Kingsford was officially proclaimed on June 25th, 1936. Before then, Kingsford was known as South
Kensington. It was opened up for development in 1914 but it wasn't until after
1920 that development started to take off. The search for a new name began in
1935 due partly to postal confusion between South Kensington and Kensington.
The chamber of commerce launched an essay competition and four finalists were
chosen, Kingsford, Wembley, Chelsea & St Kilda. The chamber finally chose Kingsford
in recognition of Charles Kingsford Smith the famous aviator.
Kingsford is located on the eastern boundary of Randwick City and is bounded
by the suburb of Kensington and the University of NSW to the north, Coogee to
the east and Maroubra to the south. Kingsford has a large commercial area
(extending along Anzac Parade) which also incorporates multi storey apartments.
The Kingsford town centre and areas to the east allow for medium to high
density residential development and includes houses and townhouses up to multi
storey apartments (many located above the commercial area). Close to 40% of all
private dwellings in Kingsford are flats, units or apartments. Housing in the
south of the suburb is predominantly one and two storey single dwellings, many
constructed in the boom housing period in the 1950s/60s. The commercial centre of Kingsford is on the
major bus service operating along Anzac Parade, these bus services are the only
form of public transport available to the suburb.
There are a number of local grocery stores including IGA, White Lotus Asian
Food Market, Randwick Oriental Supermarket and Thai Kufar. Neighbourhood stores
also include newsagency, chemist, florists, video stores, fruit and vegetables
and chemist. Nearby is the Eastgardens Shopping Centre, which has a vast array
of department stores, supermarkets and specialty stores.
Kingsford is just minutes from the magnificent Eastern Suburbs beaches
including Coogee and Maroubra, which are popular for swimmers and surfers.
Nearby is Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park, which features
jogging/walking/cycling/roller blade tracks, horseriding, playing fields and
many picnic spots. The suburb also has a number of parks such as Paine Reserve
and Snape Park.
The University of New South Wales strongly influences the demographic
features of both Kingsford and Kensington.
The cultural diversity of Kingsford means there is an exciting range of
eateries to choose from, including Meeks Café, Mamma Teresa Italian Restaurant,
Kingsford Chinese Restaurant, Ubud – next to South Sydney Junior Rugby League
Club, La Cumbia Restaurant.
There is a range of schools in the suburb and surrounding area, including St
Michael’s Convent School, St Spyridon College, Brigidine College at Randwick,
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (Kensington), Randwick Girls’ High and Randwick
Boys’ High (Randwick).