Epping railway station was opened on 17 September 1886, originally named "Field of Mars", and quickly renamed to "Carlingford" on 5 April 1887.[5] The Post Office was opened on 16 October 1889, originally named "East Carlingford".
Sonter family packing fruit, Ray Road, Epping, Sydney, 1911
In 1899 the suburb name of Epping was adopted following the suggestion by a local landowner William Midson (1849–1924), after a town near Epping Forest in Essex, where his father was born.[6] At this time, the names of the post office and the railway station were both changed to Epping.[7][8] The land from the Field of Mars was broken up into farms and orchards, and after World War II it started to convert to residential use. Areas which had previously been reserved as part of the green belt scheme became available in 1948.[9]
The Seven Network had its headquarters and television production studios in Epping until 2009. The site is now occupied by residential apartments.
Lands around Epping Railway Station are zoned for commercial use. There are businesses including newsagencies, pharmacies, Asian grocers and restaurants. To the west of the station, there is a Coles supermarket, a RSL Club and a pub (the Epping Hotel) on Rawson Street.
Redevelopment as "Urban Renewal Area"
A major re-development of the Epping Town Centre is planned as part of the NSW government's "Urban Renewal Area" programme (originally called the "Urban Activation Precincts" programme). The changes to zoning for this programme cover 54 hectares, including provision for building heights of 8 to 22 storeys for mixed commercial and residential use within a 400-metre radius of the railway station, and about 3,750 additional homes within 800 metres of it.[12] These zoning changes were finalized and approved in March 2014, although residents have expressed concerns about issues including traffic management, lack of parking, storm water drainage and access to schools.[13]
The first major project under this programme was scheduled to be Grocon's amalgamation of four lots at 30-42 Oxford Street, acquired in September 2015 for a cost of $56 million. Plans for a 16-storey development of more than 250 apartments for a total value of more than $300 million were lodged with the council. However, in early 2016 they sold the blocks.[14][15] In late 2019, the "Oxford Central" development of 251 or 252 apartments, car parking and retail was completed on the site by developer Greaton and construction company Ceerose.[16][17]
In spite of the range of public transport options, the 2021 census found that only 23% of employed people who travelled to work used public transport, compared to 74% who travelled by car (either as driver or as passenger). This census was conducted during the COVID-19 restrictions, and more people reported that they worked from home than travelled to work at the time.[1]
Community facilities
Epping Community Centre, originally known as the School of Arts
The council and other organisations provide a number of community facilities. These include:
Epping Aquatic and Leisure Centre (also known as Dence Park Aquatic Centre) off 26 Stanley Road, features a heated 26 °C (79 °F) outdoor 50-metre pool, a warmer heated 31 °C (88 °F) "learn to swim" pool, a covered toddlers' play pool, a gymnasium and a kiosk/coffee shop. A range of classes and training is held at the centre.[19]
Epping Branch Library, at 1 Chambers Court (off Pembroke Street) is a branch of City of Parramatta Library[20] and formerly a branch of Hornsby Shire Library.[21] Membership is free and provides access to a wide range of services.
West Epping Community Centre is on the corner of Dent and Downing Streets, beside West Epping Park and Oval. Capacity: 100 people. Attached to the Community Centre is the West Epping Community Preschool which shares the two enclosed playgrounds.[22]
Epping Community Centre[23] at 9 Oxford Street, near the railway station. Capacity: 300 people (all areas combined). Formerly known as the Epping School of Arts, the community centre was designed by Lord Livingstone Ramsay, an architect who was President of Hornsby Shire from 1909 until 1913. It was built in three stages between 1906 and 1916, and officially opened in 1909.[24][25] The building has a large auditorium with a stage, two meeting rooms, a commercial standard kitchen, and a second smaller hall downstairs.[26]
Epping Leisure and Learning Centre at 1 Chambers Court (off Pembroke Street), downstairs from the Epping Branch Library. Capacity: 100 people.[27]
Epping Creative Centre at 26 Stanley Road, beside the entrance to Dence Park Aquatic Centre. Capacity: 100 people. This centre has an emphasis on creative and educational leisure activities. Epping Creative Centre was opened in September 1989, originally in the back rooms of the Dence Park building, then in 1999 the council granted full use of the premises.[28]
Epping YMCA at 15 Ward Street caters for the diverse ages, interests and abilities of the surrounding community. In 2012, a million-dollar redevelopment saw the family centre substantially modernised. Facilities include a health club, group fitness studio, one-court indoor stadium, community program room, international standard gymnastics arena, and tennis courts.[29]
Some schools and churches also have halls and other facilities that can be made available for community uses.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' 2021 census, Epping had a population of 29,551, of whom 48.5% were male and 51.5% were female. They were further broken down as follows:
Ethnic diversity
36.7% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 19.7%, India 9.5%, South Korea 7.4%, Hong Kong 5.4% and Malaysia 1.7%. 30.9% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 23.1%, Cantonese 12.1%, Korean 9.3%, Hindi 3.5% and Tamil 1.9%.[1]
Age distribution
The median age of people in Epping was 36 years (national median is 38). Children aged under 15 years made up 19.0% of the population (18.2% nationally) and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.6% of the population (17.2% nationally).[1]
Income
Median weekly household income was $2,243, compared to the national median of $1,746.[1]
Housing
More than three quarters (78.1%) of private dwellings were family households, 17.4% were single person households and 4.4% were group households. Stand-alone houses accounted for 42.6% of occupied dwellings, down from 55.5% five years earlier in 2016. Another 47.4% were flats, units or apartments (up from 32.2% in 2016) and 9.8% were semi-detached. The average household size was 2.8 people.[1]
Religion
The most commonly reported religious affiliation in the 2021 census was No Religion 40.9%, followed by Catholic 12.2%, Hinduism 9.8%, Anglican 6.0%, and Buddhism 5.5%. In the twenty years from 2001 to 2021, the Census shows that the largest change in religion was the number of people who were not affiliated with any religion, which increased from 16.6% to 40.9% of the population.[1][49]
Government
At a local government level, Epping lies solely within the City of Parramatta Local Government Area.[50]
^Smith, Keith Vincent (2005). Wallumedegal : an Aboriginal history of Ryde. North Ryde, N.S.W.: Community Services Unit, City of Ryde. ISBN9780959941999.
^Jervis, James (1961). The Cradle City of Australia: A History of Parramatta, 1788-1961. Parramatta, NSW, Australia: Council of the City of Parramatta. p. 211.
^Rowland, Joan (2008). "Epping". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^"Epping Town Centre". Department of Planning & Environment, State Government of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
^Bastians, Kate (2 April 2014). "High hopes were dashed". Northern District Times.
