Glenhaven, New South Wales

Glenhaven is a semi-rural suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 32 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of The Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire, part of the Hills District region.

History

The area was originally called Sandhurst, which remains Glenhaven's most prominent and highest street, Sandhurst Crescent. There was some confusion with mail because of a suburb in Melbourne with the same name. A public meeting was held to have the name changed ^[2] to reflect its valley location. The upper portion of the valley was known as "The Glen", and the lower portion as "The Haven", hence the choice Glenhaven.^[3]

Glenhaven is on the route of the Great North Road that linked Parramatta with the Hunter Valley. John Evans, one of the first settlers in the area, used a bullock team to drag timber, and the route he used became known as Evans Road. The area had many wild flowers, including waratahs, Christmas bush, boronias, native roses, and a variety of orchids which thrived there.^[4]

Sandhurst Post Office opened on 11 July 1892 and was renamed Glenhaven on 1 January 1893. It closed in 1972.^[5]

Schools

Glenhaven has three schools:

• Glenhaven Public School located in Glenhaven Rd and founded in 1889
• Lorien Novalis School for Rudolf Steiner Education
• Samuel Gilbert Public School

Transport

• Route 603 from Rouse Hill Town Centre to Parramatta via Castle Hill services most of the suburb.
• The 637 and 638 service to Castle Hill services the eastern portion of the suburb.
• The 652X service to the Sydney CBD via West Pennant Hills and the M2 runs during peak hour.

• A train line from Epping to Castle Hill is under construction and is due for completion in 2019.

Housing

Glenhaven is a leafy suburb with large homes on large blocks of land. On the east side of Old Northern Road semi-rural acreages are present, as well as a retirement village and the Flower Power Garden Centre. Since half the suburb is located on a ridge 180-200m high, the higher terrain homes have picturesque panoramas of the Blue Mountains looking out to the west.

Population

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the suburb of Glenhaven had a population of 6,101 people. Of these:

• Sex distribution: 49.1% were male and 50.7% were female.
• Age distribution: The median age was 42 years, compared to the national median of 37 years.
• Ethnic diversity : 76.3% of residents were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 5.7%, South Africa 2.0%, New Zealand 1.8%, Italy 1.0%, and China 0.9%.
• Finances: The median household weekly income was $2,293, compared to the national median of $1,234. The median mortgage payment in Glenhaven is $2,639 per month, compared to the national median of $1,800.^[6]

Notable residents

• Delta Goodrem, singer and actress
• Dieter Brummer, actor
• Brian Houston, pastor
• Nathan Hindmarsh, rugby league player

References