Everything about Camden New South Wales totally explained
Camden is a historic town in
New South Wales,
Australia. Camden is located 65 kilometres south-west of the
Sydney central business district, and is the administrative centre for the
local government area of
Camden Council. It lies on the fringe of the Sydney Metropolitan area and is close to the
Sydney suburb of
Campbelltown.
History
Indigenous People
The area now known as Camden was originally at the northern edge of land belonging to the
Gandangara people of the Southern Highlands who called it Benkennie meaning 'dry land'. North of the
Nepean River were the
Muringong, southernmost of the
Darug people while to the east were the
Tharawal people. They lived in extended family groups of 20-40 members, hunting
kangaroos,
possums and
eels and gathering
yams and other seasonal fruit and vegetables from the local area. They were described as 'short, stocky, strong and superbly built' and generally considered peaceful. However, as British settlers encroached on their land and reduced their food sources, they turned to armed resistance which ended in 1816 after many of their number were massacred.
European settlement
Explorers first visited the area in 1795 and named it 'Cowpastures' after a herd of cattle that had disappeared was discovered there. In February 1805,
Governor King instructed (apparently reluctantly) a surveyor to measure 5,000 acres (20 km²) for
John Macarthur at Cowpastures, where Macarthur had been promised land by the
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies,
Lord Camden. Macarthur named his property
Camden Park in honour of his sponsor.
As Macarthur's wool industry thrived, local citizens began pushing for the establishment of a town in the area to support the industry. Surveyor-General Major
Thomas Mitchell suggested Macarthur surrender of his land for the purpose to which he refused. Following his death in 1834, his children decided to subdivide the land and the first lots in the new town of Camden went on sale in 1840. By 1883, the population had grown to over 300 and a movement began to establish a local council which held its first meeting in 1889.
Transport
Between 1882 and 1962 Camden was connected to
Campbelltown and
Sydney by the
Camden railway line. Camden is served by
Camden Airport, which is mostly used by trainnee pilots for flying schools, the
Australian Air League, and other forms of general aviation.
Education
Camden is the location of research facilities for the veterinary and agricultural schools of the
University of Sydney.
Events and celebrations
Camden is well known for the annual
Camden Show, which combines
amusement park attractions with the elements of a
state fair.
Media
Camden is served by two local radio stations,
2MCR and C91.3FM. Local newspapers are the
Camden Advertiser
, the District Reporter and the Macarthur Chronicle.
People
Demographics
In the 2006
Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, the suburb of Camden had a population of 3,166 people. Most families are couples with children (42%) or couples without (36%) with a small number of single parent families (20%). They live in detached houses (73%) and are mostly Australian born (82%) with those not born in Australia primarily from English speaking countries such as England (6%), New Zealand (1%) or Scotland (1%).
Notable residents
A number of prominent people were either born in Camden or lived there for a significant part of their lives:
Politics
Camden Council consists of nine councillors; three for each of the three wards. North Ward (Bringelly, Rossmore, Leppington, Cobbitty, Oran Park, Catherine Field, Harrington Park, Smeaton Grange, Currans Hill, Kirkham) is represented by Peter Johnson, David Funnell and Cindy Cagney. Central Ward (Mount Annan, Narellan, Narellan Vale) is represented by Fred Anderson, Rob Elliott and Debby Dewbery. South Ward (Ellis Lane, Grasmere, Camden, Elderslie, Spring Farm, Bickley Vale, Cawdor, Camden South) is represented by Chris Patterson, Eva Campbell and Fred Whiteman.
Chris Patterson was elected mayor in 2006. Cindy Cagney was elected deputy mayor in 2007.
Camden is contained within the
federal electorate of
Macarthur and the
state electorate of
Camden.
The state seat of Camden covers the
Camden Council area and some fringe areas of Campbelltown. It is currently held by Labor's
Geoff Corrigan, the former Mayor of Camden and was won from the Liberal Party at the 2003 State election.
The federal seat of Macarthur has traditionally been a
bellwether seat, but even with a change in government at the
2007 election, the sitting Liberal MP, former ultra-marathon runner
Pat Farmer, narrowly survived an 11% swing against him.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Camden New South Wales'.
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