb) were: China 6.9%, Greece 6.1%, Italy 3.1%, Hong Kong 2.3% and New Zealand 2.2%.
Languages
English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 39.8% of persons usually resident in Kingsgrove. The most common languages other than English spoken at home were: Greek 17.9%, Cantonese 9.2%, Arabic 6.0%, Mandarin 5.0% and Italian 4.7%.
Religion
The most common responses for religious affiliation for persons usually resident in Kingsgrove were Catholic 29.3%, Eastern Orthodox 23.1%, No Religion 10.7%, Anglican 10.0% and Buddhism 4.4%.
Occupation
4850 people aged 15 years and over who were usually resident in Kingsgrove were in the labour force. There were 3517 usual residents aged 15 years and over not in the labour force.
The most common responses for occupation for employed persons usually resident in Kingsgrove were Professionals 20.1%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 18.7%, Technicians and Trades Workers 15.0%, Managers 10.4% and Labourers 10.1%.
The median weekly family income was $1149, compared with $1171 in Australia.
Families
There were 3061 families in Kingsgrove: 51.2% were couple families with children, 32.6% were couple families without children, 14.8% were one parent families and 1.4% were other families.
Housing
There were 3827 occupied private dwellings counted in Kingsgrove: 88.8% were separate houses, 4.8% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 5.4% were flats, units or apartments and 1.0% were other dwellings.
The median weekly rent was $265, compared to $190 in Australia. The median monthly housing loan repayment was $1733, compared to $1300 in Australia. The average household size was 2.8 and the average number of persons per bedroom was 1.1.
|