Leichhardt, New South Wales

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Leichhardt Sydney, New South Wales
Image:LeichhardtTH.JPG Leichhardt Town Hall
Population:	19,627
Postcode:	2040
Property Value:	AUD 597, 500[1]
Location:	5 km from Sydney CBD
LGA:	Municipality of Leichhardt
State District:	Balmain
Federal Division:	Grayndler
Suburbs around Leichhardt Haberfield Lilyfield Rozelle Haberfield Leichhardt Annandale Lewisham Petersham Stanmore

Leichhardt is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Leichhardt is located 7kms south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt.

Leichhardt contains a mix of residential and commercial developments and is best known as Sydney's "Little Italy". The suburb is surrounded by Haberfield to the west, Annandale to the east, Lilyfield to the north and Petersham to the south.

Contents 1 Demographics 2 Commercial Area 3 History 4 External links

Demographics

Since the middle of the 20th century, Leichhardt has been a centre for the Italian community, reflected in the many Italian-owned businesses in the area. Although it has become less distinctively Italian with the increasing gentrification of the suburb and movement of families to suburbs with larger blocks of land its Italian character is still palpable, particularly in the popular restaurants and cafés of its main street, Norton Street. Many residents moved to suburbs further away from Sydney as the city has expanded and larger housing blocks became available.

Commercial Area

The main commercial area is located on Norton Street, north of Parramatta Road. The Norton Street commercial thoroughfare contains a mix of residential buildings, restaurants, cafes and individual retail outlets (including several bookstores and grocery stores), hotels, a cinema and two of the suburb's three shopping centres — Norton Plaza and the Italian Forum.

The Italian Forum, located just off Norton Street, is notable for its design which seeks to emulate the feel of a Mediterranean town plaza. A pedestrian-only central courtyard with outdoors and indoors restaurant dining is surrounded by small shops and boutiques on the level above, and all overlooked by residential apartments. Nearby Norton Plaza is a shopping centre anchored by a supermarket and surrounded by specialty shops. The third shopping centre, Leichhardt Market Place (formerly Market Town), is located towards Haberfield on the main cross street of Marion Street.

Commercial developments are also found along the length of Parramatta Road.

History

Leichhardt is named after the Prussian explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, who in the 1840s was feted for his 4,800 km expedition in search of an overland route from southern Queensland to Port Essington (near Darwin). He later famously vanished without trace on his attempt to cross the continent from the Darling Downs to the Swan River Colony on the Western Australia coast.

Leichhardt was proclaimed a municipality in 1871. In 1949, it was merged with the municipalities of Annandale and Balmain. In 1967, the municipal boundary was altered to include Glebe and parts of Camperdown. In 2003, the municipal boundary was again changed, to exclude Glebe and Forest Lodge, which are now part of the City of Sydney.

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