Illawong is an Aboriginal word meaning between two waters, referring to the Georges and Woronora Rivers. Illawong was originally inhabited by the Tharawal and/or Eora tribes who left remnants of their lives in many middens, rock carvings and cave paintings. The Illawong Nature Reserve also lies "between two waters". In this case, the reserve lies between a system of 2 wetlands, which in combination with the heavily vegetated ridgeland, provide habitat which is particularly suited to the long necked turtle. Captain John Hunter was the first European to explore the area. In 1789, Hunter sailed through the Georges and Woronora Rivers. In 1795-6, with Matthew Flinders and George Bass, Hunter explored further up the Georges River and declared the area of Bankstown. Construction of Old Illawarra Road took place between 1843 and 1845 and was inspected by Major Thomas Mitchell, it being one of the last public works completed by convicts. The construction allowed the new route to be about 32 kilometres shorter towards the South Coast. At the southern end of the district Major Mitchell took the road across the ford at the head of the Woronora River, naming the ford "Pass of Sabugal", possibly due to the resemblance in scenery of the north-eastern frontier of Portugal. In the 1890s Menai was a farming area and Illawong, which was then known as East Menai, was an area where wealthy people of Sydney built holiday homes and weekenders. During the 1970s the Menai region was suburbanised, and Illawong was chosen to have historic nautical street names. (Bangor, New South Wales having Aboriginal names, Alfords Point, New South Wales having botanic names and Barden Ridge, New South Wales having names to do with Australian pioneers. This area was ravaged in the 1994 Eastern seaboard fires, which also caused destruction in the suburbs of Alfords Point, Bangor, Menai and Como. Illawong is considered to be a bushfire prone area.
Population
At the 2016 census, there were 7,271 residents in Illawong. The most common ancestries in Illawong were English 22.9%, Australian 22.0%, Irish 7.6%, Scottish 5.9% and Lebanese 5.5%. 75.7% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 2.7%, Lebanon 2.1% and China 1.9%. 74.4% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arabic 5.3%, Greek 4.2%, Cantonese 1.8%, Macedonian 1.6% and Mandarin 1.6%. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 32.3%, Anglican 18.2%, No Religion 17.3% and Eastern Orthodox 9.6%. The median weekly household income was $2,466 and this was considerably higher than the national figure of $1,438. Most dwellings were separate houses and these tended to be large, with 72.4% of dwellings having 4 or more bedrooms.
Commercial area
Illawong Village shopping centre sits between Fowler Road and Hobart Place. Originally a small collection of shops, the shopping centre was rebuilt in 2007. Illawong Village features a Coles supermarket, Liquorland and many specialty shops including butcher, chemist, newsagency, medical centre and several cafes and restaurants.
Transport
Major roads include Fowler Road and Moreton Road. Transdev NSW has regular bus services which links Illawong to surrounding centres such as Menai, Sutherland and Bankstown.
The church within Illawong is the Menai Illawong Uniting Church, near the Illawong shopping centre. Other donominations are represented in neighbouring suburbs.
Sport and recreation
The Scout group in Illawong is 1st Wearne Bay Sea Scouts. They have all five youth sections represented. The group meets in the scout hall at Wearne Bay, on the Georges River. This hall was previously the house of the old ferry master, who started the group.
