The area was originally called Sandhurst, which remains Glenhaven's most prominent street. Crego Road, which runs off Sandhurst is the highest. There was some confusion with mail because of a suburb in Melbourne with the same name. A public meeting was held to have the name changed[2] to reflect its valley location. The upper portion of the valley was known as "The Glen", and the lower portion as "The Haven", hence the choice Glenhaven.[3]
Glenhaven is on the route of the Great North Road that linked Parramatta with the Hunter Valley. John Evans, one of the first settlers in the area, used a bullock team to drag timber, and the route he used became known as Evans Road. The area had many wild flowers, including waratahs, Christmas bush, boronias, native roses, and a variety of orchids which thrived there.[4]
Sandhurst Post Office opened on 11 July 1892 and was renamed Glenhaven on 1 January 1893. It closed in 1972.[5]
Glenhaven is a leafy suburb with large homes on large blocks of land. On the east side of Old Northern Road semi-rural acreages are present, as well as a retirement village and the Flower Power Garden Centre. Since half the suburb is located on a ridge 180-200m high, the higher terrain homes have picturesque panoramas of the Blue Mountains looking out to the west.
Population
Demographics
According to the 2021 census, the small suburb of Glenhaven had a population of 6,619 people. Of these:
Sex distribution: 48.6% were male and 51.4% were female.
Age distribution: The median age was 48 years, compared to the national median of 38 years.
Ethnic diversity: 72.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 5.4%, China 2.0%, India 1.8%, New Zealand 1.3% and South Africa 1.3%. 82.7% of people spoke only English at home.
Religion: The most common responses for religion were Catholic 31.0%, No Religion 24.7% and Anglican 19.7%.
Finances: The median household weekly income was $2,532, compared to the national median of $1,746. The median mortgage payment in Glenhaven is $3,080 per month, compared to the national median of $1,863.[1]
Glenhaven Rural Fire Brigade is a volunteer fire brigade with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. It currently has approximately 50 members. The brigade has a Category 1 tankers, a Category 7 tanker and a personnel carrier.[7]
