Cecil Park, New South Wales

{{Infobox Australian place| type = suburb

| name = Cecil Park

| city = Sydney

| state = nsw

| image =

| caption =

| local_map = yes

| zoom = 12

| lga = City of Fairfield

| lga2 = City of Liverpool

| postcode = 2178

| est =

| pop = 815

| pop_year = {{CensusAU|2021}}

| pop_footnotes = {{Census 2021 AUS|id=SAL10865|name=Cecil Park (State Suburb)|accessdate=8 August 2024|quick=on}}

| area =

| stategov = Badgerys Creek

| stategov2 = Leppington

| fedgov = McMahon

| fedgov2 = Werriwa

| near-nw = Mount Vernon

| near-n = Horsley Park

| near-ne = Abbotsbury

| near-w = Kemps Creek

| near-e = Cecil Hills Elizabeth Hills

| near-sw = Austral
Kemps Creek

| near-s = Austral
West Hoxton

| near-se = Middleton Grange

| dist1 = 40

| dir1 = west

| location1= Sydney

}}

Cecil Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 40 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.

History

Cecil Park was originally home to the Cabrogal people who occupied much of the greater Fairfield area. When European exploration of the area began in the early 19th century, a nearby range was named Cecil Hills and this in turn inspired the name Cecil Park. The first white settler in Cecil Park was Simeon Lord.{{cite web | url=http://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/default.asp?iDocID=499&iNavCatID=3&iSubCatID=51 | title=Cecil Park | publisher=Fairfield City Council | accessdate=27 June 2008 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080817184202/http://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/default.asp?iDocID=499&iNavCatID=3&iSubCatID=51 | archivedate=17 August 2008 }}

Cecil Park was part of a large land grant made to Thomas Wylde in 1817, then known as 'Macquarie Park'. His son, Sir John Wylde inherited the land in 1821. The Wylde family continued to own the land until 1886, when it was sold and subdivided into large lots, and then smaller rural lots in 1906.{{cite web |title=M12 Motorway Environmental Impact Statement – Appendix J |url=https://media.caapp.com.au/pdf/7qrg9s/99af400d-9747-4a0d-8ccb-9911c5e27a01/Appendix%20J%20Non-Aboriginal%20Heritage.pdf |publisher=Roads and Maritime Services|date=October 2019|access-date=2025-04-16}} In 1896, a school building and accompanying teacher's residence was built, near the present-day location of the Elizabeth Drive-Wallgrove Road intersection. The first schoolmaster was Mr. William Flood, who also managed the Cecil Park Post Office opened on 16 July 1897.{{cite web|title=M12 Motorway: Non-Aboriginal Heritage Thematic Study|url=https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/media/documents/rww/projects/01documents/m12-motorway/m12-motorway-thematic-study-2020-12.pdf|publisher=Extent Heritage|date=December 2020|access-date=2025-04-16}}

Prior to the construction of a church, religious services were held at a local creamery. In 1903, a church dedicated to St Paul was built, which also served as a community hall. Mr. Flood continued as schoolmaster until 1904, followed by various educators, with Alderman Wilf Davis being the last master until the school’s closure in 1940.

The post office operated until 1963,{{Cite web | last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | publisher = Premier Postal Auctions | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=NSW&country= | accessdate = 16 June 2012 }} and the church closed shortly after its Golden Jubilee in 1953. All three buildings were demolished in 1965. Archaeological investigations in 2019 confirmed the remnants of the former school and church.

Demographics

At the {{CensusAU|2021}}, there were 815 residents in Cecil Park. 60.1% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were Italy 6.9%, Iraq 3.6%, Iran 3.1%, Malta 2.6% and Fiji 2.2%. In Cecil Park 51.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 9.8%, Arabic 5.0%, Croatian 3.4%, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic 3.2% and Maltese 2.9%.

Common ancestries include, Italian 31.4%, Australian 16.4%, Maltese 8.7%, English 7.6% and Croatian 5.2%. The most common response for religion was Catholic at 52.8%.

Recreation

File:Wylde MTB & BMX Park 01.jpg]]The Sydney International Shooting Centre was built in Cecil Park for the shooting events at the 2000 Summer Olympics. It remains open to licensed shooters for recreational use. An Indigenous art installation titled 'Seven Spears' by Brook Andrew can be found outside the shooting centre.{{cite web |title=COMMUNITIES NSW – ANNUAL REPORT 2009-10 |url=https://www.sport.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-06/annual_report_2009_2010_1.pdf |publisher=Office of Sport (NSW)|access-date=2025-04-16}}

The nearby 'Wylde Mountain Bike and BMX' hub has more than 15km of mountain bike trails, a BMX track, and a pump track.{{cite web |title=Wylde MTB & BMX|url=https://www.westernsydneyparklands.au/public/places-to-go/wylde/|publisher=Western Sydney Parklands|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230311084607/https://www.westernsydneyparklands.au/public/places-to-go/wylde/|archive-date=2023-03-11|access-date=2025-04-16|url-status=dead}}

References

{{Coord|-33.87297|150.83823|format=dms|type:city_region:AU-NSW|display=title}}

Category:Suburbs of Sydney

Category:City of Fairfield

Category:City of Liverpool (New South Wales)