R&H Suburb Profile KOGARAH

Kogarah is a suburb in Sydney’s south, 14km from the CBD, and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Kogarah.

Kogarah has a mixture of residential, commercial and light industrial areas. It features all types of residential developments from low density detached houses, to medium density flats and high density high-rise apartments.

The suburb is known for its large number of schools and health care services (including two hospitals and many medical centres). NRL team the St George Illawarra Dragons have their Sydney office based at nearby WIN Jubilee Oval, often referred to as Kogarah Oval.

Kogarah’s main shopping area is around Kogarah railway station and extends to surrounding streets. It includes a post office, supermarket and many specialty stores. The commercial area is also home to the St George Bank national headquarters in Montgomery Street, which provides employment for hundreds of people. Many high rise apartment buildings have also been built around the commercial area in recent years.

Commercial and light industrial developments are along the Princes Highway and Rocky Point Road, including the Darrell Lea Chocolate factory. Surrounding streets feature more industrial developments.

St George Hospital is a major regional hospital serving the St George area but also accepts patients from other regions of NSW. St George Private Hospital is nearby as is many medical centres, doctor’s surgeries and specialists’ rooms and related services.

The Municipality of Kogarah and surrounding areas rely heavily on bus, train and taxi services that operate from the centre of Kogarah's shopping district.

The Kogarah area also features many parks, reserves and playing fields including Hogben Park, Frys Reserve, Scarborough Park, Kogarah Park and Jubilee Oval.

The most popular social event on the Kogarah calendar is the annual Kogarah Street Fair and Charity Bed Race. Teams compete through Kogarah's main street on hospital beds in the name of charity. The rules stipulate that one team member must be in a lying position on the bed. The beds are decorated, usually with the colours or insignias of the business sponsoring the bed. All proceeds go to the St George Hospital.

Notable people from Kogarah include writer, poet, essayist, critic and pop culture commentator Clive James, poet Kenneth Slessor and rugby league legend Reg Gasnier.