Epping, New South Wales


Epping is a suburb of Sydney, in the Australian state of New South Wales, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. Epping is located in the Northern Sydney region, and is sometimes simply referred to as the “North-West” or North Shore.
The suburb is the most north-eastern area of the City of Parramatta. North Epping is a separate suburb to the north and under a different council, Hornsby Shire.

History

The Wallumedegal Aboriginal tribe lived in the area between the Lane Cove River and Parramatta River. In 1792, Governor Arthur Phillip began the granting of parcels of lands to marines, and the area was referred to on Phillip's maps as the Field of Mars, Mars being the Roman god of war. It contained the area of what is now Epping, along with the surrounding suburbs of Ryde and Marsfield.
Epping railway station was opened on 17 September 1886, originally named "Field of Mars", and quickly renamed to "Carlingford" on 5 April 1887. The Post Office was opened on 16 October 1889, originally named "East Carlingford".
In 1899 the suburb name of Epping was adopted following the suggestion by a local landowner William Midson, after a town near Epping Forest in Essex, where his father was born. At this time, the names of the post office and the railway station were both changed to Epping.
The Seven Network had its headquarters and television production studios in Epping until 2009. The site is now occupied by residential apartments.
Until 2016, parts of Epping were under three different councils: Hornsby Shire, City of Ryde and City of Parramatta. A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that all of Epping be amalgamated into the City of Parramatta, and this became effective on 12 May 2016.

Commercial area

Epping features a large Coles supermarket on Rawson Street, and many small businesses including newsagencies, pharmacies, Asian grocers and many restaurants near Epping railway station. Other commercial and light industrial developments are also located in the surrounding area.
The Epping RSL Club is a popular venue, which attracts many people including students from the nearby Macquarie University. Epping also has a pub with its own nightclub, Tracks.

Redevelopment as "Urban Renewal Area"

A major re-development of the Epping Town Centre is planned as part of the NSW government's "Urban Renewal Area" programme. The changes to zoning for this programme cover 54 hectares, including provision for building heights of 8 to 22 storeys for mixed commercial and residential use within a 400-metre radius of the railway station, and about 3,750 additional homes within 800 metres of it. These zoning changes were finalized and approved in March 2014, although residents have expressed concerns about issues including traffic management, lack of parking, storm water drainage and access to schools.
The first major project under this programme was scheduled to be Grocon's amalgamation of four lots at 30-42 Oxford Street, acquired in September 2015 for a cost of $56 million. Plans for a 16-storey development of more than 250 apartments for a total value of more than $300 million were lodged with the council. However, in early 2016 they sold the blocks. In late 2019, the "Oxford Central" development of 251 or 252 apartments, car parking and retail was completed on the site by developer Greaton and construction company Ceerose.

Transport

is a junction station on the Northern Line of the Sydney Trains network, the Central Coast & Newcastle Line of the NSW TrainLink network, and the new rapid transit Sydney Metro Northwest since its opening on 26 May 2019.
Epping is also well-serviced by bus facilities by State Transit and Hillsbus. The M2 Hills Motorway runs along the northern border to the Sydney CBD. Epping Road is a major arterial road in the area that runs east from the railway station to the Pacific Highway.
In spite of the range of public transport options, the 2011 census found that only 31% of employed people travelled to work on public transport, compared to 51% who travelled by car.

Community facilities

Epping is well served with community facilities, provided by the councils or other organizations. These include:
Some schools and churches also have halls and other facilities that can be made available for community uses.

Parks, playgrounds, sports fields

NameAddressFacilities
Boronia Park37 Bridge St, EppingSporting field, cricket pitch, children's playground with 6m climbing web, war memorial, children's bike track, seating, picnic shelters, barbecue, public toilets, change rooms
David Scott Reserve97 Midson Rd, EppingTennis courts, children's playground, seating, picnic tables
Duncan Park47 Kent St, EppingSporting field, croquet green
Epping Athletic TrackNorfolk Road, EppingAthletics track, toilets, car park
Epping OvalNorfolk Road, EppingCricket pitch, practice nets, soccer field, toilets, car park
Epping Oval PlaygroundNorfolk Road, North EppingFenced playground unit, swings, 6m climbing tower, large double picnic shelter, open grassed area, BBQ, toilets
Forest ParkForest Grove, EppingRose garden, war memorial, playground, picnic tables, toilets
Grant Close Netball CourtsGrant Close, EppingNetball courts, toilets
Henry Brigg Park Maida Road corner of Essex Street, EppingSwing set, fenced
Kim Rutherford Reserve20 Wyralla Ave, EppingChildren's playground, seating
Loftus Square35 Willoughby St, EppingTwo children's playgrounds, seating, multipurpose courts, picnic facilities
North Epping OvalBoundary Road, North EppingCricket pitch, soccer field, toilets, car park
Pembroke Street Park8 Pembroke Street corner of Chambers Court, EppingPlayground, fenced, picnic table
Rockleigh ParkEssex St, EppingSmall covered pergola
Ron Payne ParkWoods St, North EppingCricket pitch, practice nets, soccer field, toilets, car park
Somerville OvalBlaxland Road, EppingCricket pitch, practice nets, rugby field, toilets, car park
West Epping OvalDowning street, EppingCricket pitch, practice nets, soccer field, toilets, car park

Churches

Formerly the American International School of Sydney was located here.

Demographics

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' 2016 Census, Epping had a population of 23,688, of whom 11,697 were male and 11,992 were female.
; Ethnic diversity : 41.4% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were China 18.9%, South Korea 7.4%, India 6.0%, Hong Kong 5.4% and Malaysia 1.8%. 38.5% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 20.6%, Cantonese 12.0%, Korean 9.1%, Hindi 2.6% and Tamil 1.4%.
; Age distribution :The median age of people in Epping was 36 years. Children aged under 15 years made up 17% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.2% of the population.
; Income : Median weekly household income was $1,973, compared to the national average of $1,438.
; Housing : More than three quarters of private dwellings were family households, 15.6% were single person households and 5.9% were group households. Stand-alone houses accounted for 55.5% of occupied dwellings, while 32.2% were flats, units or apartments and 12.0% were semi-detached. The average household size was 2.9 people.
; Religion : The most commonly reported religious affiliations in the 2016 Census were No Religion 36.1%, Catholic 15.1% and Anglican 8.4%. In the fifteen years from 2001 to 2016, the Census shows that the largest change in religion was the number of people who were not affiliated with any religion, which increased from 16.6% to 36.1% of the population.

Government

At a local government level, Epping lies solely within the City of Parramatta Local Government Area.
At a state level, Epping is mostly represented by the electoral district of Epping, with a small area on the southern edge of Chesterfield Road that is within the Electoral district of Ryde.
At a federal level, Epping falls in the Division of Bennelong.