Rhodes, NSW 2138

A waterfront suburb on the Homebush Bay shore of the Parramatta River about 12 km west of the Sydney CBD, Rhodes is Sydney's most dramatic industrial-to-residential renewal story: from the 1930s to the 1980s the western peninsula was chemical-manufacturing land (CSR Chemicals, Union Carbide, Berger Paints and ICI — the site of a fatal 1986 explosion), and after a landmark dioxin remediation program completed in February 2011 the area was rebuilt under Sydney Regional Environmental Plan 29 into a dense modern waterfront precinct of apartment towers, the Rhodes Waterside shopping centre and a public foreshore walk. At the 2021 census Rhodes had 11,453 residents with a median age of just 32 — one of Sydney's youngest, most multicultural profiles — and 95.1% of occupied private dwellings were flats or apartments, reflecting an overwhelmingly apartment-based market aimed at young professionals and investors. Since 2016 the suburb has been linked to Wentworth Point across Homebush Bay by the Bennelong Bridge, and in October 2025 the $80 million Rhodes Recreation Centre opened beneath two new residential towers, cementing Rhodes' shift from industrial site to inner-west waterfront lifestyle hub.

At a Glance

Transport

Rhodes railway station (heritage-listed, on Blaxland Road) sits on the T9 Northern Line of the Sydney Trains network, about 30 minutes by rail from the Sydney CBD. Buses run along Concord Road and Rider Boulevard, operated by Busways and Transit Systems NSW, with the Baylink shuttle serving Gauthorpe and Walker Streets. There is no ferry wharf at Rhodes: Transport for NSW proposed one for the Parramatta River line in 2015 but the project was deferred in 2016 over safety concerns and was still in planning stages as of 2023. The Bennelong Bridge, opened May 2016, crosses Homebush Bay from Gauthorpe Street, Rhodes to Footbridge Boulevarde, Wentworth Point for buses, emergency services, cyclists and pedestrians, giving Rhodes a direct link to the Wentworth Point bus network. Cycleways run through the suburb along Llewellyn and Walker Streets, with shared paths along the Homebush Bay foreshore and links west toward Silverwater Bridge and Parramatta.

Schools

No school operates inside Rhodes — the suburb's former Rhodes Public School buildings now house the Rhodes Community Centre on Blaxland Road, and the City of Canada Bay plan that governs the western high-density precinct includes no school facilities within it. Primary students from Rhodes are served by schools in the immediately adjacent suburb of Concord West, chiefly Concord West Public School (government) and St Ambrose's Primary School (Catholic).

Shopping & Amenities

Rhodes Waterside Shopping Centre — the suburb's major retail centre on Rider Boulevard on the former Berger Paints site — is anchored by IKEA, Coles and Kmart with ALDI, Australia Post and Priceline also on site, and draws about 7.2 million visitors a year (PopHub; Coles store directory). Rhodes Central, the newer mixed-use precinct around the station, adds retail to the area west of the railway line. The $80 million Rhodes Recreation Centre opened 20 October 2025 with indoor sports courts, a gym, community space and a cafe, built into the podium of two Billbergia residential towers. Cafes and restaurants line the waterfront walkway west of the railway, and office/warehouse space clusters along Rider Boulevarde.

Parks & Outdoors

Rhodes sits on a peninsula between Brays Bay and Homebush Bay on the southern bank of the Parramatta River, giving it a kilometre-scale waterfront. A network of foreshore parks runs along the eastern riverfront — McIlwaine Park, King George V Park, Brays Bay Reserve (home of the Oliveto restaurant) and Rhodes/Rotary Park — while a public foreshore walkway and shared cycle path line the Homebush Bay side, linking to the Bennelong Bridge and to wider cycle routes toward Silverwater Bridge and Parramatta. The Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway connects Brays Bay Reserve with Concord Hospital, and rowing, sailing and dragon boating take place on the river off the suburb's parks. Fishing is banned throughout Homebush Bay, including off the Rhodes foreshore.

Property Market

The median house price in Rhodes was around ~$3.4M–$3.6M (mid-2026 trackers: Oli Property $3.4M last 12 months; quickproperty $3.6M; Ordus $3.38M). See our full Sydney property price map for how the suburb compares across the city. Rhodes is an apartment market: at the 2021 census 95.1% of occupied private dwellings were flats or apartments and just 3.2% separate houses, so median house prices are based on a very thin number of sales and swing wildly between trackers — Oli $3.4M, quickproperty $3.6M, Ordus $3.38M and Allhomes $4.48M (some prices withheld), a spread typical of suburbs with few house transactions. Unit medians are more meaningful and cluster tightly at ~$965K–$1.0M across the same trackers. Rentals are also unit-dominated, averaging $900–930/week.

New Developments

The modern suburb is the product of the Rhodes Peninsula urban renewal: after remediation of the former CSR/Union Carbide/Allied Feeds chemical sites was completed in February 2011, successive high-density phases rose under Sydney Regional Environmental Plan 29, with apartment development continuing on the former Orica and Union Carbide sites. Billbergia's Rhodes Central mixed-use precinct is established around the station, and the developer's current pipeline sits in the Rhodes East Master Plan area: the Rhodes Bay project at Leeds Street — six buildings with 249 apartments and eight retail tenancies — was approved by the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel in August 2024 with construction beginning in February 2025, and a 37-level sustainable residential tower at 9–13 Blaxland Road is in planning with City of Canada Bay. The Rhodes Recreation Centre, an $80 million, 9,200 m² community venue with indoor courts and gym, opened beneath two Billbergia towers on 20 October 2025.

Jobs & Local Economy

Local employment centres on Rhodes' commercial and retail districts: the Rhodes Corporate Park at Concord Road and Homebush Bay Drive (developed by Australand, housing office tenants including Citibank and Nestlé) and the office and warehouse developments along Rider Boulevarde west of the railway (including substantial businesses such as AAP). Rhodes Waterside and Rhodes Central are major retail employers (IKEA, Coles, Kmart draw 7.2M visitors a year per PopHub), and the suburb's position about 30 minutes by train from the Sydney CBD and roughly 3 km from Sydney Olympic Park puts both city and Olympic Park employment within easy reach.

Nearby Suburbs

Wentworth Point, Concord West, Liberty Grove, Sydney Olympic Park, Meadowbank, Ryde, Putney

Sources & method

Researched 4 September 2026 from named public sources — census and government records, transport authorities, council and planning documents — plus published sales data. Where sources disagree on a figure, the guide says so rather than picking one.

Sources cited in this guide:

• ABS Census

Corrections are welcome — if something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.

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