Figtree, New South Wales

History

The suburb is named after a giant fig tree that once stood on the eastern side of the highway at the junction with O'Brien's Road, a mountain pass used in early days of settlement built by subscription in 1821 before completion by convict labour of Mount Keira road. In 1861, Figtree Bridge was built by Moore and Vaughan.

In 1867, Figtree Inn was built, a small weatherboard building built at the site of the turnoff to O'Brien's Road, later its name changed to Figtree Hotel, and it still stands. In the 1880s, farming was the main industry in the area. In 1888 the Figtree Sunday School began in a cottage.

On 25 November 1903, Figtree park was opened. The public school opened in 1956, followed by Figtree High School in 1969, Figtree Heights Public School in 1972 and Nareena Hills Public School in the foothills of Mount Nebo in 1977.

On 15 October 1979, the Illawarra Private Hospital was opened.

The famous figtree was cut down in 1996 and only a small portion of its trunk is left. In 1998 Fig Tree Park was renovated with an aboriginal mosaic as a result of a community project. The name has been changed to Moreton Bay Figtree Park. During the 1998 Wollongong floods, Figtree was one of the worst suburbs hit, with floodwaters going through the Westfield shopping centre and residents being rescued by the State Emergency Service from Figtree Caravan Park.

Figtree is also known for its large successful soccer club Figtree Junior Soccer Club. They also have a stadium which Collegians Rugby League use for their games.

Figtree Grove

At the junction of the highway and The Avenue is Figtree Grove, a two-storey indoor shopping centre with a Woolworths, Coles and Kmart. The shopping centre was opened in 1965. The second story is used by a couple of businesses and a second storey to its carpark facilities. Adjacent to the centre is a park which contains sports facilities, a baby health centre and a small sculpture garden.

On 23 September 1965, Westfield Figtree was opened by Westfield Corporation. It was expanded in 1974, and further expansions were completed in 2009, with another 15 specialty stores being added. Coles, Kmart and Woolworths are anchor tenants. In August 2015, it was sold by the Scentre Group to Blackstone and renamed Figtree Grove. In December 2018 it was sold to Paragon REIT (85%) and Moelis Australia (15%).

Population

According to the of Population, there were 12,335 people in Figtree.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.1% of the population.
• 76.0% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 3.3%, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 1.7%, China 1.6%, India 1.3% and Italy 1.1%.
• 77.5% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Macedonian 2.7%, Mandarin 2.3%, Italian 1.6%, Arabic 1.5% and Greek 1.4%.
• The most common responses for religion were No Religion 34.1%, Catholic 22.2%, Anglican 13.9% and Eastern Orthodox 7.2%.

Notable people

• Abigail Paduch, judoka

References

References

1. {{Census 2021 AUS. 50px]] Material was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
2. "Figtree – History".
3. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061110012640/https://www.westfield.com/corporate/pdf/history/chapter2.pdf Chapter 2 1960 - 1970] [[Westfield Corporation]]
4. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061109114715/https://www.westfield.com/corporate/retailer/au/figtree.html Westfield Figtree] Westfield Corporation
5. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221005010618/https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/3323640/warrawong-figtree-shopping-centres-sold-to-global-firm/ Warrawong, Figtree shopping centres sold to global firm] ''[[Illawarra Mercury]]'' 2 September 2015
6. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221005010253/https://www.afr.com/property/blackstone-exits-figtree-grove-in-206m-deal-20181219-h199tt Blackstone exits Figtree Grove in $206m deal] ''[[Australian Financial Review]]'' 19 December 2018
7. (11 May 2022). "Abigail Paduch Results {{!}} Commonwealth Games Australia".