The area now known as Mount Annan was originally home to the Dharawal people, based in the Illawarra region, although the Western Sydney-based Darug people and the Southern Highlands-based Gandangara people were also known to have inhabited the greater Camden area. Very early relations with British settlers were cordial but as farmers started clearing and fencing the land, affecting food resources in the area, clashes between the groups arose until 1816 when a number of indigenous people were massacred and the remainder retreated from direct conflict with the settlers.[3]
In 1805, wool pioneer John Macarthur was granted 5,000 acres (20 km2) at Cowpastures (now Camden). After the land was cleared, it was used for farming for most of the next 200 years until Sydney's suburban sprawl reached the town of Camden and modern suburbs like Mount Annan were subdivided into housing blocks.[3]
There are three local schools in the area. Mount Annan Public School[5] was built in 1993 and is located on Stenhouse Drive. Mount Annan High School [6] was built in 2003 and is located on Welling Drive. Mount Annan Christian College (MACC)[7] which was built in 1999 and is located on Narellan Road.
Sport
Mount Annan Leisure Centre
Netball
Mount Annan is home to one netball club, Mount Annan Netball Club, which was founded in 1993. MANC is affiliated with the Camden and District Netball Association. There are approximately 300 players a year across 30 teams.[8]
Soccer
Mount Annan Mustangs is Mount Annan's local soccer club. The group was formed in 1999 by Alan Dudley.[9]
Cricket
Mount Annan is a part of the Cobbitty-Narellan Cricket Club. It is hosted at the Birriwa Reserve.[10][11]
Swimming
Mount Annan Swimming Club is hosted at Mount Annan Leisure Centre, which is owned by YMCA, which runs its swimming season from October through to August.[12][13]
Commercial area
Mount Annan Marketplace
There are two notable shopping malls in the area, Mount Annan Marketplace[14] and Mount Annan Central.[15] There are also several restaurants in the area including Italian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, American, and other cuisines.[16]
Mount Annan has an Anytime Fitness gym[17] located on Main Street, and a leisure centre Mount Annan Leisure Centre[18] (which also has a gym) located on Welling Drive. A pub known as Mount Annan Hotel[19] is located on Main Street.
The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan is primarily a native garden but is equipped with barbecuing facilities and picnic areas.[21] Mount Annan is a hill within the grounds and there is a track in the gardens to the summit. Sundial Hill[22] is another landmark of the gardens and there is a water feature area. The gardens also includes a Stolen Generations Memorial.[23]
Demographics
In the 2021 census, the suburb of Mount Annan had a population of 11,784 people, with 58.0% of couple families having children. The suburb is almost entirely detached houses (96.2%) with 140 dwellings (3.9%) recorded as either apartments or townhouses. A high percentage of these houses are mortgaged (56.5%), higher than the national average (35.0%).
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.4% of the population.
78.4% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 2.7%, New Zealand 1.5%, Philippines 1.2%, India 1.0% and Fiji 0.9%.
82.2% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arabic 1.6%, Spanish 1.6%, Hindi 1.0%, Mandarin 0.8% and Greek 0.7%.
The most common responses for religion in Mount Annan were Catholic 30.2%, No Religion 29.6% and Anglican 15.8%.[1]
