Epping, New South Wales

The Wallumedegal Aboriginal tribe lived in the area between the Lane Cove River and Parramatta River.[3] In 1792, Governor Arthur Phillip began the granting of parcels of lands to marines, and the area was referred to on Phillip's maps as the Field of Mars, Mars being the Roman god of war. It contained the area of what is now Epping, along with the surrounding suburbs of Ryde and Marsfield.

Epping railway station was opened on 17 September 1886, originally named "Field of Mars", and quickly renamed to "Carlingford" on 5 April 1887.[4] The Post Office was opened on 16 October 1889, originally named "East Carlingford".

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.[5] At this time, the names of the post office and the railway station were both changed to Epping.[6][7]

The Seven Network had its headquaters and television production studios in Epping until 2009. The site is now occupied by residential apartments.

Until 2016, parts of Epping were under three different councils: Hornsby Shire, City of Ryde and City of Parramatta. A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that all of Epping be amalgamated into the City of Parramatta, and this became effective on 12 May 2016.[8][9]

Epping features a large Coles supermarket on Rawson Street, and many small businesses including newsagencies, pharmacies, Asian grocers and many restaurants near Epping railway station. Other commercial and light industrial developments are also located in the surrounding area.

The Epping RSL Club is a popular venue, which attracts many people including students from the nearby Macquarie University. Epping also has a pub (the Epping Hotel) with its own nightclub, Tracks.

• 
  The Epping Club
• 
  Former Seven Network television studios, now demolished
• 
  Epping Railway Station

Beecroft Road

Epping railway station is a junction station on the Northern Line of the Sydney Trains network, the Central Coast & Newcastle Line of the NSW TrainLink network, and the new rapid transit Sydney Metro Northwest since its opening on 26 May 2019.[16]

Epping is also well-serviced by bus facilities by State Transit and Hillsbus. The M2 Hills Motorway runs along the northern border to the Sydney CBD. Epping Road is a major arterial road in the area that runs east from the railway station to the Pacific Highway.

In spite of the range of public transport options, the 2011 census found that only 31% of employed people travelled to work on public transport, compared to 51% who travelled by car (either as driver or as passenger).

Epping Community Centre, originally known as the School of Arts

Epping is well served with community facilities, provided by the councils or other organizations. 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.[17]
• Epping Branch Library, at 1 Chambers Court (off Pembroke Street) is a branch of City of Parramatta Library[18] and formerly a branch of Hornsby Shire Library.[19] 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.[20]
• Epping Community Centre[21] 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.[22][23] The building has a large auditorium with a stage, two meeting rooms, a commercial standard kitchen, and a second smaller hall downstairs.[24]
• Epping Leisure and Learning Centre at 1 Chambers Court (off Pembroke Street), downstairs from the Epping Branch Library. Capacity: 100 people.[25]
• 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.[26]
• 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.[27]

Some schools and churches also have halls and other facilities that can be made available for community uses.

Parks, playgrounds, sports fields

Rockleigh Park, Epping

Name	Address	Facilities
Boronia Park[28]	37 Bridge St, Epping	Sporting field, cricket pitch, children's playground (shaded) with 6m climbing web, war memorial, children's bike track, seating, picnic shelters, barbecue, public toilets, change rooms
David Scott Reserve[29]	97 Midson Rd, Epping	Tennis courts, children's playground, seating, picnic tables
Duncan Park[30]	47 Kent St, Epping	Sporting field, croquet green
Epping Athletic Track[31]	Norfolk Road, Epping	Athletics track, toilets, car park
Epping Oval[32]	Norfolk Road, Epping	Cricket pitch, practice nets, soccer field, toilets, car park
Epping Oval Playground[33]	Norfolk Road, North Epping	Fenced playground unit, swings, 6m climbing tower, large double picnic shelter, open grassed area, BBQ, toilets
Forest Park[34]	Forest Grove, Epping	Rose garden, war memorial, playground, picnic tables, toilets
Grant Close Netball Courts[35]	Grant Close, Epping	Netball courts, toilets
Henry Brigg Park (known as Maida Park until 2017[36])	Maida Road corner of Essex Street, Epping	Swing set, fenced
Kim Rutherford Reserve[37]	20 Wyralla Ave, Epping	Children's playground, seating
Loftus Square[38]	35 Willoughby St, Epping	Two children's playgrounds (junior & senior), seating, multipurpose courts, picnic facilities
North Epping Oval[39]	Boundary Road, North Epping	Cricket pitch, soccer field, toilets, car park
Pembroke Street Park[40]	8 Pembroke Street corner of Chambers Court, Epping	Playground, fenced, picnic table
Rockleigh Park	Essex St, Epping	Small covered pergola
Ron Payne Park[41]	Woods St, North Epping	Cricket pitch, practice nets, soccer field, toilets, car park
Somerville Oval[42]	Blaxland Road, Epping	Cricket pitch, practice nets, rugby field, toilets, car park
West Epping Oval[43]	Downing street, Epping	Cricket pitch, practice nets, soccer field, toilets, car park

Churches

• All Saints Anglican Church a contemporary Anglican Church in North Epping
• Chester Street Uniting Church (incorporates Oxford Street Uniting Church)
• Chinese Lutheran Church
• Epping Baptist Church
• Epping Church of Christ
• Epping Gospel Chapel
• Epping Presbyterian Church
• Epping Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Life Way Church (a Lutheran Church, known as St. Mark's until March 2014[44])
• North Side Chinese Alliance Church
• Northern Districts Chinese Christian Church
• Our Lady Help of Christians (Roman Catholic) Church
• Presbyterian Reformed Church Epping
• St. Alban's (Anglican), St. Aidan's – West Epping (Anglican) – part of the Epping Parish

St Alban's Anglican Church

• West Epping Uniting Church

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' 2016 Census, Epping had a population of 23,688, of whom 11,697 (49.4%) were male and 11,992 (50.6%) were female.

Ethnic diversity

41.4% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were China 18.9%, South Korea 7.4%, India 6.0%, Hong Kong 5.4% and Malaysia 1.8%. 38.5% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 20.6%, Cantonese 12.0%, Korean 9.1%, Hindi 2.6% and Tamil 1.4%.

Age distribution

The median age of people in Epping was 36 years (national median is 38). Children aged under 15 years made up 17% of the population (18.7% nationally) and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.2% of the population (15.8% nationally).[1]

Income

Median weekly household income was $1,973, compared to the national average of $1,438.[1]

Housing

More than three quarters (78.5%) of private dwellings were family households, 15.6% were single person households and 5.9% were group households. Stand-alone houses accounted for 55.5% of occupied dwellings, while 32.2% were flats, units or apartments and 12.0% were semi-detached. The average household size was 2.9 people.[1]

Religion

The most commonly reported religious affiliations in the 2016 Census were No Religion 36.1%, Catholic 15.1% and Anglican 8.4%. In the fifteen years from 2001 to 2016, 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 36.1% of the population.[1][47]

At a local government level, Epping lies solely within the City of Parramatta Local Government Area.[48]

At a state level, Epping is mostly represented by the electoral district of Epping, with a small area on the southern edge of Chesterfield Road that is within the Electoral district of Ryde.

At a federal level, Epping falls in the Division of Bennelong.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Epping, New South Wales.

• Joan Rowland (2008). "Epping". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 27 September 2015. [CC-By-SA]