Davidson, New South Wales

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Davidson is a suburb located in the west of the Northern Beaches area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb, which began life as a mining quarry, is adjacent to Belrose and Frenchs Forest and is located on the eastern edge of the Garigal National Park. As the crow flies, Davidson is located approximately 15km from the Sydney CBD. Davidson also provides the name for one of the house of representatives electorates of the state of New South Wales. The suburb is also home to a Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade.

Davidson comprises part of the "Tri-suburb area". The Tri-suburb area as it is known by locals, includes the suburbs of Davidson, Belrose and Frenchs Forest.

The Tri-suburb area is also one part of the "Forest" area, which encompasses the suburbs of Forestville and Killarney Heights. The Forest forms part of the Warringah Council jurisdiction, which encompasses a large part of the Northern Beaches area of Sydney.

1 History
2 Housing
3 Education
4 Parks and culture
5 Topography and Wildlife
6 Transport
7 Sport
8 Notable current and former residents of Davidson
9 External links

[edit] History

Davidson is a relatively young suburb, having only been heavily settled in the early 1980's. It is also a small suburb with only approximately 400 homes. Despite its small size and obscurity (most Sydneysiders would not have heard of Davidson), its residents have indelibly left their mark on the business, sporting and cultural landscape of Australia, as evidence from the "famous residents" list above. The residents of the suburb are predominently of Anglo-Saxon descent, like the rest of the Northern Beaches and Davidson remains largely untouched by the multi-racial influences of Sydney.

The suburb faced a significant threat in January 1994 when bush fires came dangerously close to Davidson, via the Garigal National Park. The suburb was fortunate enough not to be touched by the fires however, and owes much to its vigilant band of volunteer firefighters who were prepared to flight the blaze had it reached Davidson.

[edit] Housing

Davidson is notable for having one of the highest rates of home ownership in Sydney. An article published on 10 July 2004 in Sydney Morning Herald ranked Davidson as the Sydney suburb with the 10th highest rate of home ownership with 90.4% of homes owned and only 6.6% rented.

According to an article published in the Sunday Telegraph on 23 May 2004, the median house price in Davidson was AUD$821,000 with a 5 year growth rate of 11.1%. Housing divisions are relatively large, with residential properties typically 700 square metres or greater in size. There are no apartments or blocks of flats in Davidson, albeit there are a limited number of dual-occupancy premises. The capacity of the suburb to expand beyond its current boundaries is severely limited by the envelopment of national park at its edges.

[edit] Education

Davidson is home to two primary-level schools. Kambora Public School, located on Kambora Road and St Martins Catholic Primary School, also located on Kambora Road. Davidson High School is named for the suburb, however the campus of the school is actually in nearby Frenchs Forest, on Blackbutts Road.

At the secondary education level, some 82 per cent of local parents choose to send their children to private schools outside of the Forest area.

[edit] Parks and culture

Davidson is blessed with a plethora of stunning parkland. The suburb adjoins Garigal and Kur-ing-gai Chase National Parks, and, in addition, has numerous other reserves suitable for picnics, ambling and quiet moments of reflection. These include McFarlane Reserve, Maitland Street Reserve, Aranda Place Reseve and Richard Healy Oval, to name but a few.

Davidson garners state-wide press each December due to its residents' enthusiastic display of Christmas lights. The "Davidson lights" are undoubtedly one of the finest displays in Sydney and draw families from as far afield as Penrith and Campbelltown. Borgnis Street provides the centre of the nightly celebrations in the lead-up to Christmas, however the festive spirit is spread widely throughout the suburb with residents of Stone Parade and its various cul-de-sacs also actively participating. The media attention which the Davidson lights bring have also drawn the negative impact of heavy local traffic and this is an issue to which local legislators may need to turn their thoughts.

As of December 2005 Davidson has become one of the premier "Christmas Lights" destinations in Sydney with tens of thousands of visitors to Borgnis and other neighbouring streets during December.

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[edit] Topography and Wildlife

An unusual feature of Davidson is its uneven topography. In large part, this is due to the area’s origins as a mining quarry, as well as its proximity to Garigal National Park. Steep descents are evident in Stone Parade, Borgnis Avenue and Maitland Street, whereas more undulatory landscapes can be seen along parts of Prahran Avenue and Kambora Avenue.

The Eucalyptus trees and Liquid Ambers that line the streets of Davidson provide a pleasant backdrop for those living in the suburb. They also provide a haven for large numbers of native birds, such as Kookaburras, Galahs and Rainbow Lorrikeets. Possums are also a common sight in Davidson after nightfall.

[edit] Transport

There are no major arterial roads running through Davidson. Vehicles may only access the suburb through adjoining Frenchs Forest or Belrose. Davidson is also heavily car dependent. The only public transportation available is an infrequent bus service provided by Forest Coach Lines, a private company which is granted a monopoly by the NSW State Government to provide bus services to Davidson and surrounding suburbs.

[edit] Sport

While no sporting clubs are domiciled in Davidson, several from the surrounding area draw participants from the suburb. Perhaps the largest is the Wakehurst Soccer Club, headquartered at Lionel Watts, Belrose. Wakehurst is the largest soccer club on the northern beaches, with over 1300 registered players. Lucas Neill, a member of the Australian national team, played junior soccer with Wakehurst. Other soccer clubs supported by the area, albeit to a lesser extent, include the Belrose Terry Hills Raiders and Forest Killarney. Netball, cricket, tennis and rugby league also enjoy popular support in Davidson.

[edit] Notable current and former residents of Davidson

Michael Hutchence (Former frontman of popular Australian band INXS)
Matt Shirvington (Olympic level athlete, competed in the 100 metres sprint)
Peter Hardcastle (Olympic level athlete, competed in kayaking)
Scott Needs (baseballer, was awarded a scholarship at an Alabaman college in 2000)
Mark Soden (former professional rugby league player for the North Sydney Bears rugby league team
Nicole Jones (teenage runaway who at age 14 was estranged from her family for two days sparking a media sensation and an expensive government rescue which has never been repaid by her family)

In 1991, local Davidson High School student Nicole Jones, a lifetime resident of Furber Place, was reported missing to police by her parents. What followed was a two day intensive search of the Garigal National Park by police, and a nation wide media interest in Nicole's speculated abduction. Approximately 48 hours after being reported missing, Nicole wandered back home along Stone Parade, oblivious to the media storm that had followed her disappearance.