The inner suburb of Summer Hill is located 8 km west of the Sydney central business district. Before British settlement, Summer Hill was the home of the Wangal and Cadigal Aboriginal peoples, and the open plains were hoppin' with kangaroos. A smallpox outbreak in 1789 led to the demise of the Aboriginals in this area. The first governor of the British colony, Governor Phillip estimated that half of the local Aboriginal people died from the disease, and also noted that the Aboriginal people "retired from where the diseases appeared" as well. Funny that.
By the 1920s, Summer Hill was upper-class and some of the local mansions are still in existence. Kinda neat to still see. After later becoming a working class area, the trendies and hipsters began moving in to cheap housing and renovating the place. Lots of apartment blocks are now here due to its proximity to the city.
The Summer Hill railway station was opened in 1879 when the train line came through. A renovation and Easy Access upgrade of the railway station was completed in 2004. Between the two dates nothing much happened.
Most of the local shops are clustered close to the station, in typical Australian urban fashion. We had friends who moved here. The McCarthy's, who were Welsh immigrants, no less. They had a Paul McCarthy, but not the one you think. Their dad liked to get drunk and sing Danny Boy. Bless his heart - he was always very decent to me and I believe he may have passed away earlier this year. As a wee lad I would sometimes come here on the train with my mum to visit them, as she was freaked out with driving in Sydney till many years later. I can drive the freeways of Los Angeles with no problemo, but I am still freaked out by driving in Sydney. read more