Gordon, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Gordon is a suburb
on the Upper North Shore of Sydney
in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
. Gordon is located 15 kilometres (9 mi) north-west of the Sydney Central Business District
and is the administrative centre for the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council
. East Gordon
is a locality within Gordon.
, whom he had served during the Peninsular War
and was the quartermaster-general in England
when the First Fleet
sailed to Botany Bay
. The suburb of Willoughby
also commemorates his name.
Gordon Public School, now used as a library, was constructed in 1878 on the Pacific Highway, having been designed by George Mansfield. A Gothic Revival style was used in accordance with the tradition that educational buildings, like churches, were designed in a Gothic style. A second block was added in 1912. The school buildings are one of the few remaining buildings that date back to the pioneering days of northern Sydney. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate
.
Gordon is located on a major transport artery, the Pacific Highway
and the intersection of Ryde and Mona Vale Roads which form a link between the northern beaches, Homebush Bay
and the St George
District and Sutherland Shire
.
Gordon railway station
is on the North Shore Line of the CityRail
network with frequent commuter services. The railway station was built in 1888 and has an important heritage relationship with its landscaped gardens; it has been preserved as an example of an historic Edwardian station. Lifts to the platforms have been a recent addition. A bus stop
outside Gordon railway station
is a terminus for various routes including those to St Ives
, West Pymble
, Mona Vale/Warriewood and Macquarie University
. These are operated by two different bus companies, Shorelink
and Forest Coach Lines
.
Churches in Gordon comprise: St Johns Anglican Church, Gordon Uniting Church, and Gordon Baptist Church. Gordon is also the home of three schools: Ravenswood School for Girls
, an all-female, kindergarten, primary and secondary independent school; Gordon East Public School, a primary school on Rosedale Road; Gordon West Public School, a primary school on Ryde Road in West Pymble
. This area was previously called "West Gordon" but became part of West Pymble in 1990. The primary school retained its name because there was another public primary school already called West Pymble Public School.
. The largest building in Gordon, the Gordon Centre, contains many shops and offices, including a Woolworths (supermarket), a St.George Bank branch, a Gloria Jeans cafe, a Harvey Norman
store, and Gordon Executive Centre serviced offices. Gordon Centre was originally built as a Farmers & Co department store, now part of Myer
, but Myer closed it in 1983.
The administrative buildings for the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council
are located in Gordon.
garden, in McIntosh Street. This house was designed for Professor Eben Gowrie Waterhouse by William Hardy Wilson
and built circa 1913. The extensive garden is a notable part of the property. House and garden as a whole are listed on the Register of the National Estate.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
on the Upper North Shore of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in the state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Gordon is located 15 kilometres (9 mi) north-west of the Sydney Central Business District
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
and is the administrative centre for the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council
Ku-ring-gai Council
Ku-ring-gai Council is a Local Government Area in the North Shore region of Sydney. It includes the suburbs of Lindfield, Killara, Gordon, Pymble, St Ives, Turramurra, Warrawee, and parts of Roseville, and Wahroonga. The region is named after the Kuringgai tribe who once inhabited the area...
. East Gordon
East Gordon, New South Wales
East Gordon is a locality in the suburb of Gordon, a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located is located 13 kilometres north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council....
is a locality within Gordon.
History
It is believed that the suburb was named by General Sir Thomas Mitchell to commemorate Sir James Willoughby GordonSir James Gordon, 1st Baronet
General Sir James Willoughby Gordon GCB GCH was Quartermaster-General to the Forces.-Military career:Gordon was commissioned into the 66th Regiment of Foot in 1783....
, whom he had served during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
and was the quartermaster-general in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
when the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
sailed to Botany Bay
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
. The suburb of Willoughby
Willoughby, New South Wales
Willoughby is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Willoughby is located 8 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby....
also commemorates his name.
Gordon Public School, now used as a library, was constructed in 1878 on the Pacific Highway, having been designed by George Mansfield. A Gothic Revival style was used in accordance with the tradition that educational buildings, like churches, were designed in a Gothic style. A second block was added in 1912. The school buildings are one of the few remaining buildings that date back to the pioneering days of northern Sydney. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
.
Infrastructure and development
Gordon started off being discovered by aboriginals on a mardigra parade.Gordon is located on a major transport artery, the Pacific Highway
Pacific Highway (Australia)
The Pacific Highway is a major transport route along part of the east coast of Australia and is part of Australia's national route 1.It is 960 km long and links Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, along the coast, via Gosford, Newcastle, Taree, Port...
and the intersection of Ryde and Mona Vale Roads which form a link between the northern beaches, Homebush Bay
Homebush Bay, New South Wales
Homebush Bay was the former name of a suburb of western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia that took in the suburbs of Sydney Olympic Park, Wentworth Point and part of the neighbouring suburb of Lidcombe. Homebush Bay is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business...
and the St George
St George, New South Wales
St George Area is an unofficial name applied to a group of southern suburbs in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area includes all the suburbs in the local government areas of the City of Hurstville, the City of Rockdale and the Municipality of Kogarah...
