It is 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay.

Parramatta River had been known as the 'Thames of the Antipodes' and other nearby suburbs were also named after Thames localities of Greenwich, Woolwich and Putney.

The gas works closed and the land redeveloped into the Breakfast Point residential development, which since 1993 has been a separate official suburb.

During WWII, the Green Point Naval Boatyard at Mortlake assembled Fairmile B motor launches.

[3] Until 1948, an electric tramway connected Mortlake south to the suburbs of Burwood, Enfield and Ashfield.