Chatswood is an affluent business district in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 10 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Willoughby.
History
Chatswood was named after Charlotte Harnett, wife of then Mayor of Willoughby and a pioneer of the district, Richard Harnett, and the original "wooded" nature of the area.[when?] The moniker derives from her nickname "Chattie" and was shortened from Chattie's Wood to Chatswood.[when?]
Residential settlement of Chatswood began in 1876 and grew with the installation of the North Shore railway line in 1890 and also increased with the opening of the Harbour Bridge in 1932.
Chatswood Post Office opened on 1 August 1879, closed in 1886 and reopened in 1887.
Economy
Chatswood is one of the North Shore’s major commercial and retail districts. The Australian headquarters of CSR Limited, Smith's Snackfood, Abigroup, Coffey, Pepsico and Carter Holt Harvey as well as offices of Nortel Networks, Optus, Lenovo, NEC, Leighton Contractors and Cisco Systems are located in Chatswood. A number of high-density residential towers are also located in Chatswood.
Chatswood has two major shopping centres, Chatswood Chase and Westfield Chatswood. There are also a few smaller shopping centres such as 'Lemon Grove' on the pedestrian mall and the 'Mandarin Centre' beside Westfield on the corner of Albert Avenue and Victor Street. 'Metro Chatswood' is a new shopping centre above the Chatswood railway and bus interchange featuring retail, high rise office and blocks of units. The 'Interchange' was a small shopping centre and bus interchange built in the late 1980s which provided pedestrian access between the two halves of Victoria Avenue but was demolished to accommodate the construction of the Epping to Chatswood railway line and subsequently 'Metro Chatswood'.
'Chatswood Chase', completed in 1983, features a David Jones store, K Mart, Coles and 120 specialty stores, focusing on designer-label brands. 'Westfield Chatswood', owned and managed by The Westfield Group, originally opened on 30 January 1986 and was redeveloped in the late 1990s to incorporate a previously free-standing Grace Bros store. It now features a Myer department store, Target, Coles supermarket, JB Hi-Fi, Rebel Sport, Hoyts cinema complex, and 300 speciality stores. In 2015 a $125 million redevelopment went underway at Westfield Chatswood. It now features H&M, Uniqlo, Topshop Topman, Zara and an Asian Dining Market. There is also a second Hoyts cinema complex in the 'Mandarin Centre'.
The Melody Markets are held each Thursday and Friday in Chatswood Mall, Victoria Avenue and feature food and craft stalls, and live music.
Chatswood has a wide variety of restaurants and cafes and is known as a major dining destination in the North Shore of Sydney. There are a large number of Chinese (including Cantonese), Japanese and Korean restaurants and eateries.
Some notable restaurants in Chatswood include:
Din Tai Fung (Taiwanese), Bao Dao (Taiwanese), Tim Ho Wan (Cantonese), King Fook (Cantonese), Star Capital (Cantonese), Fook Yuen (Cantonese), New Shanghai (Shanghainese), Mamak (Malaysian), PappaRich (Malaysian), Golden Bo (Vietnamese), Xic Lo (Vietnamese), Khao Pla (Thai), Makoto (Japanese), The Bulgogi (Korean), Hurricanes Express (Steakhouse), Terraza Cafe Restaurant and Pizzeria (Italian), Barvarian Bier Cafe (German)
There are two hotels in Chatswood: The Mantra, near Chatswood railway station and The Sebel, near Westfield shopping centre. The Chatswood Club, located on Help Street adjacent to Pacific Highway, is a venue hall which caters to weddings, birthdays, cocktail parties, and other age-appropriate festivities.
On the 28-March-2015 a new dining precinct in Chatswood called The District opened within the Chatswood Metro Interchange development, including the first Australian outlet for Michelin Starred dim sum house Tim Ho Wan.
