Oxley Park, New South Wales

Oxley Park is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 43 kilometres (27 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.

Oxley Park
SydneyNew South Wales
Oxley Park Public School
Map
Population4,197 (2021 census)[1]
Established1823
Postcode(s)2760
Elevation44 m (144 ft)
Location43 km (27 mi) west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)Penrith City Council
State electorate(s)Londonderry
Federal division(s)Lindsay
Suburbs around Oxley Park:
North St Marys North St Marys Whalan
St Marys Oxley Park Mount Druitt
St Marys Colyton Minchinbury

History

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Oxley Park was named after explorer John Oxley (1784–1828) was granted 600 acres (2.4 km2) in this area in 1808, being officially announced or 'gazetted' in 1823.[2] The grant extended from Queen street St Marys east to Ropes Creek and from the Great Western Highway to the railway line.

Oxley Park Public School was established in 1957 and is still in operation.[3][4]

Land use

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Oxley Park is a residential suburb. It is one of the older suburbs around St Marys, with older homes on large blocks of land. Its boundaries are Ropes Creek in the east, the Great Western Highway to the south, Sydney Street as its western border, and the Main Western railway line as the northern edge separating it from North St Marys.

Aside from housing, Oxley Park features sporting fields such as the Cec Blinkhorn/Ridge Park sporting oval and other facilities such as Oxley Park Primary School, St Marys Uniting Church (which holds services catering to Cook Islander, Samoan, and regular English-speaking churchgoers[5]), and St Marys Cemetery (the second-largest cemetery in the City of Penrith behind the one in Kingswood[6]).

As a small residential suburb with no central business district or industrial areas, the closest being the one along Queen street in St Marys and the Dunheved/North St Marys region north of the train line, a dedicated strip of Sydney street is zoned for convenience stores and small businesses such as a bakery, specialty clothing store, medical practice, salon, pharmacy and woodfire pizza parlour.

A smaller park in the suburb, Brian King park, along Braddon street, features a playground that was designed with input contributed by students in grades 5 and 6 of the local Oxley Park Primary School during the 2019 Penrith Mayoral Challenge.[7][8] Brian King was a mayor of Penrith who served for 10-12 years cumulatively, eventually receiving the Order of Australia honour for his service, and he lived in Oxley park for most of his life until his passing in 2001. [9][10]

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Trivia

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The main streets that cut through Oxley Park and the segment of St Marys between Glossop street and Sydney street follow the theme of being named after capital cities of Australian states.

In actuality, their namesakes are battleships of the Australian Navy.[11] Sydney street was named after HMAS Sydney, Adelaide street after HMAS Adelaide, Canberra street after HMAS Canberra, Brisbane street after HMAS Brisbane, Hobart street after HMAS Hobart, Melbourne street after HMAS Melbourne, and Perth street after HMAS Perth. There is no Darwin street.

References

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33°46′15″S 150°47′36″E / 33.77083°S 150.79333°E / -33.77083; 150.79333

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Oxley Park (State Suburb)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 July 2014.  
  2. ^ "Oxley Park". Penrith City Local History. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Oxley Park". Penrith City Local History. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Guess Who's Turning 60?". oxleypark-p.schools.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  5. ^ "About Us - St Marys Uniting Church". stmarys.uca.org.au. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Cemeteries - Penrith City Council". www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  7. ^ Newsroom, Weekender (7 July 2020). "Student-designed playground opens in Oxley Park • The Western Weekender". Retrieved 17 July 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "Student-designed playground opens in Oxley Park - Penrith City Council". www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Local Government History - Penrith City Council". www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  10. ^ "The Mayor of Penrith City council Ald. Brian King in the council..." Getty Images. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Oxley Park". Penrith City Local History. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
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