Nestled in between Abbotsford and Five Dock, Wareemba is the smallest suburb in Sydney by land area. It was only declared a separate suburb in 1993 so is still considered relatively ‘new’ and unknown.
This picturesque pocket of Canada Bay sits on the Hen and Chicken Bay foreshore and also features a fantastic little shopping strip. Find out more about the history and some interesting facts about this tiny hidden gem.
Postcode 2046
Wareemba is, in fact, the smallest suburb in Sydney by land area at just 0.3 square kilometres! It’s wedged in between Five Dock in the north and Abbotsford in the south and sits on the eastern shore of Hen and Chicken Bay. It’s home to around 1500 people and like Five Dock, has a strong Italian heritage. According to the 2016 census, 22.6 per cent of residents have Italian ancestry, followed by Australian at 19.1 per cent, English at 18 per cent, Irish at 9.9 per cent and Scottish at 4.5 per cent. The median age is 41 and a couple families with children make up around 50 per cent of the people in Wareemba.
What’s in a Name?
As outlined in our Abbotsford blog, the City of Canada Bay is part of the traditional lands of the Wangal clan.
Wareemba is the Aboriginal name for Drummoyne Peninsula and it means “where sweet water meets salt water.”
History
The Wangal people inhabited what is now known as the City of Canada Bay for thousands of years prior to European settlement. The local area of Hen and Chicken Bay was a meeting place for Aboriginal people from Port Jackson and the wider Sydney region
European settlement of the area began in the 1830s, with land mainly used for farming.
Wareemba was originally going to be used as a new suburb name for Five Dock back in 1922 in a campaign led by real estate agents. However, at a council poll in December 1922, the vote went in favour of keeping the name Five Dock.
The name Wareemba was later used as the subdivision between Five Dock and Abbotsford and it was officially declared a separate suburb in 1993.
Hen and Chicken Bay
The promenade along Hen and Chicken Bay that runs through Wareemba is a popular walking track and the bay itself is often used for rowing regattas. In the early days of the NSW colony, it was sometimes known as Stonequarry Cove and Stone Quarry Creek.
This pretty tidal bay on the Paramatta River is also home to migratory birds and mangrove systems. The seawall along the bay was constructed in the 1930s to make room for residential development.
The Hen and Chicken Bay foreshore is made up of by Halliday Park in Five Dock, Wymstom Parade in Wareemba and Henry Lawson Park in Abbotsford.
Wareemba shops
There is a great little shopping precinct on Great North Rd in Wareemba, which includes everything from cafés and restaurants to a newsagency, pharmacy and hairdresser.
By all accounts, this tiny suburb has plenty to offer in terms of lifestyle.
Happy residents
Wareemba is a tightly held suburb with just a couple of dozen streets and a low turnover of houses. In fact, residents are more likely, on average, to stay put in their homes than residents in other Inner West suburbs.
According to recent data from CoreLogic, Wareemba topped the list of average hold periods in the Inner West at 23.2 years.
Other Canada Bay suburbs at the top of the list include Concord at 19.1 years, followed by Cabarita at 17.9 years, Abbotsford at 16.7 years and Five Dock at 16.5 years.
Image Source: Wikipedia