Transport
Chatswood railway station is the junction of the Hornsby via Macquarie Park and Berowra via Gordon branches of the North Shore, Northern & Western Line of the Sydney Trains network. Rail services run south to the Sydney CBD and continue west to Strathfield and beyond. Rail services run north to Hornsby and peak hour services run to Gosford, Wyong and Newcastle. The station became a junction when the Epping to Chatswood railway line opened in 2009, connecting Chatswood to Epping.
Chatswood is a major bus terminus with services to Bondi Junction, Sydney, North Sydney, Mosman, Balmoral Beach, Manly, Warringah Mall/Brookvale, UTS Ku-ring-gai, Belrose, Narrabeen, Mona Vale, Eastwood, Gladesville, West Ryde, North Ryde, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, Castle Hill, Parramatta and Dundas. An interstate bus service between Sydney and Brisbane via the North Coast stops at Chatswood.
The proposed Metro Sydney line will also run pass Chatswood, linking Chatswood to Rouse Hill in the northwest and Sydenham and Bankstown in the southwest. The new line will provide faster metro-style train services to Crows Nest and North Sydney, as well as Sydney CBD's Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street and Central stations, all within 6 stations from Chatswood.
Major roads through Chatswood include the Pacific Highway, Mowbray Road, Boundary Street, Willoughby Road, Eastern Valley Way and Victoria Avenue.The latter forms a pedestrian mall for the section running through the main retail area.
Demographics
In the 2011 Australian census, the total population of Chatswood was 21,194 people; 10,068 (47%) were male and 11,126 (53%) were female. The number of residents born in Australia was 7,850. Of those born overseas, the most common countries were China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) (2,888), South Korea (1,642), Hong Kong (1,148), UK (598), and Taiwan (526).
The most common ancestry groups were Chinese (6,645), English (3,723), Australian (3,118), Korean (1,816), and Irish (1,258). 8,658 people speak only English at home and 12,536 speak other languages at home, the most common being Mandarin Chinese (2,957), Cantonese (2,710), Korean (1,761), and Japanese (604).
In the 2011 Census, the most common responses for religion in Chatswood were No Religion 31.2% .
Culture
The Willoughby Spring Festival is an annual event in Chatswood, held in September each year. The festival is the second-largest in Lower Northern Sydney and is intended as testimony to a modern, multicultural and prosperous Chatswood. The festival showcases music, theatre, live performances, outdoor events, kids' events and visual arts. For more information visit Spring Festival.
Willoughby Theatre Company (formerly Willoughby Musical Society) is based in Chatswood. It specialises in musical theatre. Chatswood Musical Society also performs musical theatre, but their events are staged in Pymble. The Zenith Theatre stages both musicals and drama.
The Willoughby Symphony Orchestra is based in Chatswood.
Two dance companies share the Dance and Music Centre.
A Chinese Cultural Centre has existed since 1996.
The Willoughby Historical Society runs the Willoughby Museum in Boronia, a Federation cottage in South Chatswood.
A new cultural centre called The Concourse, Chatswood was commissioned by Willoughby Council in 2007 and was completed in 2011. It includes a 5,000 m² library, Chatswood Library, a 1,000-seat concert hall, 500-seat theatre, exhibition spaces, commercial spaces, cafes and restaurants. The Concourse was opened on September 11 by the Governor of NSW, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO. For more information on The Concourse visit
Chatswood is home to the Chatswood Mall Market and many other events including Chinese New Year, Australia Day celebrations and plenty of shopping. for more information visit
In 2015, Chatswood will be participating in the Vivid Festival of Light, Music and Ideas which runs from 22-May to 8-June.
Schools
Chatswood has both public and private primary and secondary schools. These include:
Churches
Chatswood Oval is located south of the railway station. Beauchamp Park, located on Beauchamp Avenue, features a playground, an oval, a fenced dog area and a bike track. It was named after William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, the Governor of New South Wales. Another small but well-laid out park, with an industrial heritage theme, is the Mashman Park on Victoria Avenue at Septimus Street. This park pays tribute to the Mashmans brick and tile works that once stood there. Chatswood is close to Lane Cove National Park.