The land on which West Pymble was built was Guringai country, until European arrival brought disease which greatly reduced the population. By 1824, Aboriginal people in the area had been reduced to 'the remains of an Aboriginal tribe', who periodically walked through the area on their way from Bobbin Head to Pymble Hill. Early European settler Robert Pymble told his grandchildren that the Aboriginal people had gone by 1856.[3]
Logging was the first industry of the area, with both government logging camps and private contractors felling the biggest trees and dragging them to the Lane Cove River or local sawpits. The Lofberg family, who were established in the area by the 1860s, shipped lumber to the Sydney markets on their boats, and raised nine children on their farm in West Pymble.[3]
The rugged country and sloping land of West Pymble was slower to be settled than surrounding flatter areas, and became a bush haven for absconded convicts, illicit stills, gambling and cockfighting.[3]
As the timber was felled, land was used for orchards, and by the 1880s growing citrus, apples, pears and stone fruit was a major industry. The Lofberg, Kendall and Munday families grew fruit and raised pigs on their mixed farms. These enterprises survived into the 1920s, although the arrival of codling moth decreased fruit growing, and the construction of the North Shore railway line in the 1890s made the land more valuable as residential property.
Pymble soon boasted Hamilton Bros Universal Providers, near the station and other businesses.
The Lofbergs diversified into quarrying, with their sandstone quarry being taken over by the Ku-ring-gai Council in 1926, to provide materials for roads and footpaths in the municipality.[3]
West Pymble was subdivided between 1900 and 1915, but was still sparsely populated because of its distance from the railway at Pymble. Much of the area remained semi-rural throughout the interwar period.[3]
Much of the area was developed after the Second World War (mainly in the 1950s and 1960s) with defence personnel housing and homes for returning soldiers built in brand new streets pushed through the bush. West Pymble's war memorial hall was opened in 1959 on the Lofbergs' original landholding on Loftberg Road.[4] The original housing style included three-bedroom weatherboard cottages. Many remain but a lot of them have been significantly extended and/or upgraded since; others have been demolished and replaced with larger homes.
West Gordon Public School opened in 1951, and later West Pymble Public School in 1960 to educate the children of the new residents, and the inhabitants of the Bernard Smith Children's home, run by the Central Methodist Mission from 1960 to 1988.[3]
The section of West Pymble, on the eastern side of Ryde Road, including Kiparra Street, Dunoon Avenue, Wyuna Avenue and adjoining streets, was originally designated "West Gordon" and it was considered to be part of the suburb of Gordon. However, in 1990, the suburban boundaries were reviewed and this neighbourhood became re-designated as part of West Pymble instead, although the name of the public primary school did not change.
Pymble West Post Office opened on 1 December 1958 and closed in 1974.[5]
Commercial area
Ku-ring-gai
The Philip Mall, located on Kendall Street, is a street mall with two rows of shops facing each other. Philip Mall includes an IGA supermarket, hairdresser, beauty salon, takeaway, greengrocer, bread shop, newsagent, cafe & deli, a cafe, Chinese restaurant, butcher, pizza shop, pharmacy, chocolate shop, bottle shop, ATM, physiotherapist, dentist and a veterinary clinic. Nearby is a BP petrol station.
Philip Mall was redeveloped in the 1990s. The development included the removal of gardens between two shops which had become largely dilapidated. Some of the gardens were replanted with the rest of the area paved, which significantly increased space in the mall. Seating and additional bicycle stands were installed. At the same time the large children's playground was upgraded with improved safety features and playsets.
In 1998 the Boonah Creative Arts Centre was established in the old community centre, operated by the Sisters of Mercy. The Boonah Centre provides fine arts education to mentally disabled persons.[6]
In 2012, Philip Mall was re-landscaped, with the centre area between the shops being gutted, and a new layout built to give more space to allow shoppers to move between the 2 lines of shops.
The Philip Mall shops association is the West Pymble Chamber of Commerce which organises many events of interest to and including the local community.
The Gordon West Shops are in Duneba Avenue, West Pymble. They include a dentist, hair salon, German and Italian restaurants. The Gordon West shops are a significantly smaller group than Philip Mall shops.
At the 2021 census, 2.2% of employed people travelled to work via public transport compared to the national average of 4.6%, and 28.8% by car (either as driver or as passenger) compared to the national average of 57.8%. These statistics may significantly differ as the 2021 Census was conducted throughout the Work From Home period in New South Wales, as at the 2021 Census 53.5% of respondents for this area worked from home compared to the national average at this time of 21.0%.[7] As at the 2016 census 21.3% of people traveled to work via public transport compared to the national average of 11.5%; there were 66.2% of respondents for this area who drove to work either as a driver or passenger compared to the national average of 68.4%; 6.8% of people worked at home compared to the national average of 4.7%.[8]
Parks
West Pymble is surrounded by Lane Cove National Park and provides excellent bushwalking opportunities.
The Bicentennial Park oval complex in Lofberg Road consists of netball courts, soccer and cricket fields, a public swimming pool, a children's playground and barbecue facilities. The park was originally a quarry and later a bike track until it was regenerated in 1988 to coincide with the Australian Bicentenary.
Other parks in the area include:
Frogmore Park, Wyomee Avenue
Shoppers Rest
Shoppers Glen
Ramsay Avenue Park
Claire Taylor Park
Schools
West Pymble Public School, Apollo Avenue, a government primary school
Gordon West Public School (is actually in West Pymble), a government primary school
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School, Kendall Street, a Catholic primary school
West Pymble Pre-school, Lofberg Road, a private pre-school
Dance classes – held in the old SES hall on Lofberg Road
Netball training – Bicentennial Park
West Pymble Football Club – Norman Griffiths Oval
Boonah Creative Arts Centre – Philip Mall, Kendall Street
Killara West Pymble Rugby Union Football Club – Lofberg Oval
Sporting facilities
Cricket pitch and training nets, Lofberg Road
Netball Courts with night lighting, Bicentennial Park
Football oval and club house, Lofberg Road
West Pymble Bowling and Sports club
Swimming Pools – heated 25m and 50m, covered children's splash pool, Bicentennial Park
Tennis Courts, Kendall Street
Demographics
At the 2021 census, the suburb of West Pymble recorded a population of 5,441. Of these:[7]
63.7% of families were couple families with children, a higher proportion than the national average of 43.7%; the median age of all people was 41 years, compared to the national median of 38 years. Children aged under 15 years made up 22.1% of the population (the national average was 18.2%) and people aged 65 years and over made up 15.5% of the population (the national average was 16.3%).
The most common responses for religion included No Religion 36.9%, Catholic 22.6%, Anglican 18.1, and Uniting Church 3.2%; 3.3% of respondents for this area elected not not to disclose their religion.
The median household weekly income was $3,503, nearly double the national median of $1,746; individual's incomes were $1,107 compared to the national average of $805; the average family income for this area was $3,908 compared to the national average of $2,120. Real estate was correspondingly expensive; the median mortgage repayment was $3,467 compared to the national median of $1,863.
Separate houses constituted the overwhelming majority (96.1%) of residences, the next most common house structures included Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc 2.3%, and flat or apartment 2.3%. The average household size was 3.2 people.
^Weaver, Jacki (2007). Much Love, Jac. Allen & Unwin. pp. 32–40. ISBN978-1741750560.
External links
Cameron-Smith, Barbara (2012). "West Pymble". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
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