Punchbowl, New South Wales

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Punchbowl is a suburb, in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Punchbowl is located 17km south west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of the City of Bankstown and the City of Canterbury. The postcode is 2196.

1 History
2 Location
3 Commercial Area
4 Schools
5 Notable Residents
6 Culture
7 External links
8 References

[edit] History

Punchbowl is named for a circular valley, called "the punch bowl", which is actually located in the nearby suburb of Belfield. This feature gave its name to "Punch Bowl Road" (now "Punchbowl Road"). When a railway station was built on this road in 1901, three kilometres away from the "punch bowl" itself, the surrounding suburb came to be known as Punchbowl.

[edit] Location

Punchbowl is an area of Sydney, which is beautiful but Overall, it has poorer economic conditions than many other Sydney suburbs.

[edit] Commercial Area

Punchbowl has a relatively small shopping centre, although the selection is diverse. The largest shop is an IGA Supermarket. Along Punchbowl Road is Jack Walsh International Cycles, one of the longest serving stores in Punchbowl. The store has been selling and repairing bicycles for over 60 years^[1].

There are some Lebanese sweets stores that are particularly busy during the later hours of the day.

[edit] Schools

In the 1960s, Punchbowl Boys' High produced two Australian cricket fast bowlers Len Pascoe and Jeff "Thommo" Thomson. The school had a strong focus on cricket and Rugby in the 1960s and 1970s.

These days, Punchbowl Boys' High School has been described as the toughest school in Australia. Although, students and teachers have criticised these comments, branding them as "incorrect and exaggerated". The school was notorious for having a large barbed wire fence that faced inward.

Recently however, the school has received much praise for programs such as "the homework centre", and also the "fit club", where students were accompanied by teachers for a jog around the Punchbowl suburbs. This program was established to encourage the students to lead a healthier and happier lifestyle.

[edit] Notable Residents

Punchbowl has produced a number of celebrities including:

comedian Vince Sorrenti
TV host "Baby" John Burgess
actor Danny Adcock

Punchbowl has also produced a number of leading members of the New South Wales legal profession.

[edit] Culture

Punchbowl has featured in several Australian books including the satirical They're a Weird Mob by "Nino Culotta", which was made into a feature film.

The television drama series Dangerous was set in and around Punchbowl.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: -33.93381° 151.05413°

Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
Canterbury City Council - History of Punchbowl

[edit] References

The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8

Suburbs and localities within the City of Bankstown \| South-western Sydney \| Sydney
Bankstown \| Bass Hill \| Birrong \| Chester Hill \| Chullora \| Condell Park \| East Hills \| Georges Hall \| Greenacre \| Milperra \| Mount Lewis \| Padstow \| Padstow Heights \| Panania \| Picnic Point \| Potts Hill \| Punchbowl \| Revesby \| Revesby Heights \| Sefton \| Villawood \| Yagoona
List of Sydney suburbs

Suburbs within the City of Canterbury \| South-western Sydney \| Sydney
Ashbury \| Belfield \| Belmore \| Campsie \| Canterbury \| Clemton Park \| Croydon Park \| Earlwood \| Hurlstone Park \| Kingsgrove \| Lakemba \| Punchbowl \| Riverwood \| Roselands \| Undercliffe \| Wiley Park
List of Sydney suburbs