District and Sutherland Shire
Sutherland Shire
The Sutherland Shire is a Local Government Area in the Southern Sydney region of Sydney, Australia. Geographically, it is the area to the south of Botany Bay and the Georges River...
.
Gordon railway station
Gordon railway station, Sydney
-Shorelink:*Route 560 - West Pymble*Route 582 - Acron Road, St Ives-Forest Coach Lines:*Route 195 - Gordon Station - St Ives - St Ives Chase*Route 196 - Gordon Station - St Ives - Terrey Hills -Mona Vale...
is on the North Shore Line of the CityRail
CityRail
CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...
network with frequent commuter services. The railway station was built in 1888 and has an important heritage relationship with its landscaped gardens; it has been preserved as an example of an historic Edwardian station. Lifts to the platforms have been a recent addition. A bus stop
Bus stop
A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...
outside Gordon railway station
Gordon railway station, Sydney
-Shorelink:*Route 560 - West Pymble*Route 582 - Acron Road, St Ives-Forest Coach Lines:*Route 195 - Gordon Station - St Ives - St Ives Chase*Route 196 - Gordon Station - St Ives - Terrey Hills -Mona Vale...
is a terminus for various routes including those to St Ives
St Ives, New South Wales
St Ives is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. St Ives is located 18 kilometres north of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council...
, West Pymble
West Pymble, New South Wales
West Pymble is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. West Pymble is located north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council...
, Mona Vale/Warriewood and Macquarie University
Macquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
. These are operated by two different bus companies, Shorelink
Shorelink
Shorelink is a commuter bus company serving suburbs on the upper North Shore of Sydney, Australia. On 3 September 2001, the company was acquired by French public transport giant Transdev from the John A Gilbert group, forming a partnership with Transfield Services Limited in 2009...
and Forest Coach Lines
Forest coach lines
Forest Coach Lines is a company that operates bus services in the northern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.-Network:Metropolitan Bus Service Contract Region 14*194: St Ives – City...
.
Churches in Gordon comprise: St Johns Anglican Church, Gordon Uniting Church, and Gordon Baptist Church. Gordon is also the home of three schools: Ravenswood School for Girls
Ravenswood School for Girls
Ravenswood School for Girls is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for girls, situated in Gordon, an Upper North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, an all-female, kindergarten, primary and secondary independent school; Gordon East Public School, a primary school on Rosedale Road; Gordon West Public School, a primary school on Ryde Road in West Pymble
West Pymble, New South Wales
West Pymble is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. West Pymble is located north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council...
. This area was previously called "West Gordon" but became part of West Pymble in 1990. The primary school retained its name because there was another public primary school already called West Pymble Public School.
Commercial
Gordon has a commercial area with many shops and restaurants along the Pacific Highway and around Gordon railway stationGordon railway station, Sydney
-Shorelink:*Route 560 - West Pymble*Route 582 - Acron Road, St Ives-Forest Coach Lines:*Route 195 - Gordon Station - St Ives - St Ives Chase*Route 196 - Gordon Station - St Ives - Terrey Hills -Mona Vale...
. The largest building in Gordon, the Gordon Centre, contains many shops and offices, including a Woolworths (supermarket), a St.George Bank branch, a Gloria Jeans cafe, a Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman is a large Australian-based retailer of electrical, computer, furniture, entertainment and bedding goods. It is effectively a franchise and the main brand owned by Harvey Norman Holdings Limited...
store, and Gordon Executive Centre serviced offices. Gordon Centre was originally built as a Farmers & Co department store, now part of Myer
Myer
Myer is Australia's largest department store chain, retailing a broad range of merchandise including women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; furniture and bedding; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and...
, but Myer closed it in 1983.
The administrative buildings for the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council
Ku-ring-gai Council
Ku-ring-gai Council is a Local Government Area in the North Shore region of Sydney. It includes the suburbs of Lindfield, Killara, Gordon, Pymble, St Ives, Turramurra, Warrawee, and parts of Roseville, and Wahroonga. The region is named after the Kuringgai tribe who once inhabited the area...
are located in Gordon.
Residential
Eryldene is a local historic house open to the public noted for its camelliaCamellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
garden, in McIntosh Street. This house was designed for Professor Eben Gowrie Waterhouse by William Hardy Wilson
William Hardy Wilson
William Hardy Wilson was an Australian architect, artist and author. He "is regarded as one of the most outstanding architects of the twentieth century".-Early years:...
and built circa 1913. The extensive garden is a notable part of the property. House and garden as a whole are listed on the Register of the National Estate.
External links
- Erydene Historic House and Gardens - official trust website
- Gordon, Ku-ring-gai Council - community profile