Camden, New South Wales, Australia

🇦🇺 Camden is a historic town and suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, located 65 km south-west of the Sydney central business district. Camden was the administrative centre for the local government area of Camden Council until July 2016 and is a part of the Macarthur region.

History The area now known as Camden was originally at the northern edge of land belonging to the Gandangara people of the Southern Highlands, who called it Benkennie, meaning 'dry land'. North of the Nepean River were the Muringong, the southernmost of the Darug people, while to the east were the Tharawal people. They lived in extended family groups of 20–40 members, hunting kangaroos, possums and eels and gathering yams and other seasonal fruit and vegetables from the local area. They were described as 'short, stocky, strong and superbly built' and generally considered peaceful. However, as British settlers encroached on their land and reduced their food sources, they turned to armed resistance which ended in 1816 after many of their number were massacred.

European settlement Explorers first visited the area in 1795 and named it 'Cowpastures' after a herd of cattle that had disappeared was discovered there. In February 1805, Governor King instructed (apparently reluctantly) a surveyor to measure 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) for John Macarthur at Cowpastures, where Macarthur had been promised land by the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Lord Camden. Macarthur named his property Camden Park in honour of his sponsor.

As Macarthur's wool industry thrived, local citizens began pushing for the establishment of a town in the area to support the industry. Surveyor-General Major Thomas Mitchell suggested Macarthur surrender 320 acres (130 ha) of his land for the purpose to which he refused. Following his death in 1834, his children decided to subdivide the land and the first lots in the new town of Camden went on sale in 1840. Camden Post Office opened on 1 May 1841, the day after the nearby Elderslie office (open from 1839) closed. By 1883, the population had grown to over 300 and a movement began to establish a local council which held its first meeting in 1889.

Heritage listings Commonwealth Heritage List places: • Camden Post Office, 135 Argyle Street

NSW State Heritage Register listed places: • Camden Park House and Garden, Elizabeth Macarthur Avenue • Camden Park Estate and Belgenny Farm, Elizabeth Macarthur Avenue • Macquarie Grove, Aerodrome Road • Nant Gwylan and Garden, Exeter Street • St Johns Anglican Church Precinct, incorporating St John's Anglican Church, 6-22 Menangle Road.

Transport Between 1882 and 1963, Camden station connected Camden to Campbelltown and Sydney by the Camden railway line. Camden is served by Camden Airport, which is mostly used by trainee pilots for flying schools, the Australian Air League, and other forms of general aviation.

Education Camden is the location of research facilities for the veterinary and agricultural schools of the University of Sydney. The local government area has four public high schools, Mount Annan High School, Camden High School, Elderslie High School and Elizabeth Macarthur High School, as well as eight Catholic and three Anglican schools.

Culture The Camden Show is an annual event which combines amusement park attractions with the elements of a state fair. Camden is served by three local radio stations, 2MCR, Vintage FM and C91.3FM. Local newspapers are the Camden Advertiser, the District Reporter and the Macarthur Chronicle.

Demographics According to the 2021 census, there were 3,378 residents in Camden. In Camden, 80.3% of people were born in Australia; the most next common countries of birth included England 4.5%, New Zealand 1.2%, Scotland 0.8%, South Africa 0.5% and Germany 0.5%. 88.8% of people only spoke English at home; other languages spoken at home included Italian 0.6%, Spanish 0.5%, German 0.4%, Croatian 0.4% and Arabic 0.4%. The most common responses for religion in Camden included Catholic 30.3%, No Religion 28.0%, Anglican 21.3%, and Uniting Church 2.5%; a further 6.5% of respondents elected not to disclose their religion.