The Wangal and the Cadigal
In 1788 the First Fleet reached Port Jackson. The country that became Summer Hill lay inside a larger area where Wangal and Cadigal people lived. Research for the greater Sydney region puts the Aboriginal population there at 8000 to 10000, a number that moved with the seasons and with fighting between groups. The creek now called the Hawthorne Canal, earlier Long Cove Creek, appears to have been the line between the Cadigal and the Wangal.
Long Cove Creek and Iron Cove Creek held mangrove-lined estuaries, and Iron Cove and those creeks likely gave people a good supply of fish and molluscs, the food that coastal groups in the Sydney Basin ate most often. In the colony's early years people called the ground from Iron Cove south to the Cooks River the Kangaroo Ground, a name that suggests open country kangaroos favoured and a meat that may have been a large part of the Aboriginal diet. Ashfield Council put a bronze plaque at Cadigal Reserve on Grosvenor Crescent, naming it after the Cadigal (Eora) group of Koori people.
“In the 1970s most of the surviving mansions were pulled down, which allowed home units to be built, especially close to the railway station.”
Grants, and how the name came about
The first land grant here went to Henry Kable, a former convict and jailor, in 1794. Ten years later Kable received another 30 acres in the eastern corner of what is now Summer Hill, and that corner later formed part of James Underwood's estate. When James Underwood died in 1844, his will was so tangled that the land could not be divided without special legislation.
The name Summer Hill was in use by 1876, on a land subdivision beside the present-day St Andrew's Anglican Church. An earlier appearance of the name, in a Bathurst newspaper report of 8 December 1849, most likely refers to Summer Hill Creek near Orange rather than to this suburb. The name Summer Hill is thought to be the land sub-divider's own choice, presumably from an attachment to England. Local historians regard the idea that it came from "Sunning Hill" as a dubious story with no substance.
The railway and the boom years
The suburb began to grow after the railway station opened on the Main Suburban railway line in 1879. Charles Carleton Skarrat had Carleton, Summer Hill's largest mansion, built on Liverpool Road in the early 1880s; it serves today as the main building of Grosvenor Hospital.
Between 1880 and 1910 the area grew into an upper-class suburb, and many people who worked in banking and insurance in the city settled here. By the 1920s it was a relatively upper-class place, with large estates and mansions across it, some of which still stand. Gardens kept being subdivided for housing during the 1920s and 1930s, and the suburb's social mix shifted as some wealthier residents moved to the North Shore.
Mansions, units and the village years
In the middle of the twentieth century the suburb turned working class, and many of its large estates were demolished or divided. In the 1970s most of the surviving mansions were pulled down, which allowed home units to be built, especially close to the railway station.
Summer Hill today is a mainly residential suburb that adjoins Parramatta Road and Liverpool Road, two major arterial roads. It keeps a "village" character, with medium-density apartment blocks standing alongside federation houses. Among its heritage-listed places is the Lewisham Sewage Aqueduct on Grosvenor Crescent.
Timeline
- 1788The First Fleet reaches Port Jackson, in country where Wangal and Cadigal people live.
- 1794The first land grant in the area goes to the former convict and jailor Henry Kable.
- 1804Henry Kable receives a further 30 acres in the eastern corner of the area.
- 1844James Underwood dies, leaving a will that needs special legislation before subdivision.
- 1876The name Summer Hill is used for a land subdivision beside St Andrew's Anglican Church.
- 1879The railway station opens on the Main Suburban railway line, and the suburb grows.
- 1880 to 1910The area becomes an upper-class suburb; many who work in city banking and insurance settle there.
- 1970sDemolition of most surviving mansions makes room for home units near the station.
Living in Summer Hill
Summer Hill sits 7 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district, in the Inner West Council area, and it adjoins Parramatta Road and Liverpool Road. It is a mainly residential suburb, with medium-density apartment blocks, federation houses and a "village" character.
The suburb's railway station opened in 1879 on the Main Suburban line, and the suburb began growing after that. Cadigal Reserve on Grosvenor Crescent carries a bronze plaque put there by Ashfield Council, and the Lewisham Sewage Aqueduct on Grosvenor Crescent is heritage-listed.
Questions
What is the postcode for Summer Hill?
The postcode is 2130. The suburb is in the Inner West Council area.
Where is Summer Hill?
Summer Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in New South Wales, 7 kilometres west of the central business district, in the Inner West Council area. It adjoins Parramatta Road and Liverpool Road.
What is the history of Summer Hill?
The country here was part of a larger area where Wangal and Cadigal people lived before the First Fleet reached Port Jackson in 1788. The first land grant in the area went to the former convict and jailor Henry Kable in 1794. The suburb began to grow after its railway station opened on the Main Suburban railway line in 1879.
How did Summer Hill get its name?
The name was in use by 1876 on a land subdivision beside the site of today's St Andrew's Anglican Church. The land sub-divider is thought to have chosen it, likely from an attachment to England. Local historians regard the idea that it came from "Sunning Hill" as a dubious story with no substance.
What is living in Summer Hill like?
It is a mainly residential suburb with a "village" character, medium-density apartment blocks and federation houses. Its railway station opened in 1879 on the Main Suburban line.