Middle Dural Sydney, New South Wales
Middle Dural
Coordinates	33°39′20″S 151°1′15″E / 33.65556°S 151.02083°E / -33.65556; 151.02083
Population	1,008 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)	2158
Elevation	181 m (594 ft)
Location	37 km (23 mi) north-west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)	The Hills Shire Hornsby Shire
State electorate(s)	Hawkesbury Castle Hill Hornsby
Federal division(s)	Berowra
Suburbs around Middle Dural: Kenthurst Glenorie Arcadia Kenthurst Middle Dural Arcadia Dural Dural Galston

Middle Dural is a semi-rural suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 37 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire. Dural is a separate suburb to the south.

History

Dural is derived from Dooral-Dooral, an Aboriginal name meaning a smoking hollow tree. The original inhabitants of the Dural area were the Darug people. The name Dooral appeared on Surveyor James Meehan's map of April 1817 and originally covered the whole area including present day Glenorie, Galston, Arcadia and Dural. Timber cutters opened up the area in the early 19th century and the settlements were originally known as Upper, Middle, Lower, North and Little Dural.^[2] Located on the Old Northern Road, a historic road built by convicts between 1825 and 1836 to link early Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, with the fertile Hunter Valley to the north. In 1831 George Best established the Half-Way Inn at Middle Dural.^[3]

Since the 1970s the Banana Cabana Primate Sanctuary has existed in Middle Dural as a retirement facility for ex-circus and zoo monkeys such as hamadryas baboons, long-tailed macaques, rhesus macaques, black-handed spider monkeys, brown capuchins, common marmosets and even a tortoise species (leopard tortoise).

Demographics

At the 2016 census, the suburb of Middle Dural recorded a population of 1,008 residents. Of these:^[1]

• The age distribution was older than the country in general: the median age was 45 years, compared to the national median of 37 years. Children aged under 15 years made up 18.2% of the population (national average is 19%) and people aged 65 years and over made up 22.7% of the population (national average is 14%).
• 72.4% were born in Australia, similar to the national average of 70%; the next most common countries of birth were England 5.2%, Italy 4%, and Lebanon 1.4%. 45.5% of people had both parents born in Australia.
• 77% only spoke English at home; other languages spoken at home included Italian 5%, Arabic 2.1%, and Mandarin 1.8%.
• The median household weekly income was $2,576, compared to the national median of $1,428. The median monthly mortgage repayment was $2,500.
• 87.8% of households were family households, 27% were single-person households and 8% were group households. The average household size was 3.0 people.

Notable people

• Adam Wilkinson - Talent manager, a former resident

References

External links

• Niall Clugston – Hornsby Shire Library (2008). "Middle Dural". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 28 September 2015. [CC-By-SA]