Lakemba, New South Wales

Lakemba is located 12 kilometres south west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown.

A bike and walking trail takes walkers and cyclists all the way from nearby Belfield to the east along the Cooks River, to where it flows into Botany Bay.

In the opposite direction the bike and walking trail goes north to Olympic Park and Homebush Bay on the Parramatta River.

Canterbury Road winds its way high along the ridge, which is the boundary of the watersheds of Cooks River and Wolli Creek to the south.

Samuel Hockley was granted 50 acres (200,000 m2), which he called Essex Hill Farm, after his home county in England.

[citation needed] The railway line was built to the neighbouring suburb of Belmore in 1895 and extended to Lakemba and beyond, in 1909.

Immigrants from Greece, Italy, and later, from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, began to settle in the area.

From the mid-1970s, Lakemba became very popular with migrants from Lebanon and by the mid-1990s the area was considered a centre of Lebanese Australian life.

The founding of the Lakemba Mosque and the establishment of specialised restaurants, take-away shops, grocery shops, clothing and book sellers catering to Arab and Muslim cultural needs has encouraged a general perception of Lakemba as a predominantly Arab and Muslim suburb.

Lakemba is mentioned heavily in news reports in regards to its affordability compared to the Sydney market being as close to the city as it is.

Additionally Lakemba receives media coverage as one of the last areas of Sydney where it is cheaper to buy than rent.

[7] Lakemba has many shops, on and around Haldon Street, where a wide range of international and local foods can be purchased.

The St. Andrews Anglican Church, located at the corner of Quigg and Lakemba Street, was built in 1923 as a brick building with a significant collection of stained glass windows.

Lakemba Street, view north-east towards the Sydney CBD
Lakemba Uniting Church, formerly Lakemba Methodist Church
Lakemba Fire Station