Banksia, NSW 2216

Our family have been living in Banksia for 7 years. Banksia is a very peaceful and quiet suburb. There is a lot of open space and parkland at Banksia. Most of the dwellings in this suburb are houses. It is enjoyable to just walk around the quiet neighbourhood.
Banksia is very family-friendly as it is located close to several beaches. The closest one is Brighton-Le-Sands beach (2 minutes drive to the Brighton-Le-Sands beach, or you can walk there within 10 minutes). Our family enjoys morning walks and swimming there.
Banksia is also very close to the city. It is about 10km to the CBD. The train ride is about 20 minutes from Banksia Station to Central. You can also drive to the city in about 20 minutes. It also takes about 20 minutes to go to the north via M1.
The Banksia Bistro at Banksia hotel offers amazing food at a reasonable price. The Banksia Bristro is run by the famous chef Colin Fassnidge. Rocksia Hotel also offers very good pub food. If you want something fancier, there are also a lot of good restaurants located at Bay Street, Brighton-Le-Sands (10 minutes leisure walk or 2 minutes drive). A lot of dining options makes it really enjoyable to catch up with families and friends on the weekend. The local community is friendly and amiable. People are walking up and down Bay Street with their children or dogs. You can always hear birds chirring throughout the day.
There are a lot of good schools near Banksia, for example, St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Primary School Arncliffe; St Thomas More’s Catholic Primary School Brighton-Le-Sands; St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Rockdale (all within 5 minutes drive from Banksia). Secondary schools such as Marist College Kogarah and Sydney Technical High School are also within 10 minutes drive or bus/train from Banksia. There is a direct train to take you to the University of Sydney (Redfern) ( about 10 minutes train ride).
You can visit Barton Park Golf Range at Banksia if you like playing golf. If you want cycling, there are a lot of cycling paths located here that takes you to the Botonny Bay or Mascot. There is a new adventure playground, skate park and BBQ equipment near the Ador Reserve Precinct for young children.
There are also lots of shops nearby. For example, IKEA Tempe and Decathlon are only 7 minutes away; Rockdale Plaza also has lots of shops such as Woolworths, BigW, fresh food markets etc.
If you want to have a weekend getaway, it is just a short drive to the south coast. For example, it only takes about 40 minutes to drive to the Royal National Park (27km) to enjoy the nature walk/ hiking/ or beach fishing at Garie beach. If you want to go to Coogee Beach in the East, it is also only 14km away (about 25 minutes’ drive).

Love Banksia, it is so close to the beautiful beaches and cafes at Brighton Le Sands, it is close to the city, and close to transport. It is a hidden gem that is not as crowded as Rockdale and Arncliffe. It is a peaceful and leafy suburb. Nice houses, parks and good size blocks near eastern side of Banksia. Neighbourhood is friendly and has community feel.

All I can affirm with 100 percent certainty for suburbs close to what is Sydney is that this is Banksia

I've lived in Banksia for about 5 years now. It's certainly not the inner west, but it's probably a bit like the inner west was 10-15 years ago. It's a really small suburb, with a quiet cosy feel, and I've noticed more young families moving into the area in that time.

The housing is much more affordable than the inner west, and the train to town hall is bang on 20 minutes. In peak hour they come every ten minutes, and since they only come from Hurstville, they're not too crowded.

About a year or so ago a cafe opened which is great, and the Banksia Hotel opened up a new restaurant by some guy off My Kitchen Rules. It's pretty good. It also has some great friendly little shops - a chemist, small supermarket, butcher, doctor and post office. It even has Sydney's best train station manager! (There was a story on Steve in one of the major papers....a great guy who says hello and helps everyone).

There's quite a bit of development happening at the moment on the highway. It will mean more apartments, but as long as you don't live on the highway it doesn't have a negative impact. I'm hoping it will generate more cafes and spruce up the highway a bit as well.

I noticed some comments about noise but we don't experience that. It really depends where in the suburb you are. As we're so close to the airport, the flight path doesn't deviate much, and the western side of the railway doesn't really get too much noise at all.

If you are a young family it's great and I think it will keep getting better.

Good for people who need fast transport to the CBD and cheap price for renting. It is relatively close to the city, with the Banksia train station in the centre of the area. But the Banksia station is not a big train interchange like Wolli Creek and Hurstville on the T4 Line, which means that the train would not be frequent during daytime. People living here are nice and like to help you when you have problems. Besides, renting here is REALLY cheaper than most of the other suburbs in the 10 km area of CBD, with only $130 - 180 per week for a single room, and $220-300 for a double or master room.

The drawback of living here would be certainly the noise. It is too close to the airport, as well as the train line, and living here would really make it hard to sleep if the window is open. Therefore please avoid living near the Railway St, or you will enjoy the the duet of plane and train noise. Another disadvantage would be that the shops are relatively less compared with other areas. If you often want to go to Coles or Woolworths, or frequently eat outside in different styles of restaurants, this area would not be suitable for you.

