Engadine

The earliest inhabitants and traditional custodians of the land were the Dharawal speaking people.   It would not have been year round but rather seasonal occupation.

The area which became the suburb of Engadine is part of the Parish of Heathcote.  The Illawarra railway line opened in 1886 from the city centre at Central Station to the south coast passed by what would become the eastern border of the township but was at the time designated crown land.  A railway platform was located at the present day adjoining suburb of Heathcote.

Crown land was made available for sale as early as 1887.  Charles McAlister purchased several parcels of land.  Most of this land was located on and around what was then known as the Old Illawarra Road (later Woronora Road) which came from the west and crossed Woronora River at a natural sandstone ford locally known as “The Needles” but named the Pass of Sabugal by Major Thomas Mitchell who had been in charge of the survey of the road to the Illawarra District in 1843-1845.

Charles McAlister came from Ireland and had been in the colony since about 1866.  He had been a shop owner in the city of Sydney and for some time was a pearl merchant in the Torres Strait.  It was after he returned from there that he married Christina Ballantine at St Patricks Church Sydney on 14 February 1885.

Charles and Christina McAlister moved to the land he purchased on Old Illawarra Road having built a simple dwelling in about 1890 which they named “Sunbeam Cottage”.  Additions were made over the following years including outbuildings and a ballroom at the side of the original cottage. The property was renamed “Holmlea”.  In 1906 Charles was nominated to serve on Sutherland Shire’s provisional Council and elected to the first council of 1907.  He served until 1913.  He stood for the 1914-1916 council election but was unsuccessful.

Land in the area was purchased by speculators but very few took up residence with those limited to just a few who would become pioneering families.  With regard to future development of the area land was set aside for a school in what became Preston Park on Railway Parade.

In 1915 the world war one Waratahs recruiting march passed through Engadine on its way from the south coast to the city.  When wounded soldiers started to return from the war land was opened up in the area for soldier settlement from 1916.

After McAlister’s death in 1916 his wife Christina continued to live in Engadine but later moved to Cronulla in the 1920s where she remained until her death. During this time the growing community lobbied for improvements to the area including its own railway platform which opened in November 1920.

The population increased in the 1930s when the depression created huge unemployment and families who could not afford to live in the city moved to the outskirts of Sydney.  Land was opened up in the northern end of Engadine with many families making this their permanent home.  In 1931 a school of arts was opened for local celebrations, social functions, dances and meetings. Due to the influx of young families it was closely followed with the opening of a school in 1932.   In 1933 the village of Engadine was proclaimed with a population of just over 400 people.

 Further development however was slow and residents coped for a long time with bush tracks for roads and limited utilities. 

By 1940 there were 23 poultry farms.  The land on which Engadine is built is not suitable for agriculture and raising poultry for market was a relatively cheap industry to sustain. 

In 1942 Boys’ Town a home for boys relocated to Engadine from the Royal National Park after eviction from their residence in Sutherland.  This institution had been set up by Father Thomas Dunlea.  Land was taken up around Waratah Road and a complex of buildings was established to cater for their needs.

There was no public hospital in the Sutherland Shire before 1958.  “San Gerard” Maternity Hospital opened on the Old Princes Highway in 1950 by Sister Nancy Taafe and continued until the 1980s.

The Engadine Plaza Picture Theatre was opened by Percy Jones in 1956.  However with the advent of television the theatre was forced to close in 1961.

The mid sixties also saw local lobbying for a High School which was opened in 1969.

The Princes Highway was diverted from the town centre in 1969 and this part of the road was renamed the Old Princes Highway.  With a gradual shift of the centre of the shopping area to the north 1990 saw the opening of Engadine Court shopping complex. 

The community centre built nearby in 1974 was redeveloped in 2010 and incorporated into a new town square which included the war memorial.  The shopping complex became known as the Engadine Town Square shopping centre.

A multi storey nursing home was erected in 2016.  Nearby the community services established in 1998 and known as the Caldarra Avenue Community Service area continues with child care services and a public branch library.

In the 2016 census the population of Engadine was 17,374.

HELEN McDONALD 2018

Sources:

Hick, Robert Conservation Plan for “Holmlea” Cottage: Prepared for assessment of Conservation Management Plan 1993

Lions Club of Engadine  Engadine 1825-2001

Lock, Colin  History of Engadine Public School 1932-1982

 Sargeant, Bernard  Sutherland Shire Council  : An account of its composition, elections and changes in Councillor numbers and riding boundaries from 1906-1983