Newington, NSW 2127

We moved here from Leichhardt area, when we were starting a family and needed the extra space. Been here since late 2016 and pretty happy overall.

Pros:
- Relaxed, natural feel with plenty of trees and close proximity to Sydney Olympic Parklands
- Very family-friendly, quiet streets, lots of walking and cycle paths
- Short walk to shops from most areas. 10 mins drive to Lidcombe Centre and Rhodes Waterside for access to more shops.
- Easy access into City and Inner West via motorway
- Decent rents for apartments, compared to Inner West at least

Cons:
- Biggest negative is the public transport, there are only two bus routes (525 and 526) which are infrequent and often delayed. Connections to ferry very unreliable as a result. Connection to trains is via Strathfield, not Lidcombe, which means lots of time spent on Parramatta Road.
- Bad traffic on roads in and out of the area, especially Parramatta Road
- Restaurants not amazing quality and not great value

Great place to bring up your kids! Surrounded by parklands, endless cycling path and a great primary school. People are super friendly and look after each others.

People who live here should be so thankful because they are so lucky that they have this golden opportunity. Newington has so many pros starting from lifestyle, being next to the stadium, cleanliness, greenery, peace and quiet, great neoghbourhoood and much more. Lots of potential for development in this suburb therefore it will continue to grow rapidly and become an even better place to live.

Lots of parks and playground for the kids. Safe even to walk around at night - lots of people walking their dogs.

Great suburb. Cant recommend highly enough.

1. The primary school is excellent and achieves some of the best academic results in the state.
2. Neighbours are friendly, considerate and actually talk to each other. This is the first suburb we've lived in where we know our neighbour's names
3. Lots of parks, cycle paths, running paths and opportunity for outdoor sport events.
4. Great little marketplace/village with some great restaurants (Jags, Mokoji, Kang chon), a woolworths, medical centre and gloria jeans
5. Community/strata is very well run and theres always someone doing gardening, landscaping and maintaining the place
6. Security- 24 hour patrol around the suburb. Everyone has back to base alarm systems and neighbours will often tell you if something is out of the ordinary. Most houses have solar power
7. Not cheap but definitely value for money considering you can get a relatively new/modern double story house/big apartment whereas neighbouring suburbs (rhodes/concord/lidcombe) are full of old single story houses or tiny new apartments
8. Great location. It may not have a public transport system but it is close to the M4, 5 minute drive from lidcombe station, close to wentworth point waterfront, buses will take you to strathfield station and its near costco/shopping centres etc

Some downsides though:
1. Mosquitos throughout summer can be pretty irritating, always have some insect repellent handy when leaving the house
2. When there are events on at Sydney Olympic Park, parking can be extremely annoying as people park at Newington for free parking
3. Very small land lots (approx 300sqm is the average size)
4. Quite strict architectural standards so cant be difficult to extend property, add rooms etc etc

We've lived here for close to 5 years. With the rise of Rhodes and Wentworth point, Newington has many ammeneties and a large amount of parklands and bike trails.

Incredibly safe, family friendly and truly a bustling and growing community.

Not many people know about Newington but it is one of the most underrated places in Greater Sydney, it's absolutely beautiful and if you love open spaces, the environment, walking, bike riding and the ability to live in a safe area then there is no better place than Newington.

Eleven days after the first British flag was raised at Sydney Cove, in 1788, Captain John Hunter and Lieutenant William Bradley, First Fleet officers of the HMS Sirius, explored the Parramatta River as far as present Homebush Bay. It was a shallow swampy area, flooded with tide, at the junction of that are now Powell’s and Haslam’s creeks.

The present suburb area was originally known as Liberty Plains, because of the colony’s first free settlers received grants there in 1793. They received small grants of 60 to 80 acres, but because it was a poor area for agriculture, grants were later increased and also changed hands over the following years. The area was chosen for occupation in order to provide a settlement between Sydney & Parramatta, and it became the last overnight stop before Sydney for teams travelling from the west.

Edward Powell was one of those who were granted 80 acres here in 1793. In 1807 he established the Halfway House on an additional grant fronting Parramatta Road. His son sold the inn to his brother in law James Underwood in about 1825, who leased it to James Kerwin, known as Jimmy the Jockey. The inn was reopened as the Horse & Jockey and this early landmark is still operating today. Underwood’s property in the area was not subdivided until 1878, when lots were described as being in the Village of Homebush. The streets laid out in 1878, in what had been open country, are virtually identical to those still existing.

Another early settler was D’Arcy Wentworth who arrived with the Second Fleet n 1790 as ships surgeon on the Neptune. After Macquarie became Governor, Wentworth was made principal surgeon and chief magistrate in the colony. He received a grant of 920 acres at the head of present Homebush Bay and adopted the colloquial name Home Bush for his estate. He established the first police force in this country, he was in charge of the money-minding side of the first bank in Parramatta, and had much to do with managing the affairs in the city.
Homebush saleyards were opened in 1882 by John Harris, then the mayor of Sydney. In 1906 a large area north of Parramatta road resumed for the construction of the state abattoirs. The installations were completed by 1915, and the abattoirs were transferred from Glebe Island.

The municipality was incorporated on 6 June 1906 and amalgamated with Strathfield in 1947. An important addition to Homebush is the State Sports Centre in Underwood Road. It was opened officially in 1984 but the premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran.

