Schofields

Image from the National Library of Australia

Schofields is named after a thief and convict, who came good, bought land, supported eight children and a wife, went bankrupt, struck Californian gold, survived a shipwreck and settled down to run a saw mill along the railway line.

At the moment, it’s a small village 40km north west of Sydney.  And by small, I mean a few tumbledown shops and a handful of houses.

But things are set to change.  The railway line (built in the 1860’s) has been upgraded and a new station has been built 800 metres south of the original centre.  Master plans are being drawn up to convert the former pastoral lands into a new town centre that will accommodate some  9,000 people.  It will support not one, but all two major supermarket chains, well positioned to stare each other down from across the station.

What’s the interest in the Schofields?  Well, a photo blog can’t all be about tanned, Tamarama swimmers and kinky, Surry Hills laneway markets now, can it?  It’s places like Schofields where Sydney’s increasing population will be living.  It’s an example of modern urban design in Sydney’s north west.  So how are we going?

This is the new station.  The candy stripes, inspired by the tin roofing of the Station Master’s residence, have unexpectedly become a useful landmark for small aircraft.

The former pastoral lands (and former aerodrome in the distance) set to be the new town centre (see the Growth Centres indicative master plan 2011).

And the fate of the original village?  The pelting rain prevented me from jumping out of the car to photograph the cluster of vacant little shops.  But inclement weather didn’t stop me from capturing this monolithic footbridge that replaces the old pedestrian level crossing.  You’ll never see this in Surry Hills.