Granville, New South Wales

Granville Sydney, New South Wales
Granville Town Hall and public library (right)
Established:	1855
Postcode:	2142
Location:	22 km (14 mi) west of Sydney CBD
LGA:	City of Parramatta
State District:	Granville
Federal Division:	Reid
Suburbs around Granville: Harris Park Rosehill Silverwater Merrylands Granville Auburn Guildford South Granville Auburn

Granville, is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Granville is located 22 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. A small part in the north-west is located in the Local Government Area of the City of Holroyd. The postcode is 2142 which is shared with Rosehill, Camellia and Clyde. South Granville is a separate suburb with the distinguishing feature of a light industrial area. Lisgar, Redfern, Heath and Mona Streets form the approximate border between Granville and South Granville. The suburbs are bordered by Parramatta in the north-west, Harris Park and Rosehill in the north, and Clyde in the east. The Duck River provides a boundary with Auburn. The southern limits are defined by Chester Hill, Guildford and Merrylands.

History

Granville was named in 1880, after the British Colonial Secretary, the Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville.

European Settlement

The area evolved primarily after 1855, when it became the final stop of the first railway line of New South Wales. The Sydney-Parramatta Line line ran from Sydney terminus, just south from today's Central railway station to the Granville area which was originally known as 'Parramatta Junction'. This led to the development of this area, which attracted speculators and some local industries. In the early days of European settlement, wood was harvested to fuel the steam engines in Sydney and Parramatta. By the 1860s the supply of wood was exhausted. The remainder was used by scavengers who made a living by collecting firewood. Wattle bark found use with tanners and stringy bark was used for roofing of huts. In 1862 a major estate, Drainville, became subject to a mortgagee sale and subdivided for villa homes, and small agricultures. At the end of the decade a Tweed Mill was established, which was steam powered using water from the Duck River. In 1878, the locality received its own post office, which was then part of the stationmasters house. In 1880 Parramatta Junction was renamed to Granville, after the British Colonial Secretary, Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville. The place then had a population of 372, of which 176 were male and 196 female. In this era some German settlers, Joseph Klein and P W Merkell, tried to establish vineyards in the area, but eventually found the land was not suited for this type of agriculture. More men were to find out about the limitations the local soils provided and fruit growers complained about the menace of flying foxes. Thus, the only use for the grasslands, which replaced the timberland, was dairy cattle. The Granville Municipality was formed in 1885 and the council carried on the local government of the area until 1948, when it became part of an enlarged City of Parramatta. The suburb is infamously known as the location of the Granville railway disaster, Australia's worst railway accident, where 83 people died in 1977.

Developments

St. Aphanasius Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox church

Granville Crest

Granville has a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial developments. The commercial and residential developments are mostly around Granville railway station and Parramatta Road. Granville is primarily dominated by freestanding weatherboard, fibro and unrendered brick buildings. The area is no longer exactly "typical" quarter acre block territory, but 500-600 m² blocks are reasonably common. Terraced houses are rare, but increasing in number. Apartment blocks, generally three to four storeys in height, are also becoming more common in the vicinity of the railway station. Buildings that deserve some attention are:

• Granville Town Hall, which was built in 1888.
• The Royal Hotel corresponds with the architecture of the Town Hall about 200m away.
• The Brianna's function centre building just north of the railway station on Good Street.
• St Marks Anglican church dates back to 1882.
• St. Aphanasius Church, which caters for the Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox denomination, adds some interest to William Street. It dates back to 1956.
• The Bingo Crest building on Blaxcell Street, which is influenced by the dynamic 1920s Art Deco architecture, not often seen in this part of Sydney.
• The White Palace in South Street has an exterior with Art Deco features. The building was gutted and redeveloped in 2007.
• The Granville RSL Sub-Branch Building serves as an interesting example of modern architecture. The round, science fiction appearance has some appeal.

Transport

Granville railway station is a major station on the South line and Western line of the CityRail network. It is also an inter-city stop on the Blue Mountains Line.

Education

Granville has a major college of Technical and Further Education, which is part of the South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE, and a number of schools, such as Granville Boys High School which was founded in 1926. The suburb is also home to a branch of the Parramatta City Library.

Culture

Entertainment

The Granville RSL Club at sunset

The suburb boasts four pubs. The Royal Hotel and the Granville Hotel are located south and north of the railway line respectively. The Rosehill Hotel is located on the northern side of Parramatta Road and the Vauxhall Inn is on the same street on the western edge of Granville on the corner of Woodville Road. In recent times, the Vauxhall Inn has been converted into an exotic dancers bar, with attached bottle shop. Granville is also home to a sub-branch club of the RSL.

Sport

Granville has an Olympic size pool and a football (soccer) facility. Granville is the base of the Granville & Districts Soccer Football Association. Parramatta City Raceway caters for enthuisiasts of speedcars with races every Saturday evening in the summer-half year.

Population

Notable Residents

• John Devitt (1937-): Olympic gold medallist in the 100m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics and manager of the Australian Commonwealth Games team grew up in Granville
• Jack Ferguson (1924-2002): Former deputy premier of New South Wales
• Col. Sydney Herring (1881-1951): World War I commander at Gallipoli.
• Paul Hogan, actor of Crocodile Dundee fame, is known to have grown up in Granville
• Bernie McGann (1937-): Saxophonist who was born in Granville.

References

• Granville: From Forest to Factory, John Watson (ed.), 1992, Granville Historical Society.
• Parramatta - a Past Revealed, Terry Kass, Carol Liston, John McClymot, 1996, Parramatta City Council.

See also

• Granville railway disaster

External links

• Granville, New South Wales is at coordinates 33°50′25″S 151°00′28″E / -33.84040, 151.00790Coordinates: 33°50′25″S 151°00′28″E / -33.84040, 151.00790
• Council of the City of Parramatta
• Granville Historical Society