The most dramatic change for Homebush came when Sydney won the right to host the 2000 Olympics. The area of the old sale yards was totally transformed. There are now world class facilities for many sports, there is a large well appointed stadium, and aquatic centre. The Olympic Village has been transformed into the self contained suburb of Newington. There are luxury units now on the waterfront of Homebush Bay. The area is criss-crossed by cycle tracks and bush walks and there are many ponds and lakes which are home to a large number of animals and birds.

Newington is by far one of the best suburbs in Sydney. It has so much open space and parks. It is a small pocket suburb in the Olympic Park which is always maintained to a high standard.

The best part of Newington is the convenience of location. It is geographically the centre of Sydney so which every direction you go you are relatively close. If you drive to the city it is about 30 minutes and no tolls. There is no train station but you are very close to major stations via bus if public transport is your thing. There is also the ferry into the city at the end of hill rd which is a great alternative route to the city.

Newington has a village atmosphere with the local shops with more and more restaurants opening. Its great for kids with the parks and Blaxland Riverside Park nearby which is such a massive new kids park with every playground ride imaginable.

If you like events you have all the major sporting events and concerts at your doorstep and don't have to worry about parking as you can walk there.

If you like your fitness the olympic park has some of the finest facilities and there is miles and miles of tracks for cycling or walking around nature.


In short Newington is pretty hard to beat overall as a suburb in sydney. I have lived here for the last 4 years as a owner/resident and don't plan on moving out as it is such a great place to raise a family.

It's a great place to live, very centrally located. Just a bit inconvenient with public transport. Buses are not that frequent and there is no train.

Newington, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush and Rhodes are my favourite suburbs. Newington is great for bike rides as it has many trails and easy access to public transport. It is close to Sydney Olympic Park which is good if your going to a game at the stadium or something, but when you don't go to a game it is really bad at night because of the noise, but thats ok, the suburb makes up for it. Overall, I love Newington, the houses are great, the people are friendly and it has alot of bike trails for bike enthusiasts like me.

We are a young family of professionals and have been living in the suburb for last 3 years - and we just love the place. Our daughter loves going to the playground which is only mins walk. It has beautiful walking and cycling tracks.
All basic amenities are close by - Medical centre, dentist, physio, woolworths, newsagency, bank, asian supermarket, bakery, dry cleaners, salon, and many other shops and restaurants.

We have just moved in to Newington in the last 4 weeks, and whilst it wasn't a big move from Concord we were worried about the whether it would be as good as Concord. Whilst it doesn't have the dining options that the main strip on Concord does, it is an amazing suburb and we love it.

The people are friendly, the houses are lovely, and the facilities are perfect. Whilst Woolworths at Newington is probably better off as a small shop destinations, Rhodes and Top Ryde are only 5 minutes drive away when you are wanting to do a big grocery shop. Having a small selection of shops also means that you can always get a parking spot at the local shops which is a big plus!

There is nothing my husband and I love more than taking our dog for a walk on one of the many walking tracks both within Newington and out in Sydney Olympic Park. There is a plethora of parks and playgrounds in and around Newington that keep the kids completely happy and occupied. Having easy walking access to Sydney Olympic Park is also a massive positive when there are events such as sport or the Easter Show on as it is a massive savings for parking costs. Whilst the down side is that some visitors to the area park in Newington for events to also avoid the cost of parking.

Now that we live in Newington I can not recommend it enough and would encourage anyone thinking of buying here to make the leap and move here!

My family and I have lived in Newington since late 2003 and have enjoyed living here. The neighbours in the area are friendly and are there for you when you need them.

There is always some form of entertainment in Olympic park (which is within walking distance) and there are lots of small and large parks of which Bicentennial Park is probably the most well known.

Although there's no train station in Newington itself, public transport is quite good. There are frequent bus services to Parramatta, Strathfield, Lidcombe and to Olympic Park Wharf (for ferries to the CBD and Parramatta). Trains can be taken from Olympic Park train station, from Lidcombe station (5 min drive, ample parking) or Strathfield station (10 min drive, limited parking).

The vicinity to Olympic Park also brings one minor nuisance though, during games at ANZ stadium the entry streets of Newington fill up with cars from event visitors trying to avoid to pay parking fees (mainly Wind Pde and Newington Dr). This has not been an issue for us as we live in one of the best streets of Newington (Diamond Court).

Shops in Newington cater mainly for the daily groceries, as there is not much more than Woolworths, a newsagent, a video store a medical centre and a pharmacy. However Rhodes shopping centre (IKEA, etc) is nearby, as well as Top Ryde City shopping centre (our new favourite shopping place).

Newington has a couple of restaurants, the recommended ones are Jouliana's (Italian) and Hinode (Japanese), there is also a Thai restaurant. In addition to the restaurants there are a couple of take away shops (Fish/Seafood, Kebab & Subway). Further there are a handful of restaurants at the piazza in nearby Wentworth Point (formerly Homebush Bay).

New shops and restaurants are due to open soon (late 2010)

Very peacefull with convenient public transport facilities and a world class entertainment precinct at your door step.

Newington is about twenty minutes' drive west from the city. The only way to get there will be by public bus or car. Residents who live here normally have to get on the bus to bring them to Strathfield to catch a train to work in the city.

The houses and residential units here are fairly new as they were developed during the planning of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The streets in between the houses are narrow and cars are often parked on the kerb to allow for traffic.

There are many outdoor activities available for residents of Newington. Newington is an easy bike ride to Sydney Olympic Park and there are many parklands around this area to explore.