City of Canada Bay Council

Established in 2000, the City of Canada Bay Council is a vibrant hub in Sydney’s Inner West. It’s a relatively young council, formed from the merger of Concord and Drummoyne councils. But its history runs much deeper than the year 2000. The area is named after Canada Bay, a picturesque inlet of the Parramatta River. The City of Canada Bay Council encompasses a diverse collection of suburbs. These include Abbotsford, Breakfast Point, Cabarita, Canada Bay, Chiswick, Concord, Concord West, Drummoyne, Five Dock, Liberty Grove, Mortlake, North Strathfield, Rhodes, Rodd Point, Russell Lea, Strathfield (part), and Wareemba. Many of these suburbs boast stunning waterfronts, thanks to the area’s unique geography. The City of Canada Bay Council area is essentially two peninsulas, connected by a narrow strip of land. This central point is, fittingly, where the suburb of Canada Bay is located. The council serves over 96,000 residents. It manages and maintains a wide array of facilities and services, including over 190 parks, recreational areas, and sports facilities. The story of Canada Bay goes back to a time when French Canadian exiles, following the 1840 civil war in Lower Canada, were sent to Australia. They were imprisoned at Longbottom Stockade in Sydney. The exiles labored, breaking stones for the construction of Parramatta Road and collecting oyster shells for lime production. As a tribute to these exiles, Exile Bay, France Bay, and Canada Bay were named. Concord Oval, a significant landmark today, sits on the very ground that once housed the Longbottom Stockade. Before becoming the bustling inner-city area we see today, the City of Canada Bay Council area was primarily rural. Family-run dairies dotted the landscape around Five Dock and Drummoyne. Cows grazed peacefully in paddocks from the 1890s to the 1940s. As urban development intensified, the cows became a problem, straying into residential areas. Eventually, the dairies disappeared, marking a shift from rural life to a more urban setting.