Wakeley, New South Wales

Wakeley
Wakeley Shopping Centre
Wakeley Shopping Centre
Wakeley is located in Sydney
Wakeley
Wakeley
Interactive map of Wakeley
CountryAustralia
StateNew South Wales
CitySydney
LGA
Location
Established1980
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal division
Elevation
25 m (82 ft)
Population
 • Total4,893 (SAL 2021)[1]
Postcode
2176
Suburbs around Wakeley
Greenfield Park Prairiewood Fairfield West
St Johns Park Wakeley Canley Heights
St Johns Park St Johns Park Canley Heights

Wakeley is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the council seat in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Wakeley is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. At the 2021 census, Wakeley has a population of 4,893.

The City of Fairfield Council Chambers are located in Wakeley.[2]

History

Wakeley is named after Daniel Wakeley, an early settler in the area. It was mainly used for farming until being redeveloped as a residential suburb in 1980.[3]

Geology

In 1964, the Australian Oil and Gas Corporation drilled the Fairfield-1 exploratory well in what is now Esperance Reserve, as part of petroleum exploration of the Sydney Basin. The well was located at approximately 33°52′16″S 150°54′54″E / 33.8711°S 150.9150°E / -33.8711; 150.9150, at a ground elevation of 22.3 m (73 ft), and reached a total depth of 855.3 m (2,806 ft) below ground level.[4]

Drilling began in the Wianamatta Group, with the well entering the Hawkesbury Sandstone at a depth of 73.5 m (241 ft) and the underlying Narrabeen Group at 312.1 m (1,024 ft). The Narrabeen Group consisted of interbedded siltstone and poorly sorted sandstone, with subordinate mudstone and shale, deposited in an alluvial floodplain environment. Gas was encountered in several sandstone layers within the Narrabeen Group. Drill-stem tests at depths of 496 m (1,627 ft) and 542 m (1,778 ft) produced initial gas flows of 821 m3 (29,000 ft3) and 1,862 m3 (65,800 ft3) per day, respectively; in both cases, the gas consisted of approximately 96% carbon dioxide.[4]

The well was drilled into an elongated northeast–southwest-oriented anticline. Fairfield-1 was subsequently classified as a gas discovery, although it was not commercially developed. The drilling provided subsurface information about the central Sydney Basin, including the sequence of Triassic sedimentary rocks underlying the Fairfield–Wakeley area.[4]

Demographics

The largest ancestry in the suburb is Vietnamese 17.6%, followed by Assyrian 16.2% and Chinese 13.1%.[5] English only is used at home by 21.2% of residents compared to an average 67.6% in New South Wales. The most common languages spoken after English are Vietnamese 17.9%, Assyrian-Neo Aramaic 15.1%, and Arabic 7.1%.[5]

37.9% of people in Wakeley were born in Australia compared to an average 65.4% in New South Wales. The most common places of birth after Australia are Iraq 16%, Vietnam 14%, and Cambodia 4.2%.[5]

Schools

Churches

The Christ The Good Shepherd Church, located in the suburb, was opened in 2015 by its head priest Mar Mari Emmanuel, a metropolitan bishop of Australia and New Zealand.[8] The bishop was stabbed at the church on 15 April 2024, but survived the attack.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Wakeley (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. ↑ "Contact Us". Fairfield City Council. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  3. ↑ The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, p. 146 ISBN 0-207-14495-8
  4. 1 2 3 Fairfield (PDF) (Report). Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "2021 Wakeley, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". abs.gov.au. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  6. ↑ "King Park Public School". NSW Department of Education. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  7. ↑ "Mary MacKillop Catholic College Wakeley". Sydney Catholic Schools. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  8. ↑ "Welcome To Christ The Good Shepherd Church". Christ The Good Shepherd Church Inc. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024.
  9. ↑ "Man in custody, four people injured in alleged stabbing incident at Sydney church". ABC News. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.