Auburn
The Auburn Council area is located in Sydney’s western suburbs - about 17 kilometres from the Sydney GPO. The Auburn Council area is bounded by the Parramatta River in the north, the City of Canada Bay and the Strathfield Council area in the east, Bankstown City in the south and Parramatta City in the west. The Auburn Council area includes the suburbs of Auburn, Berala, Homebush Bay, Lidcombe, Newington, Regents Park (part), Rookwood and Silverwater.
The Auburn Council area is predominantly a residential and industrial area, but also has significant commercial, institutional, recreational and parkland areas. There are also substantial areas used for a prison and a cemetery. The Council area encompasses a total land area of about 32 square kilometres. Auburn is thought to be named in honour of a poem by Oliver Goldsmith. It was originally known as Liberty Plains.
The original inhabitants of the Auburn area were the Wangal clan of the Eora Aboriginal tribe. European settlement dates from 1792 when the first farms were established. Settlement continued slowly during the early 1800s, with land used mainly for sheep and cattle farming. Growth increased in the 1870s and 1880s, aided by the opening of railway lines and the establishment of many industries. Auburn developed as an industrial area throughout the early 1900s, increasing in population from 7,000 in 1901 to 37,000 in 1933. The most significant development took place from the 1930s to the 1960s, especially in the post-war period, with the population increasing to 42,000 in 1947. From the 1960s to the early 1980s the population declined slightly, falling from 49,000 in 1961 to 47,000 in 1986. Since the late 1980s the population has increased, rising from over 48,000 in 1991 to nearly 51,000 in 1996. Growth increased from 1996, with the population reaching nearly 65,000 in 2006. Growth since the 1990s has been largely due to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, with extensive industrial lands in the north-eastern suburbs of Newington and Homebush Bay redeveloped for sporting, recreation, entertainment and housing, especially medium and high-density development. Growth is expected to continue, aided by rezoning and the development of former industrial and government land. Major features of the Council area include Sydney Olympic Park, State Sports Centre, ANZ Stadium, Acer Arena, Sydney Aquatic Centre, TAFE NSW South Western Sydney Institute (Lidcombe College), The University of Sydney (Cumberland Campus), Rookwood Necropolis (Cemetery), Silverwater & Mulawa Correctional Centre, Auburn District Hospital, Auburn Botanic Gardens and Bicentennial Park. The Council area is served by the M4 Western Motorway and the Bankstown and Emu Plains/Richmond railway lines.
Sourced from Auburn council web site