Having always lived on the City fringe I was somewhat reluctant to move to the 'burbs! Banksia is hidden gem of a suburb and when most people think of Banksia they think of the western side where the train station is, but the streets on the other side towards the water are lined with great little homes and overall is a quiet little neighbourhood. Most people are concerned about the flight path, but I prefer the noise of a passing plane to that of constant traffic noise and it really isn't that bothersome as the flight paths change all the time. Banksia has a great community spirit and the neighbours look out for one another. It's a short walk to either Rockdale or Banksia train stations with a quick trip into the City - no more than 20 minutes, and about 30 minutes by car. Also close to Wolli Creek for grocery shopping and some great takeaway dining options up at the Rockdale shops or down the road at Brighton. With a lot of development in Rockdale this is set to become even better. The surburb profile is changing as younger couples and families are moving in and hopefully before too long a couple of cool cafes. I just love living here and would definitely recommend to anyone looking to buy in an area of Sydney that is still developing while also still connected to everything.

A nice place to live, close to the city but far enough away not to notice. Trains buses and cabs 5 stars, good place to walk the dog. Mix of people live here.

We moved from Erskineville to Banksia 18 months ago and love our local area. After searching to buy a family home in the inner west for over 12 months we decided to expand our search area and started to look south. We stumbled across Banksia, a cute hidden suburb nestled between Rockdale and Arncliffe. The property we found in Banksia ticked all the boxes:
- a large renovated federation style home with 4 bedrooms, 2 bath, 1 car
- 2 minute walk to the train station and local shops (Chemist, post office, general store, butcher, beautician, hair dresser)
- 20 min train ride or drive into the city
- 10 minute walk to Rockdale station, shops and cafes
- 10 minute drive to Marrickville or Erskineville
- 10 minute drive to the airport (we do get some air craft noise but hardly notice it)
- 5 minute drive to the beach
- 10 minute drive to Hurstville Westfield or 20 minutes to Eastgardens
- Good local schools and parks
- Accessible daycare options
- Friendly local people, some who've lived in the area for 30 years
I like to describe Banksia as 'old school', it has a European feel and is yet to be gentrified, it's probably about 5-10 years behind areas like Marrickiville, but that gives it a charming authenticity and the bonus of a lower cost of living. Things are starting to change though, younger families are moving in and houses are being renovated. Great little cafes are starting to pop up in Rockdale and house prices are starting to rise.
The thing that really tipped us over the edge for Banksia was the value for money, to get a renovated 4 bed home close to rail in the inner west would have cost us up to 50% more than what we paid. Banksia is a hidden gem and we're so happy we got into the suburb before the secret got out!

Banksia is a small suburb, close to the city. While prices went up from 2008, it's still affordable considering the proximity to Brighton and the beaches. Plenty of shopping options around Banksia and it got an european feeling. I believe it's still undervalued for it's location. There are a few nice parks around and looks very safety.

Banksia is small leafy surburb which offers the "inner west" feel without the price tag. It is central to everything with it's own rail station, easy access to the M5,12km away from the CBD, brighton beaches at your doorstep and the airport around the corner.

The area is gone through a demographic change with older residence being replace with young families and working professionals wanting to be close to the CBD without the heafty price tag.

There is a small shopping strip opposite the station however for major shopping Rockdale is only a 15 minute walk away.

Other than the famous Rocksia hotel nightlife can be limited.

Banksia is the Jewel of the south, yes it has plane noise however do the maths, Three run ways six ends, load sharing so you get it two days a week, the parks are great, the train lines are great, thee sense of community is fantastic, Christmas Lights, family atmosphere with a European feel. You simply must try the Greek cake shop on Rocky point road. a little down the way but well worth it

What will wake you up if you live in Banksia? The planes, flying so low you can read the engine numbers.

It actually depends where you live in Banksia. If you're the up side of Princes Highway, with your back to Bardwell Valley etc, you're OK. If you're on the down side, buy earplugs. On the plus side, the government introduced a home insulation scheme (uh oh, sound familar? it's OK, this one wasn't toxic, and no-one died as far as I know) , so ceiling insulation, double-glazed windows, reverse style air con and heating, became the norm for homes closest to the airport. Ups the value of the properties as well.

Banksia is bereft of shopping. Go to Rockdale. There are local shops and a good Lebanese bakery opposite the railway station. On the other side of Princes Highway, you may find the occasional corner store. The old fashioned kind that thrived before the supermarket giants killed off competition.

I have some friends living in Banksia, all with families, and they have great neighbourly spirit in their street, street parties, BBQs and all that.

Banksia is handy to other places, but doesn't have many facilities.