SYDNEY SUBURBS, CONTINUED: CROMER

 

CROMER:

Location:

Cromer is a suburb of northern Sydney located 20 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. It is bordered to the north by Narrabeen Lakes.

Name origin:

• Cromer is named after the seaside town of Cromer, in Norfolk, England. The area had been known as Dee Why West but it was changed after Dee Why Golf Links was taken over by the Cromer Country Club in 1940. The club applied to have the area's name changed to Cromer and permission was granted to create the new suburb.

• The suburb takes its name from Cromer Cottage which in the late 1800s was situated south-west of what is now the sixth tee on Cromer Golf Course. An early reference to Cromer appears in the 1894–95 electoral rolls for the district of Warringah. William Alick Herring is listed as a caretaker, and his residence is Cromer, Narrabeen.

• Cromer Golf Course is situated on 100 acres (40 hectares) originally granted to Robert McIntosh around 1828. In 1926 the Cromer Syndicate was formed, with the aim of purchasing land for a golf course. The first nine holes of the Dee Why Golf Links were completed in 1929 and the full course opened in 1932. The club struggled through the Depression years until 1940, when the club was refinanced and the name changed to Cromer Country Club. After World War II, membership rose quickly and the committee embarked on an expansion program. In 1955 the club became known as Cromer Golf Club Ltd, as it was thought this name was more appropriate to the 'A' Grade Club status being sought.

About:

• In the 2016 Census, there were 7,592 people in Cromer. 71.8% of people were born in Australia.

• Cromer remained semi-rural until the 1960s. The area was dotted with small farms growing fruit and vegetables, as well as poultry and pig farms.

• The growth of Cromer as a residential area began slowly in the 1950s and 1960s and accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s.

• As the area changed from semi-rural to residential more facilities were needed. The Time and Tide Hotel was approved by Warringah Shire Council in September 1965. The development also included a drive-in bottle shop.

• As noted above, in 1964 Dee Why West was officially renamed Cromer. The small farms were gradually subdivided and in the mid-1960s, undeveloped land to the west of Cromer became known as Cromer Heights.

• The streets were named after Victoria Cross recipients and under the War Service Loans scheme, building blocks were sold to returned servicemen. A number of residents were Vietnam veterans. Later, in 1980, some Badcoe Road residents erected a monument to Peter Badcoe who had been awarded, posthumously, the Victoria Cross. His name is one of the rest stops on the Remembrance Driveway. Other streets in this area were named after governors of New South Wales.

• Today the northern and western boundaries of Cromer remain bushland. Within five kilometres of the beach and with bushland within its boundaries, the outdoor lifestyle attracts people to this suburb.

Some historical aspects:

During the depressed years of the 1930s an interesting experiment was taking place in the area. In 1932, the Reverend AR Ebbs, the rector at St Matthew's Church in Manly, established St Matthew's Farm on three hectares (seven acres) on South Creek Road. The aim of the farm was to train unemployed boys for agricultural work for several months, and then find positions for them on farms around New South Wales. The farm comprised living quarters, vegetable gardens, a poultry run and a small piggery. It received financial support from church and community members as well as the state government. Church of England ministers were encouraged to advise unemployed youths in their parish and district to come to the farm. The enterprise was a great success and it was visited by the Premier of New South Wales, Bertram Stevens, in 1932, and Prime Minister Lyons, in September 1933. By the time the farm wound up in September 1940, more than 800 young men had been trained there.