Cattai, New South Wales

Cattai
Sydney, New South Wales
Arndell's cottage
Map
Population
Postcode(s)2756
Elevation27 m (89 ft)
Location63 km (39 mi) north-west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)
State electorate(s)Hawkesbury
Federal division(s)
Suburbs around Cattai:
Ebenezer South Maroota Canoelands
Wilberforce Cattai Glenorie
Pitt Town Maraylya Maraylya

Cattai is an historic suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 44 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 30 kilometres north-west of Parramatta. It is in the local government areas of The Hills Shire and City of Hawkesbury.[3] Cattai's state electoral district is Hawkesbury, and its federal electoral divisions are Berowra and Macquarie.[4][5]

Cattai is bounded in the north-west by the Hawkesbury River and is traversed by Cattai Creek. It encompasses the heritage-listed Cattai Estate, located within Cattai National Park at the junction of the Creek and the River.[6][7] The Georgian house was built between 1804 and 1821 by former Magistrate Thomas Arndell, with further additions being made in the 1860s. Cattai is also home to a historic rural public primary school that was founded in 1886.[8] The suburb was originally home to the Darug Indigenous Australians before being settled in the early nineteenth century.[9][10]

History

Indigenous Peoples

Main article: Darug

The locality of Cattai was the home of the Darug people who occupied a large expanse of Greater Western Sydney.[10] The Darug people are thought to have occupied the locality of Cattai for more than 20,000 years.[11]

The name Cattai was originally thought to have derived from an Aboriginal word with an unknown meaning. However, it was more likely named by the First Fleet Assistant Surgeon and Magistrate Thomas Arndell who built a homestead called 'Caddie'. The homestead is now called Cattai Estate and resides in Cattai National Park.[12] The suburb of Cattai has henceforth been considered a misnomer of 'Caddie'.[11]

Settlement

Main article: European settlement of Australia

European settlers moved into the area in 1794 to sustain the food shortages of Sydney. Following protests by the Dharug people over the loss of their traditional hunting and fishing lands, soldiers were sent to the area in 1795.[11]

Cattai Post Office opened on 26 November 1906 and closed in 1994.[13]

Cattai Public School was established in 1886.[14] Arndell Anglican College was an independent secondary college that was established in Cattai in 1990, until it moved to its current site of Oakville in 1994.[15]

Heritage listings

Cattai has a number of heritage-listed sites, the most notable being Cattai Estate on Wisemans Ferry Road.[16]

Demographics

Population

At the 2021 census, there were 1,077 people in Cattai. The median age was 40.[1]

Culture and language

The majority of people from Cattai were born in Australia (85.0%).[1] The most common responses for religion was No Religion (31.0%), followed closely by Catholic (28.7%) and Anglican (21.2%).[1]

The majority of people spoke only English at home (89.8%). The second most spoken language was Punjabi (0.9%) followed by Maltese (0.7%). [1]

Wealth

Cattai is an affluent suburb in the growing north-west of Sydney. The median weekly household income is A$2,878, which is 164.8% greater than the national average.[1] In 2018, Cattai had a median house sale price of A$1.9 million.[17] 47.3% of the households have an income greater than A$3,000 per week.[1]

Landmarks

Parks and sights

Arndell's cottage
View from Cattai wharf

Education facilities

  • Cattai Public School is a historic rural school founded in 1886.[8] It is located on 487 Cattai Rd, Cattai, and 'is a happy and safe rural school' that 'overlooks the Cattai Creek in a picturesque setting.'[1] Campus facilities:
    • 4 classrooms with interactive whiteboards
    • Computers, including a specialised computer room with access to the internet and classes that allow for more individualised tuition
    • School Library
    • 1 Administration Building
    • An upgraded playground with rubber-based Soft Fall and mini goal posts for student use
    • Sports oval, with complementary large grass areas
  • Arndell Anglican College was originally established in 1990 at Threlkeld Drive, Cattai. It has since been relocated to Oakville, New South Wales. The school is of Anglican denomination.

Other

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Cattai". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 August 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Cattai". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 October 2018. Edit this at Wikidata Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Archived 16 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ Gregory's Sydney Street Directory, Gregory's Publishing Company, 2007
  4. ^ Australian Electoral Commission. "Profile of the Electoral Division of Berowra (NSW)". Australian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  5. ^ Australian Electoral Commission. "Profile of the Electoral Division of Macquarie (NSW)". Australian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Cattai Estate". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00982. Retrieved 2 June 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
  7. ^ The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, p. 2/12
  8. ^ a b Fletcher, Jim (1985). Cattai Public School: A Centenary History. ISBN 9780731602667.
  9. ^ NSW Environment & Heritage. "Cattai Estate". environment.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  10. ^ a b The other Sydney : communities, identities and inequalities in Western Sydney. Collins, Jock, 1949-, Poynting, Scott. Altona, Vic.: Common Ground Publishing. 2000. p. 158. ISBN 1863350179. OCLC 50155548.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ^ a b c "Cattai, NSW - Aussie Towns". Aussie Towns. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  12. ^ McHardy, Cathy. "Baulkham Hills City Council Origin of Suburb Names". Hawkesbury.org. 300 Purple Toasters. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  13. ^ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  14. ^ Cattai Public School. "About Us". Cattai Public School. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  15. ^ Arndell Anglican College. "History and Culture". arndell.nsw.edu.au. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Cattai Estate". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00982. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
  17. ^ "Market Trends for Cattai NSW". Property Value. March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.

33°33′22″S 150°54′43″E / 33.55611°S 150.91194°E / -33.55611; 150.91194