Raby, New South Wales

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Raby is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located around 55 km from the central business district of Sydney, and is bordered by the suburbs of Kearns, St Andrews, Eagle Vale, Eschol Park and Varroville.

In 1976 the Geographical Names Board of NSW approved the title "Raby", using the justification that the new suburb was to be located off Raby Road, which for more than 150 years had trailed across the hills linking the old Riley family property to Campbelltown. Alexander Riley (1778-1833) was a merchant and pastoralist who in 1809 was granted 3000 acres (12 km²) on the corner of Bringelly and Cowpasture Roads. He called his estate Raby in honour of his mother, who had been Miss Margaret Raby. Apparently "Raby" had also been the name of a family property in England. He used his new Australian farm for sheep breeding, and also introduced the first cashmere goats into the colony.

As a suburb of Campbelltown, "Raby" began to be developed as private subdivisions in the late 1970s. In 1978, the City of Campbelltown Council decided to use "airplanes of the world" as its theme to name the new streets being created. The first land releases were located between three roads named in honour of famous fighter planes - Mustang Drive, Sopwith Avenue and Spitfire Drive. Some of the roads were not named entirely named after airplane names such as Avia Close, which is short for Aviation.

By the early 1990s, most of the suburb had been completed, although a few pockets were still being released. As late as March 1992, Council was allocating additional street names such as Arrow Place and Skyfarmer Place.

View of Raby from "Universal Power House"

Today it is one of the more prestigious suburbs, boasting picturesque streetscapes and reserves such as Manaleuka Park. This was not only the name of a farm which stood on the site in the 1970s, but was also the name of the Lancom estate that saw the creation of nearby streets.

The old path of Bunbury-Curran Creek has now been developed as Raby Sports Complex and Sunderland Reserve (the latter named after an adjoining road).

An old farm dam has been retained as Lake Burrendah Reserve, which is Aboriginal for "place of the swan". Nearby Kooringa Reserve is derived from the Koori word for "sheoak." Blain Reserve notes an old family which had lived in the area since the 1800s.

The first school in the suburb was Heathfield Public School, which was named after a local farm owned by the Blain family. The school stood in demountables to the west of the modern site of Raby shopping centre. But in 1986 this temporary school closed and the Robert Townson Public School opened instead. This was named after a local pioneer. It is located adjacent to Robert Townson High School (opened 1987) and utilises the joint facilities with the high school, particularly the hall and sporting fields. The partnership between the schools supports an effective transition process for our Year 6 students. The motto of "Aim High" is encapsulated in the school's commitment to pursuing excellence in all teaching/learning programs with high expectations of student success and broad based opportunities for all students across the Key Learning Areas.

Demographics (2001 Australian census)

Population: 6,340

Australian Born: 72.5%

Overseas Born: 22.8%

Other/Not Stated: 4.6%

Main Overseas Birthplace: United Kingdom 6%, Philippines 2%, New Zealand 1%

Main Religions: Catholic 36%, Anglican 28%, Islam 3%, Uniting Church 3%