Marsfield, New South Wales

Marsfield Sydney,New South Wales
Curzon Hall on Agincourt Road, built in 1898
Population	12,492 (SAL2021)
Postcode(s)	2122
Elevation	86 m (282 ft)
Area	3.86 km2(1.5 sq mi)
Location	16 km (10 mi) north-west ofSydney CBD
LGA(s)	City of Ryde
State electorate(s)	Ryde
Federal division(s)	Bennelong
Suburbsaround Marsfield: North Epping Epping South Turramurra Macquarie Park West Pymble Eastwood Marsfield North Ryde Denistone East Ryde Ryde

Marsfieldis asuburbin theNorthern Sydneyregion ofSydney,in the state ofNew South Wales,Australia.Marsfield is located 16 kilometres north-west of theSydney central business districtin thelocal government areaof theCity of Ryde.

The suburb is noted for its proximity to a number of leading scientific and tertiary educational institutions such asCSIRO,Macquarie University,theMacquarie ParkBusiness Park andMacquarie University Hospital.

History

The suburb's name is derived fromField of Mars,the original name in the early days of British colonisation of Australia,given to the area by GovernorArthur Phillipin 1792.

Aboriginal culture

The whole area between theParramattaandLane Cove Riverswas originally known by its Aboriginal nameWallumatta.The aboriginal name survives in a local park, theWallumatta Nature Reserve,located at the corner of Twin and Cressy Roads,North Ryde.

European settlement

In 1792 Governor Phillip began the granting of parcels of lands toRoyal Marines,and the area was referred to on Phillip's maps as the Field of Mars, named after theRomanField of Marsprobably because of the military link. The area was later part of the suburb ofNorth Ryde,and manyconsider that Marsfield is still a part of the greater North Ryde area. Field of Mars was also the name for theparishproclaimed in 1835.

In 1874, following extensive debate including a Parliamentary Select Committee, the government resumed the Common for sale and settlement by small farmers, using the money to fund bridges across the Parramatta River at Gladesville and Iron Cove. The land was subdivided into small farms of between 0.4 and 1.6 ha (1–4 acres), and released for sale in stages, starting in 1885.

Many of the streets in Marsfield and bordering suburbs, mainlyEastwoodandMacquarie Park,are named after famous historical conflicts or battles, such asAbukleaRoad,AgincourtRoad,AlmaRoad,BalaclavaRoad,BannockburnRoad (West Pymble),BlenheimRoad (North Ryde),BuffaloRoad (Gladesville),BusacoRoad,CorunnaRoad,CressyRoad (East Ryde),CrimeaRoad,CullodenRoad,FontenoyRoad,KhartoumRoad,NileClose,PlasseyRoad,TalaveraRoad,TarantoRoad,TorringtonRoad,TrafalgarPlace,VimieraRoad,WaterlooRoad.

In 1894, the "Municipality of Marsfield" formed its own local government, splitting from Ryde Municipality.

Stately, historical Curzon Hall was built in the 1890s by Harry Smith and named after his wife Isabella Curzon-Smith. The house was bought in 1921 by theSociety of Saint Vincent de Paulwhich established St Joseph's Seminary on the premises.It now serves as a function centre.

Until the 1950s, substantial parts of the North Ryde/Marsfield area were part of the "Green Belt" which prevented building houses on lots of less than 2 ha (5 acres). The Marsfield-North Ryde Green Belt boundaries were revised and in December 1959, 688 ha (1,700 acres) of land was rezoned. The last Green Belt land was released in September 1969 to buildMacquarie Shopping CentreandMacquarie University.

Boundaries

Marsfield is bounded by theLane Cove River,Macquarie University Sports Fields,Talavera Road, Culloden Road, Waterloo Road, Vimiera Road, Marsfield Park and Culloden Road in the north,Epping Road,Shrimptons Creek, Kent Road, Ruse Street and Shrimptons Creek in the east, Bridge Road and Abuklea Road in the south andTerrys Creekin the west.

Landmarks and institutions

St Anthony's Catholic Church, Agincourt Road

Marsfield is home to:

• Curzon Hall, 53 Agincourt Rd (built 1898 by businessman Harry Smith), a large castle-like manor in neo-Romanesque style, now turned restaurant/function centre
• St Anthony's Catholic Church, 54 Agincourt Rd - aModernist/Brutalistchurch building designed by Italian architectEnrico Taglietti(1968).
• Epping Boys High School;
• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation(CSIRO)[1].
  • Radio PhysicsLaboratory.
  • Data61:Information Communication Technology(ICT) Centre, and
• Headquarters for the
  • Australia Telescope National Facility,and
  • Anglo-Australian Observatory.
• TG Millner Field

Housing

Accommodation for Macquarie University students

This green suburb features large, modern homes on the higher parts with city views, andtownhouses/unitsin the parts of the suburb that borderSouth TurramurraandEpping.A large number of the residents are students ofMacquarie University.

At the2021 census,46.6% of occupied private dwellings were semi-detached (townhouses etc.), 31.6% were separate houses and 21.5% were flats, units or apartments. 65.8% were family households, 27.9% were single person households and 6.3% were group households. The average household size was 2.5 people. The tenure was split between 37.2% of properties that were rented, 29.4% owned outright and 27.4% owned with a mortgage.

Public transport

A number of bus routes service Marsfield. The 292/293 routes run from thecitythrough Lane Cove and terminate in Busaco Road, while many other routes e.g. 288/291 travel alongEpping RoadtoEpping station.

Macquarie University railway stationis located on Herring Road between theuniversityandMacquarie shopping centre.

Demographics

The larger of two radio dishes at the Marsfield headquarters of the CSIRO Department of Radio Physics.

At the2021 census,Marsfield recorded a population of 12,492. Of these:

Age distribution

The residents of Marsfield were slightly younger than the country as a whole, with fewer children. Marsfield residents' median age was 39 years, compared to the national median of 38. Children aged 0–14 years made up 15.7% of the population (the national average was 18.2%) and people aged 65 years and over made up 19.2% of the population (the national average was 17.2%).

Ethnic diversity

43.2% of people were born in Australia. The most common non-Australian countries of birth wereChina14.3%,India4.5%,Hong Kong4.4%,South Korea2.5% andthe Philippines2.1%. However, only 14.4% identified their ethnic ancestry as Australian; the other common self-identified ancestries wereChinese32.0%,English16.2%,Irish4.8% andIndian5.5%. 42.8% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home includedMandarin15.9%,Cantonese9.6%,Korean3.1%,Italian1.8% andHindi1.8%.

Religion

The most common responses for religion wereNo Religion39.1%,Catholic20.1%,Anglican6.3% andBuddhism4.9%.

Income

The median weekly household income was $1,943, somewhat above the national median of $1,746.

External links

• Media related toMarsfield, New South Walesat Wikimedia Commons