Смитфилд, Сидней: история, география и современность пригорода.

Smithfield is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Smithfield is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Fairfield and Cumberland Council. Located in the Greater Western Sydney region, the suburb is one of the largest in Fairfield City by area. Established in 1836, Smithfield was the first major settlement of the Fairfield LGA. The original 1838 summary plan of Smithfield shows the suburb laid out in a grid pattern with most of the streets having the same names as they do today. Its altitude ranges from above sea level. Geologically, the suburb sits on the Cumberland Plain. The suburb is a mix of residential, industrial and commercial areas, but is mostly characterized by low density housing. Located partially in the suburb, the Smithfield Wetherill Park Industrial Estate is the largest industrial estate in the southern hemisphere and is the centre of manufacturing and distribution in greater western Sydney. Smithfield West is a locality within the suburb and it is an unofficial designation for the region westwards from Dublin Street to the boundary of Wetherill Park. Despite this, Smithfield did become a thriving commercial centre and remains a significant employment centre in south western Sydney as part of the Wetherill Park/Yennora industrial block In 1867, Smithfield was a semi rural settlement populated by vine growers, gardeners, wood timber cutters, orchards and tanneries. Smithfield still has the street patterns Brenan planned and the street names he chose. In the subdivision, Brenan offered an extra adjoining allotment to any buyer who built a cottage with a brick chimney and enclosed the property with a fence. The public school opened in 1850 and by the 1880s Smithfield was well provided with churches, many of which still remain today as important relics of Smithfield's rich local heritage.

The Horsley Drive is the major road that runs through Smithfield. Other major roads include Polding Street, Brennan Street and Victoria Street, with the latter featuring factories. Bus services are provided by Transit Systems Sydney. The closest train station is Fairfield train station, on the Inner West & Leppington Line and Cumberland Line. Transit Systems Sydney buses 806, 808, 812, 813, 814 and 817, which go through the suburb, link to that station, with 806 also linking to Parramatta railway station and Liverpool railway station. There is a cycle way called Prospect Creek Cyclepath that runs through the suburb, which is part of the Western Sydney Regional Park recreational route.

The commercial area is centred on The Horsley Drive, which is the main street in Smithfield, the most significant east west road in the region that runs from Carramar and Wetherill Park. The roadway is ornamented by several curtain figs. The suburb's mains street features health services, a gymnasium, beauty & specialty shops, commercial services, multicultural restaurants such as Italian, Middle Eastern and Chinese among others. There was also a Coles supermarket, before it closed in late 2022 as part of a major redevelopment. A prominent pub on The Horsley Drive and Cumberland Highway called the Smithfield Tavern features a restaurant, a TAB, adult entertainment sessions and concert parties. There is a large industrial area in Smithfield with a number of factories and warehouses. The industrial estate in suburb is the largest in the southern hemisphere and is one of the primary centres for manufacturing and distribution in Greater Western Sydney.

Smithfield features an art gallery, museum and an RSL club. Smithfield was the location for the 7mate show Housos, being one of the many locations for that TV show. Smithfield Cemetery, established in the 19th century, is situated in the western parts of the suburb, and is currently managed by the Syriac Orthodox Church.

Brenan Park is a large recreational area, and one of the most prominent in Fairfield City, which features sports grounds, children's playgrounds and picnic areas. Rosford Street Reserve is a parkland in the northern skirts of the suburb which features a large sports grounds and an urban forest. It adjoins Long Street Park, which is situated in Cumberland Council section of Smithfield. Adjacent to the cemetery is a small, endangered plant community within the Cumberland Plain Woodland, which is a component of the Cooks River/Castlereagh Ironbark Forest, that features Eucalyptus fibrosa and Eucalyptus moluccana as the dominant canopy species.

Smithfield has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) with warm to hot summers and cool, though at times mild, winters with sporadic rainfall throughout the year. It is usually a few degrees warmer than Sydney on summer days and a few degrees cooler on winter nights. There could be a temperature differential of 5 degrees Celsius in summer due to sea breezes in the City that don't generally penetrate inland, and in extreme cases there could be a 10 degrees differential. It receives less annual rain than Sydney CBD by about 300mm. Late winter and early spring receive the least rainfall, whilst late summer and autumn receive more rain.

There are local primary schools including Smithfield Public School and Smithfield West Public School. There are no local high schools, however, residents living in the western vicinity of Smithfield are in the area for Westfields Sports High School, and Fairfield High School for those living in the South Eastern outskirts of the suburb. There is a TAFE nearby in Wetherill Park. High schools in surrounding suburbs include, Holroyd High School at Greystanes; Patrician Brothers College, Fairfield; Warakirri College, Fairfield; Merrylands High School, Merrylands; Cerdon College, Merrylands; Canley Vale High School, Canley Vale and Fairvale High School, Fairfield West.

Smithfield is governed at the local government level by Fairfield City Council, with Frank Carbone (Independent) as Mayor. At the state level, Hugh McDermott (Labor) is the state member for Prospect. At the federal level, Chris Bowen and Jason Clare (both Labor) are Federal MPs for the seats of McMahon and Blaxland respectively. Smithfield was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1988 to 2015, where it was largely replaced by, and centred on, Prospect.