Chatswood West, New South Wales

Chatswood West is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Chatswood West is located 11 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Willoughby and City of Ryde. Chatswood is a separate suburb. The area of Chatswood located west of the Pacific Highway is informally known as West Chatswood, which should not be confused with the separate suburb of Chatswood West, nor should it be confused with the West Chatswood Post Office on Railway Street in the Suburb of Chatswood. Chatswood West shares the same postcode as Chatswood which is 2067.[2]

Chatswood West Sydney, New South Wales
Fullers Bridge, Chatswood West
Population	1,499 (2016 census)[1]
• Density	535/km^2 (1,387/sq mi)
Established	20 January 2006
Postcode(s)	2067
Area	2.8 km^2 (1.1 sq mi)
Location	10 km (6 mi) north-west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)	City of Willoughby, City of Ryde
State electorate(s)	Lane Cove, Willoughby
Federal Division(s)	Bennelong Bradfield North Sydney
Suburbs around Chatswood West: Macquarie Park Lindfield Roseville North Ryde Chatswood West Chatswood Lane Cove West Lane Cove Artarmon

Chatswood West is located between the bigger suburbs of Chatswood and North Ryde. It straddles the Lane Cove River, occupying the valley flats and ridges leading down to the river.

History

Chatswood is believed to be named after the pet name "Chat" of the second wife of Richard Harnett (a pioneer of the district) and the original "wooded" nature of the area.[3]

Chatswood West played a part in a famous Australian mystery, with the bodies of Dr Gilbert Bogle and Mrs Margaret Chandler being discovered on the banks of the Lane Cove River, 70 metres south of Fullers Bridge, on 1 January 1963.[4]

Site of the Dr Gilbert Bogle and Mrs Margaret Chandler mystery, Fullers Bridge, Chatswood West

Chatswood West split off from Chatswood to become a separate suburb on 20 January 2006.[5] Chislehurst was a large historic house on Centennial Avenue.

Commercial area

Chatswood West is mainly residential, with small commercial areas on Fullers Road. The National Acoustics Laboratories is on Greville Street.

Houses

The residential buildings are overwhelmingly detached houses. The average house price in Chatswood West is $1,740,000 in 2016, and the average rental price is $700p/w.[6] Many houses within Chatswood West, especially those in Greville Street, Colwell Crescent and Mooney Street look onto Chatswood Golf Club.

Schools

Chatswood West is served by Chatswood High School and Chatswood Public School. Near by schools also include Mowbray Public School, which is located in Lane Cove North.

Facilities

Facilities within Chatswood West includes Chatswood Golf Club.

View from residential property onto Chatswood Gold Club

Transport

There are regular buses that connect the area with the Chatswood CBD, and other suburbs such as Parramatta. The main bus routes that connect Chatswood to Chatswood West are routes 255 and 256, run by State Transit.[7][8]

Chatswood railway station is on the North Shore & Western Line and Northern Line of the Sydney Trains network as well as the Sydney Metro Northwest which opened in 2018.

Population

Demographics

According to the 2016 census, there were 1,499 residents in Chatswood West. 57.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was China at 9.3%. 67.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin at 11.2%. The most common responses for religion in Chatswood West were No Religion 36.5%, Catholic 21.2% and Anglican 13.0%.[1]

Notable residents

• Kenneth Slessor - poet, lived on the west side of the Pacific Highway
• Roger Woodward - pianist, lived at Peckham Street
• Errol Flynn - movie star, lived in McLean Avenue
• Tony Abbott - politician, lived in West Parade

Parks

There are a number of parks and forest reserves such as Ferndale Park. There are walking tracks and a golf course. There are two entrances to Lane Cove National Park from Chatswood West, one on Lady Game Drive, and one on Delhi Road, next to Fullers Bridge.

Noteworthy indigenous flora includes the blackbutt, tree heath, celery wood, coachwood, native crabapple and hard corkwood. Ferns include jungle brake, fishbone water fern, filmy fern and necklace fern.

Fauna includes powerful owl, barking owl, Australian king parrot, brush turkey, eastern whipbird, satin bowerbird, eastern water dragon, emerald spotted frog, enamelled spider, red triangle slug, blue planarian, long-nosed bandicoot and marsupial mouse.

• 
  Crossing of Swaines Creek, Chatswood West
• 
  Coachwood - Ferndale Park
• 
  Forest scene - Ferndale Park
• 
  Tributary of Swaines Creek
• 
  Large blackbutt - Ferndale Park
• 
  Coachwood rainforest - Ferndale Park
• 
  Lilli pilli rainforest - Ferndale Park
• 
  Hawkesbury sandstone and rock felt fern (Pyrrosia rupestris)

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Chatswood West (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
2. Post, Australia. "Chatswood Postcode". auspost.com.au. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
3. The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8, page 59
4. Brown, Russell (7 July 1998). "Bogle & Chandler: The Discovery of the Bodies". boglechandler.com/. Russell Brown. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2007.
5. "Chatswood West". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
6. "Free Suburb Profile report for Chatswood West NSW (2067)". www.yourinvestmentpropertymag.com.au. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
7. "State Transit route 255". Transport for NSW.
8. "State Transit route 256". Transport for NSW.