Ambarvale, New South Wales

Ambarvale is a suburb of south-western Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ambarvale is located 55 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown and is part of the Macarthur region. The suburb is predominantly residential and contains a mix of public and private housing.HistoryAboriginal cultureThe history of the region begins over 40,000 years ago and is contained in the continuing culture of the Tharawal people. The surrounding land still contains reminders of their past lives in rock engravings, cave paintings, axe grinding grooves and shell middens.European settlementThe suburb draws its name from a property established in 1816 by former convict Samuel Larkin. The property was actually where modern day St Helens Park is located. One of the earliest properties in what is now known as Ambarvale was a dairy farm called Glen Lora. In 1972, the farms were sold for housing and the new suburb was officially opened in 1976.DemographicsAccording to the 2011 census, Ambarvale had a population of 7,213 people. 67.3% of residents were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England 2.9%, New Zealand 2.5% and Philippines 2.3%. 72.5% of residents spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Spanish 2.1%, Arabic 2.0% and Samoan 1.6%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were Catholic 29.3%, Anglican 20.6% and No Religion 14.1%.