Petersham



Petersham is located in Inner West of Sydney, in the state of NSW Australia. 6 Kilometres south-west of the Sydney CBD lies the government area of Marrickville council, the population is dominated by Portugese people this is reflected in the numerous Portugese businesses and restraunts in the area. The area in which Petersham is located, is surrounded numeorous cultures such as Leichhardt which is significantly dominated by Itallian migrants. In 1973 Major Francis Grose (Lieutenant-govener) sent workmen to clear the area of bush and shrubs to plant corn and wheat. The area which was named Petersham or Peters Ham after the Majors hometown was well known for its crops and won many awards for best crops and stock in the colony. In 1803, Kangaroo hunting was also prominent. The population as previously mentioned has a significant amount of residents born in Southern Europe, mainly from Portugal, Italy and Greece and is hence known as "Little Portugal", for a long time Petersham has been the main centre of the Portugese Australian Population. There are numerous Portuguese businesses and restraunts that reflect the areas Portuguese culture such as the numerous chicken shops and tradtional Portuguese sweets.These traditonal businesses lines New Canterbury Road and continues onto Audley St to the railway station. These restraunts are very nice and the food is amazing. Me and my family have been there numerous times and love going there for chicken and some tradition sweets afterwoods. My dad's work colleauges introduced him to it and now I look forward to visiting Petersham.

In 2006 Petersham's total population was 10,149 and the average age was 36. What we can gather from the information is that the majority of the population is relativley young and is of working age. We also know that the majority of Petershams population is of professional status. Petersham as previously mentioned is of an urban location meaning it is surrounded by town or city like structures in contrast to a country area surrounded by natural features such as trees and acres of land. Petersham has a busy main road running through the middle and the noise pollution is at a high. On may the 2nd 1945 an air test flight went wrong sending pieces of debris from the Mosquito HR576 falling onto the suburbs of Leichhardt and Petersham, The Daily Telegraph of the 3rd of May 1945 stated that 2 passngers were injured, 18 Properties were damaged, 5 houses were set on fire due to burning debris landing on them and finally the crew of 2 were killed. The crew members tried to eject from their aircraft bus as they wern't high enough for the parachutes to open.

Petersham Town Hall. Opened in july 1938 it is situated on the corner of Frederick St and Crystal St across from Marrickville Councils Administration Buildings. The second hall to be built on the site it features a hexagonal clock tower. In addition to the unique clock tower the hall reatures a specially constructed dancefloor with polished maple on the lower panels of the walls, and was the first metropolitan hall to install a public address system. The hall became famous when Baz Lhurmans 1992 movie Strictly Ballroom was filmed in the main auditorium.