Badgerys Creek, also known as Badgery's Creek or Aerotropolis, is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, located approximately 41 kilometres (25 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Liverpool. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney region and is adjacent to Kemps Creek, Austral and the Blue Mountains.
| Badgerys Creek Sydney, New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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 Badgerys Creek Road at Badgerys Creek Park | |||||||||||||||
  Badgerys Creek | |||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 33°52′47″S 150°45′08″E / 33.87972°S 150.75222°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 168 (SAL 2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2555[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 81 m (266 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 41 km (25 mi) west of Sydney CBD | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Liverpool | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Badgerys Creek | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | |||||||||||||||
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The suburb is best known as being the most favoured site for a second Sydney Airport.[3] In April 2014, the Abbott government confirmed the construction of the Western Sydney Airport, initially scheduling construction in 2016,[4] but construction actually began in September 2018 and is currently scheduled for completion in 2026.[5]
History
editJames Badgery was a British-born farmer and miller who, in 1806, was granted 840 acres (3.4 km2) in the suburb that bears his name today. His original land grant was on the north side of Elizabeth Drive; land which today is used for farming research by the CSIRO and University of Sydney. Badgery named his property Exeter Farm but the creek running through the property became known as Badgery's Creek and that name was eventually applied to the local area.[6]
Badgery bought other land to the south of his grant and after he died, the area was subdivided in the 1880s, vastly increasing the local population. Badgerys Creek Post Office opened on 10 July 1894 and closed in 1989.[7] A school was established in 1895 and the area gradually developed as a rural suburb which by 1981 had a population of 1,560.[citation needed]
From 1954 until 1991, the Fleurs field station at Badgerys Creek was an important site for Australian radio astronomy, hosting several radio telescope arrays.[8][9] The station was initially operated by CSIRO, and then later by the University of Sydney.[10]
In 1986, the Federal Government announced that the Second Sydney Airport would be sited at Badgerys Creek. The government bought a number of properties for that purpose, and as a result of that, as well as concerns about living near an airport, many people moved away, meaning that by 1996 there were fewer than 500 residents. By the 2021 census the population had further shrunk to 168.[11] Construction of the airport hadn't started, but in 2012 an A$8 million report into Sydney's aviation needs found that Badgerys Creek remained the best site,[12] with construction subsequently scheduled to start in 2016.[13]
In March 2023, a south-eastern portion of Badgerys Creek became part of the newly-gazetted suburb of Bradfield.[14]
Geography
editBadgerys Creek flows north into a reservoir in the suburb's north, as does South Creek, the suburb's eastern boundary. West of the reservoir lies Mills Hill, and south-west of that, by just over a kilometre, is Raymond Hill, 125 metres (410 ft) AHD. The western boundary is Oaky Creek, and then Cosgrove Creek after the two merge 500 metres (1,600 ft) north of Elizabeth Drive, and to the south-west the hill known as Anchau (118 metres (387 ft) AHD).[15]
Climate
editBadgerys Creek has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with hot summers, which vary from dry to humid, and cool winters. Due to its open grassy location, nighttime temperatures are slightly cooler than the nearby suburban areas in western Sydney. There is the occasional frost in some winter mornings, where the months from April to September have recorded severe frost. Most of the rain falls in late summer and early autumn, which is usually accompanied by a thunderstorm. Due to the foehn effect, the driest months are in late winter and early spring, which have the most sunniest days.
On 4 January 2020, a heat logger registered a temperature of 50.1 °C (122.2 °F) in the suburb, which was on the same day when Penrith recorded a temperature of 48.9 °C (120.0 °F).[16][17]
| Climate data for Badgerys Creek (1995–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 47.6 (117.7) |
46.5 (115.7) |
40.4 (104.7) |
36.0 (96.8) |
29.4 (84.9) |
25.2 (77.4) |
27.0 (80.6) |
28.8 (83.8) |
36.4 (97.5) |
37.4 (99.3) |
41.9 (107.4) |
44.6 (112.3) |
47.6 (117.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.0 (86.0) |
28.8 (83.8) |
26.8 (80.2) |
24.1 (75.4) |
20.7 (69.3) |
17.8 (64.0) |
17.6 (63.7) |
19.3 (66.7) |
22.7 (72.9) |
24.9 (76.8) |
26.5 (79.7) |
28.5 (83.3) |
24.0 (75.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 17.2 (63.0) |
17.1 (62.8) |
15.4 (59.7) |
11.5 (52.7) |
7.6 (45.7) |
5.5 (41.9) |
4.2 (39.6) |
4.8 (40.6) |
7.8 (46.0) |
10.7 (51.3) |
13.6 (56.5) |
15.4 (59.7) |
10.9 (51.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 8.2 (46.8) |
8.5 (47.3) |
6.4 (43.5) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
2.2 (36.0) |
5.3 (41.5) |
6.6 (43.9) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 78.5 (3.09) |
107.9 (4.25) |
106.3 (4.19) |
47.9 (1.89) |
38.8 (1.53) |
55.1 (2.17) |
33.0 (1.30) |
36.8 (1.45) |
34.6 (1.36) |
57.7 (2.27) |
68.9 (2.71) |
56.3 (2.22) |
726.2 (28.59) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 7.1 | 7.7 | 8.3 | 5.8 | 3.7 | 5.6 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.7 | 5.8 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 69.0 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 49 | 55 | 55 | 52 | 53 | 56 | 50 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 50 | 48 | 50 |
| Source: [18] | |||||||||||||
Commercial area
editNorth of Elizabeth Drive, a substantial amount of land is taken up by the CSIRO Research Station, the University of Sydney MacGarvie Smith Veterinary Farm, and a landfill depot. Much of the research establishment is dotted with reservoirs. The southeast includes a brickworks, and land owned by Telstra, also featuring a number of reservoirs. The suburb is also home to the Hubertus Liverpool Rifle Club.[15]
South of Elizabeth Drive was also a settled area.
