Kirrawee

Kirrawee is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Kirrawee is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kirrawee is located 25 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire. Kirrawee lies between Sutherland, to the west, and Gymea and Grays Point, to the east. Kirrawee's southern border is formed by The Royal National Park, while Kareela and Jannali form the northern border.

Kirrawee is split between commercial and residential areas. Approximately 50% of the area to the north of the train line is occupied by commercial and industrial properties, while almost all of the area south of the train line is residential. South Kirrawee, which extends from the train line in the north to the Royal National Park in the south, has many houses on quiet roads with beautiful bush outlooks. North Kirrawee is predominantly a commercial/industrial zone containing small to medium-sized factories housing local businesses. It is also home to a number of petrol stations, car dealerships and a fast food chain outlet. However, the most northerly and western sections of this part of Kirrawee are residential, with some parts also with bush outlooks.

The Sutherland Shire Council website suggests two possible origins for the name, "Kirrawee". The first possibility is that it derives from an Aboriginal word meaning 'lengthy'; the second is that it derives from a Dharawal word, "gi(a)rrawee(i)" (alternative spelling "garrawi"), which means 'place of white cockatoos' or 'sulphur-crested cockatoos'. The current signage erected by the Council uses 'place of white cockatoos' as the accepted meaning for the suburb name. The name was adopted in 1939 with the opening of the Sutherland-Cronulla railway line. A postal receiving office in the locality was known as 'Bladesville'. It operated from the home of Mrs Louisa Blade, was opened in 1909 and closed in 1915 when a letter delivery service commenced from the post office at Sutherland.Kirrawee is part of the southern Sydney region inhabited by the Dharawal people at least 8,500 years prior to European settlement. Before being subdivided as Kirrawee, the area was part of Thomas Holt's Sutherland Estate and was accessed from Sutherland train station. In 1911 a tramway was opened, giving access to the area.At around the same time, the brickworks opened.It was not until the 1950s that Kirrawee became heavily settled, with many families looking to resettle after World War II. In 1946, several blocks of land in Kirrawee went for several times their asking value - valued at £30, £60 and £64, they sold for £140, £195 and £160. As of 1949, the Department of Education had accepted a tender for a primary school to be built in Kirrawee.Some street names in Kirrawee commemorate colonial figures connected with the Rum Rebellion: Bligh Street and Putland Close were named after Governor William Bligh, and his daughter, Mary Putland, respectively; Johnston Avenue was named after George Bain Johnston, a First Fleet lieutenant who arrested Governor Bligh; Kemp Avenue was named after Anthony Fenn Kemp, a captain in charge of government stores who was also involved in Bligh's arrest. In February 1966 Kirrawee High School opened.In that same year, the Housing Commission built low-cost fibro homes in Kirrawee.In October 1968, bushfires went close to Kirrawee and residents prepared to evacuate, but the fire was brought under control.There are three houses that are heritage-listed in Kirrawee, as well as the brick pit site.