# Turvey Park, New South Wales

Turvey Park is an inner southern suburb of Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales, Australia. Its boundaries are defined by Fernleigh Road to the south, Glenfield Road to the west, Coleman Street to the north and to the east by Willans Hill. Turvey Park is characterised by single detached dwellings, constructed in the period from the early 1900s through to the 1960s. These dwellings vary from the very substantial, as found in parts of Coleman Street and Grandview Parade, to the brick bungalows of the northern end of the suburb between Urana and Coleman Streets, to modest public housing, and a mixture of brick and fibro and weatherboard cottages at the southern end of the suburb. Another feature of Turvey Park are many corner shops, such on the corner of Heath and Urana Street, the corner of Norman and Coleman Streets, and the Corner of Bourke and Urana Streets.
Turvey Park was named after the property "Turvey Park" established by Thomas Turvey (died 14 January 1889), a licensee and store owner. A large family vault on the property was moved to the Church of England proportion of the Wagga Wagga Monumental Cemetery to allow for the construction of the intersection of Mitchelmore St and Hodson Ave in 1941. A commemorative plaque now marks the vicinity of the original site.
A number of Wagga Wagga facilities are located in Turvey Park including the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens, the Willans Hill Miniature Railway, Wagga Wagga Showground, Turvey Park Public School, Wagga Wagga High School, Kildare Catholic College, Henschke Primary School, Wagga Wagga TAFE, 2AAA FM Studios, Hopwood Park Tennis Club, Gissing Oval, a Fire and Rescue NSW Station, the Riverina Juvenile Justice Centre, the Kay Hull Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Charles Sturt University, Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church and St Paul's Anglican Church. The Turvey Tops shopping centre, despite taking its name from the suburb, is actually located in the adjoining suburb of Mt. Austin. A number of Wagga Wagga sporting clubs have their origins in Turvey Park, and share the Turvey Park name, including the Turvey Park Bulldogs of the Riverina Football League (Australian Rules), the former Turvey Park Lions of Group 9 Rugby League (later merging with Wagga Wagga Magpies to create South City Bulls), and the Turvey Park Softball Club.
Former Canterbury-Bankstown, New South Wales and Australian Rugby League player Steve Mortimer is nicknamed Turvey after the Turvey Park Rugby League club for whom he played for growing up in Wagga Wagga.

## History

The suburb was added to the municipality in 1939, however the subdivision of lands and the construction of dwellings commenced well before this, in the early 1900s. The annexure of the suburb followed long campaigns by Turvey Park residents for services available in central Wagga Wagga such as water supply and electricity. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s the New South Wales Housing Commission erected public housing within the suburb, particularly around the Blamey Street and Fernleigh Road areas, with allocation of homes determined by ballot, with a large percentage of the homes being reserved for returned servicemen. A number of these properties remain as Housing NSW social housing, whilst others have been transferred into private ownership.
In the late 1940s, Wagga Wagga Municipal Council carried out a replanning exercise in the southern part of Turvey Park in an area bounded by Urana Street, Macleay Street, Fernleigh Road, and Heath Street. Existing narrow laneways were widened to full width streets creating what are now Rudd, Croaker, Heydon, Hodson and Mair Streets, which facilitated more intensive subdivision of the area, by allowing the rear of the lots fronting wider, formal streets (such as Mitchelmore, Heath, Urana and Macleay Streets, as well as Fernleigh Road) to be excised. Remnants of this exercise remain, where full widening of the laneways was not possible due to dwellings already being in place, such as Heydon Avenue at the corner with Heath Street, and Rudd Street at its intersection with Blamey Street.
Initially, Turvey Park housed an annex of South Wagga Public School, which opened in 1948, and which was located at the Wagga Showgrounds in Bourke Street. A public school was granted to Turvey Park in 1949, on a site in Halloran Street, with Turvey Park Public School being officially open in 1952. Classes, continued at the showground site, however, with construction of the new school continuing for some time before all year groups relocated to the current site. The school was constructed as a 'demonstration school' to be used in the training of teacher's at the nearby Wagga Wagga Teacher's College (later Charles Sturt University South Campus), which is also located in Turvey Park.

## References and notes

* ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Turvey Park (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
* ↑ Daily Advertiser (30 November 2013). "Topsy Turvey" (PDF).
* ↑ Morris, S (1999). Wagga Wagga, a history. Wagga Wagga: Bobby Graham Publishers. p. 214. ISBN 1-875247-12-2.
* ↑ Ellis, William R (1990). The Street Names of Wagga Wagga (PDF). Council of the City of Wagga Wagga.
* ↑ "Museum of the Riverina Sporting Hall of Fame - Steve Mortimer".
* ↑ "No Bull, This is Southcity's Biggest Fan". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
* ↑ "Turvey Park - NOW IN MUNICIPALITY - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 20 Jan 1939". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "TURVEY PARK. - Wagga Wagga Express (NSW : 1879 - 1917) - 19 Feb 1914". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "Turvey Park Subdivision. - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 9 Jun 1913". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "ITEMS OF NEWS. - TURVEY PARK SUBDIVISION. - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 10 Jun 1913". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "Turvey Park Sale. - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 23 Feb 1914". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "MUNICIPAL SERVICES - PROPOSED EXTENSION TO TURVEY PARK - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 30 Jun 1933". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "TURVEY PARK WATER SUPPLY - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 11 Feb 1938". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "TURVEY PARK ELECTRICITY - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 6 Jun 1930". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "NEW HOME DELIGHTS WAGGA COUPLE - Turvey Park House Ballot - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 27 Jun 1946". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "Good Work in Turvey Park Area - Wagga City Council Extending Services - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 9 Aug 1946". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "HOUSING COMMISSION'S HOMES - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 31 Jan 1946". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "12 Commission Houses Allocated at Wagga Ballot - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 16 Aug 1947". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "When A Town Grows - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 13 Aug 1946". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "13 Three-Bedroom Homes Disposed of by Ballot; Many More to be Built - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 5 Jan 1951". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "NEW HOMES - Progress at Turvey Park State Commission's Project - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 9 May 1946". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "FIFTEEN WAGGA FAMILIES OBTAIN NEW HOMES - Commission Houses at Turvey Park Allocated - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 20 Jun 1946". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "Town Planning at Turvey Park - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 20 May 1946". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "PROPOSED ENLARGEMENT OF WAGGA SUFFICIENT FOR ALL TIME - Orderly Town-Planning Aim of City Council - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 25 Jun 1948". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "SOUTH WAGGA ENROLMENTS - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 4 Feb 1948". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "NEW SCHOOL FOR INFANTS AT WAGGA C.U.S.A. HUT - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 2 Feb 1948". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "CRITICISM OF SHOWGROUND ANNEXE SCHOOL CONDITIONS IS REPUDIATED - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 20 Mar 1954". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "Public School Granted for Turvey Park - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 28 Oct 1949". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "New educational facilities - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 5 Dec 1952". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
* ↑ "BIGGER SCHOOL FOR TURVEY PARK - Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW : 1911 - 1954) - 26 Mar 1954". Trove. Retrieved 24 February 2017.