Schools
editThe suburb had one primary school, Badgerys Creek Public School, decommissioned in 2014 to make way for Sydney's second airport. Nearby there were two churches with cemeteries, also moved.[citation needed]
Demographics
editIn the 2021 census, there were 168 people in Badgerys Creek. 51.2% of respondents were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth included China (excluding SARs and Taiwan) 13.1%, Italy 6.0%, Malta 4.8% and Lebanon 3.0%. 39.9% of people only spoke English at home; the next most common languages spoken at home included Cantonese 20.8%, Italian 7.7%, Arabic 5.4%, Khmer 5.4% and Maltese 4.2%.[11]
Parks
editThe suburb is home to Badgerys Creek Park. A toilet block formerly provided has been demolished.[citation needed]
Transport
editThe under-construction Western Sydney Airport is located within the suburb of Badgerys Creek. The suburb will also be serviced by the Airport Terminal and Airport Business Park stations of the Western Sydney Airport metro line. Both stations are located within the airport complex.[19]
The M12 Motorway is currently under construction and is parallel to Elizabeth Drive. Both roads run east-west through the suburb.[20]
The airport, metro stations and M12 Motorway will be completed in 2026.
References
edit- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Badgerys Creek (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ Badgerys Creek Postcode Australia Post
- ^ Paula Williams Economics, Commerce and Industrial Relations Group (29 June 1998) [1997–98]. "SecondSydney Airport–A Chronology". Background Paper. Department of the Parliamentary Library. Locations of proposed sites for the Second Sydney Airport. ISSN 1328-746X. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- ^ Cox, Lisa; Massola, James (15 April 2014). "Tony Abbott confirms Badgerys Creek as site of second Sydney airport". The Age. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ "Earth moves: Works begin at Western Sydney Airport". Australian Aviation. 16 February 2019. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ "History of our suburbs: Badgerys Creek". Liverpool City Council. Archived from the original on 18 April 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
- ^ Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ Orchiston, Wayne; Slee, Bruce (January 2005). "The Radiophysics Field Stations and the Early Development of Radio Astronomy". The New Astronomy: Opening the Electromagnetic Window and Expanding Our View of Planet Earth. 334: 119. doi:10.1007/1-4020-3724-4_8.
- ^ Wendt, Harry; Orchiston, Wayne (September 2024). "The history of early low frequency radio astronomy in Australia. 11: The shain cross at Fleurs field station near Sydney". Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. 27 (3): 635–654. ISSN 1440-2807.
- ^ Orchiston, Wayne; Slee, Bruce (26 June 2003). "The flowering of Fleurs: an interesting interlude in Australian radio astronomy". ATNF News. Archived from the original on 26 June 2003. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Badgerys Creek". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ Saulwick, Jacob (3 March 2012). "Second airport proposal struggles to get off ground". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ^ "Construction underway". Western Sydney Airport. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
Building Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport has come a long way since it first started in 2018. We're on-track to open international, domestic and cargo services in late 2026 - and you can keep up to date with the exciting work happening right here.
- ^ "Bradfield". Geographical Names Board. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
Designation Suburb, Gazettal Date 31-03-2023
- ^ a b UBD CityLink Street Directory Sydney Maps 224, 225, 244 & 245, 19th Edition, Universal Publishers, 2007, Published in Australia ISBN 0-7319-1966-1
- ^ New data shows Sydney suburbs reached temperatures over 50C last summer by Anton Nilsson from News.com.au. Retrieved 26 November 2020
- ^ The Sydney suburbs that hit 50C last summer by Angus Thompson from The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 November 2020
- ^ "Badgerys Creek AWS". Bureau of Meteorology.
- ^ Project overview Sydney Metro pages 28/29
- ^ "M12 Motorway - Community Update October 2019" (PDF). Roads and Maritime Services. NSW Government. October 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
