Outer Suburb near Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Cowan
is a small outer suburb of
Sydney
, in the state of
New South Wales
, Australia, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the
Sydney central business district
, in the
local government area
of
Hornsby Shire
. Cowan shares the postcode of 2081 with
Berowra
.
Brooklyn
, which lies 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the north-east of Cowan, is considered the northernmost suburb of the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area.
History
[
edit
]
The suburb takes its name from an
Aboriginal
word meaning
big water
.
[5]
The 1828 census lists two convicts called Cowan, and it is also thought possible that Cowan was named after one of them. Still another suggestion is that it was named after a small town in Scotland.
[6]
Besides the English botanist
George Caley
, who explored the area in 1805, the first Europeans to visit the area were timber-getters. The timber from Cowan was used for coach building, one of the first industries in the area.
[6]
The railway stop at Cowan was originally a crossing loop to allow trains on the single-line north track to pass each other, and it was also the point at which auxiliary steam engines, connected to the trains at
Hawkesbury River station
(Brooklyn), were disconnected after the steep haul to the top of the plateau. A station and platform were constructed in 1901. With the coming of the railway, Cowan become a popular holiday spot and a regular starting point for bushwalkers.
[6]
Cowan Public School opened in 1939.
In 1958, the rail line was electrified, and this also increased the number of people visiting the area, with families moving into the suburb, particularly those wanting to raise children in a bushland setting but near the city.
[6]
There has been little change in Cowan village since it was first laid out as a crown subdivision in 1910. Lots ranged from 1,500 to 4,500 square metres.
[6]
The predominance of freestanding three-bedroom houses set in gardens provides a sense of openness, and creates a pleasant transition to the bushland which surrounds the town.
[6]
Demographics
[
edit
]
In the
2021 census
, there were 631 people in Cowan. 81.9% of people were born in Australia, the next most common countries of birth included
England
3.5%,
Korea, Republic of (South)
1.6%,
South Africa
1.6%,
New Zealand
1.4% and
the Philippines
1.3%. 91.3% of people spoke only
English
at home, the next most common languages spoken at home included
Korean
1.1%,
Persian
(excluding
Dari
) 1.0%,
German
0.6%,
Dutch
0.6% and
Finnish
0.6%. The most common responses for religion were
No Religion
46.0%,
Anglican
15.8%,
Catholic
13.5%,
Christian, not further defined
6.0% and
Uniting Church
3.0%.
[2]
Transport
[
edit
]
Access by road to Cowan is via the
Pacific Highway
which traverses Cowan north to south. The
M1 Sydney to Newcastle Freeway
runs past Cowan.
The
Main Northern railway line
runs parallel to the Pacific Highway through most of Cowan, descending north of the town via
Cowan Bank
.
Cowan railway station
is served by
NSW TrainLink
Central Coast & Newcastle Line
services to
Newcastle
and
Sydney Central
.
Electric overhead railway power facilities are located in the north of Cowan. Cowan Bank was the location of the
1990 Cowan railway accident
, in which there were five deaths.
CDC NSW
operates one bus route through Cowan:
- 592: Hornsby to Brooklyn via Asquith, Mount Colah, Mount Ku-ring-gai and Berowra
[7]
Commercial area
[
edit
]
There is a single General Store that serves the Cowan community, which is located on the corner of the Pacific Highway and Fraser Road.
A notable landmark of the Cowan area is the "Pie in the Sky" pie shop located approximately one kilometre north of Cowan on the Pacific Highway.
[8]
Pie in the Sky was featured in the Australian film
Lantana
, and is a frequent stop for day-trippers, bicycle riders and motor-scooter enthusiasts on weekends.
Austral Watergardens is one of the only
water gardens
in Australia.
Facilities
[
edit
]
Cowan Community Hall is a service provided by
Hornsby Shire Council
. Cowan Park and a small picnic area are adjacent to the Fire Station on View Street. Cowan is served by one public primary school, Cowan Public School.
Fire protection for the entire area of Cowan is provided by the NSW
Rural Fire Service
, through Cowan Rural Fire Brigade, however, a Mutual Aid Agreement with
Fire and Rescue NSW
ensures that Fire and Rescue NSW will also respond to any urban fire incidents within Cowan.
