Killarney Heights, New South Wales

Killarney Heights is a suburb of northern Sydney, situated on Middle Harbour, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Killarney Heights is 12 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Killarney Heights is part of the Northern Beaches and also considered to be part of the Forest District, colloquially known as The Forest.

Killarney Heights has panoramic views of Middle Harbour from a few locations. The suburb is located on a peninsula bound by the waters of Middle Harbour to the south-west towards Roseville Chase and Bantry Bay to the east. Garigal National Park is on the eastern border.

Commercial area

The commercial area features several restaurants and specialty stores, including a Japanese Bakery, French Patisserie, Chinese Restaurant, and the Talking Heads Cafe on the ground level. There is also a fresh fruit & vegetable shop that serves as a mini-grocer and features organic meats from the wholesale butcher (now closed down) in the retail shops area. There are also many professional shops and offices providing a range of services, including tax accounting, dance and music schools, early educational tutoring, financial planning, a shoe shop (which is now closed down), hair salon, swimming pool supplies, bottle shop, skin care, landscape architects and the suburb's only real estate office, Ray White Fairweather Group. A playground suitable for young children is situated in the centre for the shops and this area is a popular gathering place for local parents and children, especially in the hours immediately after school, from 3pm onwards.

Schools

There are two schools in Killarney Heights and many more around the area. Killarney Heights Primary School is situated across the road from Killarney Heights Oval.^[2] This primary school is noted as having an extensive English - French bilingual program which has led to many French speaking parents moving to the area.^[3] A preschool is also nearby.^[4] Killarney Heights High School is situated next to the oval, and also has a strong French presence.^[5][6] The High School is a coeducational, comprehensive high school located on Starkey Street, the school has a strong tradition of high academic achievement, catering for individual student needs and providing a broad co-curricular program.^[5]

Transport

Killarney Heights is accessible by road, via the Roseville Bridge and Forest Way. Killarney Heights is about 20mins from the city during non peak hours. The only public transport around this area is through a private bus company, Forest Coach Lines. Routes that go through Killarney Heights include services to and from the City and Chatswood.

History

The suburb was originally part of Forestville and the area was developed from the 1950s as South Forestville and Heidelberg. The suburb east of Starkey Street became the site of considerable development by LJ Hooker in the early 1960s after the second Roseville Bridge was completed. West of Starkey Street was Crown land.

Killarney Heights Post Office opened on 1 December 1965 and closed in 1987.^[7]

In the early part of the 20th century, a picnic ground was developed around the edges of Middle Harbour. It was owned for a time by [Mosman Rowing Club] and is still visible though very overgrown now. Boats would arrive for gatherings, carrying elegantly attired men in red and white striped jackets, pressed white pants and the requisite straw boater hat. Women were often dressed in accompanying white muslin frocks. A large hall was built at some time in the early 1920s and this was hired out for parties until the late 1970s. As well as a wharf on Middle harbor, it is still accessible by a stone staircase from the lowest part of Killarney Drive or by the now overgrown Flat Rock Walking track which was constructed some time in the 1940s and rejuvenated in the mid 1960s to allow access to the suburbs sewer system. in 1967 the track was blocked by a large rock fall caused by construction on a difficult part of Killarney Drive just east of Glengariff Ave. The blockage was never cleared.

The picnic grounds were given the name 'Killarney' after Killarney in Ireland. The suburb later gained its name from this such picnic area. Each street in the development has an Irish placename (e.g. Galway Avenue, Blarney Avenue, Dublin Avenue, Donegal Road, Tipperary Avenue, Ballyshannon Road).

In February 1979, a Lithuanian couple who believed they were being chased by Soviet agents were discovered in bushland adjacent to the suburb. Stepan Petrosys (81) and his 68-year-old wife were discovered after having lived in a cave for 28 years.^[8] Local children who frequented the bush knew of these people as early as 1965.

Heritage listings

Killarney Heights has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Bantry Bay Explosives Depot^[9]

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 4,469 people in Killarney Heights. 63.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 6.4%, China 3.7% and Hong Kong 2.2%. 72.0% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included French 5.6%, Cantonese 4.1%, Mandarin 3.9% and Armenian 2.5%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 36.0%, Catholic 20.7% and Anglican 17.2%.^[1]

References

• The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, ISBN 0-207-14495-8, p. 137

Coordinates: 33°46′27″S 151°12′56″E / 33.7742°S 151.2155°E / -33.7742; 151.2155