History

Camperdown is an inner-western suburb of Sydney, located in New South Wales. Situated just 4 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, it forms part of the Inner West region.

The area was originally an estate nestled between Grose Farm (along Orphan School Creek, previously known as Grose Farm Creek) to the east and Johnson's Creek to the west. The hill on the eastern side of Orphan School Creek, where the University of Sydney began it's construction, was formerly known as Petersham Hill.

To the south of the original Camperdown, the town of Newtown started to develop, with the highest elevation found at St Stephens Church hill. The earliest settlement occurred along the Orphan School Creek valley in 1793, marked by the construction of nine huts for convict laborers tasked with felling trees for timber production in Sydney. By 1819, an expanded government 'stockade' in the area (possibly near the "watch house" or the current site of St John's College) could house over 100 convict workers.

Following 1801, the Female Orphan Institution of Sydney was granted leasehold income from much of this land. In 1806, the western section was allocated to William Bligh, who named it Camperdown after his arrival as the new Governor.

In 1827, a racecourse was established on the land that is now occupied by the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. The University of Sydney was incorporated in 1850, with it's initial buildings designed by Edmund Blacket.

The Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children opened in 1880 in Glebe Point, initially established as the Sydney Hospital for Sick Children by concerned citizens focused on the health of the youth in New South Wales. The hospital quickly outgrew its original building and relocated to Camperdown in 1906, where it remained for 89 years before moving to its current location in Westmead in 1995 to better serve the expanding population of western Sydney.

The former hospital buildings and grounds have since been transformed into apartment complexes known as City Quarter. 

Source: Wikipedia