Cowan Post Office opened on 14 December 1936 and closed in 1993, however, postal services are still available in the local General Store.
[9]
Cowan is the head of two walking trails into the adjacent National Parks, one west, one east. The Jerusalem Bay trail is well known and a part of the
Great North Walk
.
[10]
The Bujwa Bay trail takes the west view.
[11]
Jerusalem Bay
[
edit
]
On 31 December 2017 a
de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
sea plane crashed on Jerusalem Bay (Cowan Creek) East of Cowan. The pilot and five British passengers perished in the crash.
[12]
[13]
Notable residents
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Cowan"
.
Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW
.
Geographical Names Board of New South Wales
.
- ^
a
b
Australian Bureau of Statistics
(28 June 2022).
"Cowan"
.
2021 Census QuickStats
. Retrieved
23 April
2024
.
- ^
"The Legislative Assembly District of Hornsby"
.
NSW Electoral Commission
. 11 April 2024. Localities and Postcodes.
Archived
from the original on 23 April 2024
. Retrieved
23 April
2024
.
Arcadia, Asquith, Berowra, Berowra Creek, Berowra Heights, Berowra Waters, Berrilee, Brooklyn, Canoelands, Castle Hill, Cherrybrook, Cowan, Dangar Island, Dural, Fiddletown, Forest Glen, Galston, Glenhaven, Glenorie, Hornsby, Hornsby Heights, Laughtondale, Maroota, Middle Dural, Milsons Passage, Mount Colah, Mount Kuring-Gai, Pennant Hills, Singletons Mill, West Pennant Hills, Wisemans Ferry.
- ^
"Profile of the electoral division of Berowra (NSW)"
.
Australian Electoral Commission
. 19 April 2019. Location Description.
Archived
from the original on 23 April 2024
. Retrieved
23 April
2024
.
Berowra covers an area from Hawkesbury River in the north, to the M2, Pennant Hills Road and North Rocks Road in the South. Osborn and Normanhurst Rd and Main Northern Railway and Belmont Parade, Cockle and Cowan Creeks in the east, Hawkesbury, Bellbird and Cattai Creeks, Boundary Road, Taylor Street, High Road, Castle Hill Road, Main Northern Railway, Old Northern Road, Gilbert Road, Merrick Way, Gawin Court and Linksley Avenue in the west. Suburbs include Annangrove, Arcadia, Berowra, Brooklyn, Cattai, Cherrybrook, Cowan, Dangar Island, Galston, Glenorie, Hornsby (part), Maroota, Middle Dural, Mount Colah (part), Mount Kuring-gai, Pennant Hills, Westleigh, West Pennant Hills and Wisemans Ferry.
- ^
"PLACE NAMES"
.
The Australian Women's Weekly
. National Library of Australia. 13 May 1964. p. 61
. Retrieved
22 February
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Rowland, Joan (2008).
"Cowan"
.
Dictionary of Sydney
. City of Sydney
. Retrieved
20 April
2019
.
Material was copied from this source, which is available under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Generic 2.0
license.
- ^
"592 Brooklyn to Cheero Point and Mooney Mooney"
.
transportnsw.info
. 21 April 2024.
Archived
from the original on 23 April 2024
. Retrieved
25 January
2024
.
- ^
Elliott, Lorraine (23 April 2008).
"Pie in the Sky pie shop at Cowan"
.
notquitenigella.com
.
Archived
from the original on 23 April 2024.
- ^
Phoenix Auctions History.
"Post Office List"
. Retrieved
22 January
2021
.
- ^
"Great North walk Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park"
.
NSW National Parks
. Retrieved
11 March
2022
.
- ^
"Walk to Bujwa Bay"
.
NSW National Parks
. Retrieved
11 March
2022
.
- ^
"Sea plane crashes on Hawkesbury River with six people on board"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. 31 December 2017. Archived from
the original
on 4 February 2018.
- ^
"Crashed seaplane wreckage recovered in three parts from Jerusalem Bay"
.
The Australian
. 4 January 2018. Archived from
the original
on 8 January 2018.
- ^
F. J. Duarte,
Laser Physicist
(Optics Journal, New York, 2012).