Carlingford Village Shopping Centre. Carlingford (postcode 2118), known affectionately to residents as "Carlo", is a suburb located approximately 22 km north-west of central Sydney, Australia, on the south-eastern outskirts of the Hills District. It is one of the busier suburbs within the Hills with many businesses available in the large town centre. To the east lies Epping; to the north lie Beecroft and West Pennant Hills; to the west lies North Rocks; to the south lie North Parramatta, Oatlands and Dundas.
Carlingford is the home of a growing Chinese population, attracted by the schools in the area (see below), as well as the significant Chinese community there. Carlingford's Chinese community, however, is much smaller than that of Chatswood or Hurstville, for example.
History and urban character
Carlingford shares its name with, and was named after, the town of Carlingford, located in the east of Ireland.
The area was settled in the mid-1800s and, at the time, was an agricultural area on the outskirts of Sydney. Like much of the Hills District, Carlingford was a significant orange-growing area for the city. The Carlingford train line, was the major route of transportation for agricultural produce from the area. Carlingford Produce, a gardening and agricultural-materials seller located next to the train station, is located in the former train workshops. This store, much like James Ruse Agricultural High School (see below) remain as testaments to the agricultural history of the suburb.
As Sydney rapidly expanded, following World War II, Carlingford underwent rapid urbanisation starting in the late 1960s. The presence of James Ruse Agricultural High School, established in 1959, is a testament to the agricultural history of Carlingford as well as the rapid pace of urbanisation; which soon made the school, and its large farm, somewhat of an anomaly amongst the 1970s- and 1980s-style houses which dominate the suburb. More recently, in the 1990s, the government policy of urban consolidation has seen the development of high-density units and apartment blocks around the town centre and the train station. There have also been redevelopments of older houses into medium-density townhouses, and duplex housing.
Commerce
Carlingford Court Shopping Centre. Carlingford has two shopping centres - Carlingford Court, which underwent major reconstruction in the late 1990s, and Carlingford Village, which was also recently redeveloped. Carlingford Court is a typical surburban shopping centre, while Carlingford Village caters more to the Chinese population. The Carlingford town centre, located on Pennant Hills Road, also comprises a number of street shops.
There are also several shopping strips elsewhere in Carlingford - near Carlingford station, including the only pub in Carlingford (Carlingford Bowling Club); North Carlingford, on North Rocks Road; north-west Carlingford on Carmen Drive; and south-west Carlingford, in the Kingsdene area, on Felton Rd (West).
Politics
Carlingford falls under the jurisdiction of several Local Government Areas: the City of Parramatta in the south, Hornsby Shire in the north-east, and Baulkham Hills Shire in the north-west. Similarly it falls under several Commonwealth (Berowra, Bennelong, Parramatta) and State (Epping, Baulkham Hills, Parramatta, The Hills) electoral divisions/districts.
The population of Carlingford, as with the rest of the relatively affluent northern Sydney, tend to hold conservative values and this is reflected in the popular vote. Baulkham Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire councils are consistently dominated by conservative councillors. Most of the electoral divisions that Carlingford lies within are safe Liberal seats. The exception is Parramatta City Council, and the electoral division and district of Parramatta - which tend to be marginal seats due to the influence of the ALP -voting populations of southern Sydney which are also part of those electorates. It is interesting that such a distinct demarcation of political-affliations across the Parramatta River occurs.
The Commonwealth Electoral Divisions of Berowra, currently held by Attorney-General the Hon. Philip Ruddock MP, and Bennelong, currently held by Prime Minister the Hon. John Winston Howard MP; are both safe or very safe Liberal seats. The Commonwealth Electoral Division of Parramatta, currently held by the Hon. Julie Owens MP, is nominally a marginal ALP seat; and was only recently regained from the previous Liberal member Ross Cameron in the 2004 election.
The State Electoral Districts of Baulkham Hills, currently held by the Hon. Wayne Merton MLA; Epping, currently held by Shadow Attorney-General the Hon. Andrew Tink MLA; and The Hills, currently held by Shadow Environment Minister the Hon. Michael Richardson MLA; are safe Liberal seats. The State Electoral District of Parramatta, currently held by the Hon. Tanya Gadiel MLA, is a marginal ALP seat.
Transport
Carlingford Station. Also visible, to the left, is Carlingford Produce. Cumberland Highway, Carlingford Public transport
Carlingford, as with much of north-west Sydney, has relatively poor public transport infrastructure. Two private bus companies operate infrequent services to Epping, Beecroft, Pennant Hills, and Parramatta train stations. There is also an infrequent route to West Ryde station operated by Sydney Buses. This has improved recently with the introduction of direct bus services to the city by private bus operators.
There is also a very infrequent low-patronage train service at Carlingford Station, which is the terminus of the Carlingford Line on the CityRail network. The Carlingford Line is a single-track line which does not connect to the city directly and this necessitates a train-change at Clyde, the other terminus of the Line.
There was to have been a major development of the Carlingford Line, as part of the Parramatta to Chatswood Rail Link project but, in 2003, this was postponed indefinitely by the NSW Transport Minister citing a lack of projected passenger numbers and economic viability. Instead only the Epping to Chatswood part of the rail link has been guaranteed.
Ross Cameron Right Wing Liberal Party MP for the Carlingford/Parramatta area has consistently failed to rally the state Government to bring "acceptable" public transport to the area.
The train line will close down indefinitely next year.
Roads
Carlingford suffers from major traffic congestion during morning and afternoon peaks. The major north-south national highway through Sydney, the Cumberland Highway, intersects Carlingford in the form of Pennant Hills Road. As well, many motorists commuting from the Hills District and the growing north-west areas of Sydney travel through Carlingford to the city.
The M2 Hills Motorway, part of the yet-to-be-completed Sydney Orbital, runs through northern Carlingford providing a rapid route to the city for those willing to pay the toll. It should be noted that when the M7 Western Orbital Motorway is completed later in the decade (2000s), completing the Sydney Orbital, it will replace the Cumberland Highway as the north-south national highway, relieving much of the traffic congestion on Pennant Hills Road (south of the M2 Hills Motorway).
Schools
Carlingford is the location of a large number of public and private schools. Indeed some residents have chosen to move to Carlingford because of the reputation of the schools there and in nearby suburbs.
Public primary schools
- Carlingford Public School
- Carlingford West Public School
- Murray Farm Public School
- Roselea Public School
Private primary schools
Public high schools
Churches
LDS Sydney Australia Temple, Carlingford As with much of northern Sydney, Carlingford also has a comparatively large number of Christian churches of many denominations. These include Carlingford Baptist Church, Carlingford Uniting Church, St Gerard Majella's Parish (Catholic), St. Paul's Anglican Church, Iglesia Ni Christo, Christian City Carlingford; and the Pacific headquarters and "Sydney Australia Temple" of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Other infrastructure
Carlingford is the site for one of the major electricity substations in northern Sydney, which is operated by Integral Energy. The same site also houses one of the major communications relay towers in northern Sydney. The importance of these two sites was highlighted by recent security upgrades to the facility following the September 11 attacks in New York. A security guard has also been positioned under the communications tower around-the-clock. This guard has apparently not been supplied with a chair by employers, and instead has been sighted on a chair clearly marked "JR HIGH" (indicating its source from the adjacent James Ruse Agricultural High School).
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