Waitara, NSW 2077

Small, compact suburb in the Upper North Shore region of Sydney, about 19 km north-west of the CBD in Hornsby Shire, wedged between Hornsby and Wahroonga and described by property data sites as an entry point to the North Shore's leafy, high-amenity lifestyle without straying far from Hornsby's shops, station and services. At the 2021 census it had 7,837 residents with a median age of 36 — younger than surrounding family suburbs — and is highly multicultural: 31.4% born in Australia, 25.5% Chinese and 17.0% Indian ancestry, and the most common religions No Religion (34.3%), Hinduism (19.2%) and Catholicism (13.6%). Despite the 'family suburb next to Hornsby' reputation, housing is overwhelmingly unit-based — apartments/units made up about 94% of current listings with houses just 4-6% — giving Waitara a younger, more transient feel that suits first-home buyers, downsizers and commuters (stMate). The suburb name comes from a Māori word meaning 'pure water', suggested in 1895 when its railway station opened.

At a Glance

Transport

Waitara railway station, on Alexandria Parade, sits on the North Shore railway line and is served by Sydney Trains T1 North Shore & Western Line services — one stop south of Hornsby and one stop north of Wahroonga, with trains to Hornsby/Berowra and to the city via Wahroonga, Gordon, Chatswood and the Harbour Bridge. The station opened on 20 April 1895, was rebuilt in 1909, and was upgraded in 2024 with a new northern entrance, underpass and lift making it fully accessible. There is no metro or light rail in the suburb. CDC NSW buses connect Waitara to surrounding areas — routes 575 (Macquarie University–Hornsby), 587 (Westleigh–Hornsby), 589 (Sydney Adventist Hospital–Hornsby), 591 (St Ives–Hornsby) and 600 (Parramatta–Hornsby) run through the suburb, and the NightRide N90 night bus from Hornsby to Town Hall calls at Waitara station.

Schools

Waitara Public School — NSW government primary school with two opportunity (OC) classes; the campus is physically at 68 Edgeworth David Avenue in the immediately adjacent suburb of Wahroonga, serving Waitara's catchment. Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School — Catholic systemic primary school established around 1918, relocated from the Pacific Highway to Yardley Avenue in Waitara. Secondary students generally travel to nearby government and independent high schools around Hornsby and Wahroonga (e.g. Barker College is in adjacent Hornsby) — none sit within Waitara itself.

Shopping & Amenities

Waitara's commercial centre is a modest strip along the Pacific Highway, with various shops and the Blue Gum Hotel, whose site has hosted a pub since 1884 and whose current building dates from 1962. On the other side of the railway line are a rugby league club, a gym, the PCYC Hornsby-Ku-ring-gai facility (indoor sports, gymnastics and a cafe), a retirement village — The Grange, an over-55s lifestyle village built by Lendlease — and Mark Taylor Oval. Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral at 27 Yardley Avenue is the cathedral church of the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay, relocated to Waitara from the Pacific Highway. For major shopping, Westfield Hornsby sits just across the border in the adjacent suburb of Hornsby (stMate suburb data).

Parks & Outdoors

Waitara Park, on the station's western side, is the suburb's main open space, containing Mark Taylor Oval — the large cricket and sports ground formerly known as Waitara Oval, renamed in 2011 for former Australian Test captain Mark Taylor and home of Northern District Cricket Club, with a new pavilion and a $3.5 million indoor cricket centre opened by Taylor. The oval precinct has a small playground, toilets and parkland, and the suburb sits between the leafy residential streets of Wahroonga and Hornsby with bushland reserves a short drive away (Kidtown Sydney).

Property Market

The median house price in Waitara was around ~$2.5M (median house price — quickproperty and YIP both put it near $2.5M, e.g. YIP $2,510,500 on 16 house sales over the past 12 months; Allhomes reported a much lower ~$1.5M, reflecting a very thin sample in this unit-dominated suburb) (mid-2026). See our full Sydney property price map for how the suburb compares across the city. Housing stock is overwhelmingly apartments: units/apartments made up ~94% of current listings and houses only ~4-6% (stMate), and sales volumes for freestanding houses are tiny, so house medians for Waitara vary widely between trackers and should be treated with caution. The unit market is the real Waitara story: a median unit price near $790k sits well below comparable units in Wahroonga or on the city side of the North Shore line, making Waitara a comparatively affordable entry to the Upper North Shore (stMate). Median age 36 and household income ~$2,106/week (ABS 2021 via stMate).

New Developments

Mostly unit infill rather than large-scale projects: apartment building along the Pacific Highway/Alexandra Parade corridor has made Waitara a high-density pocket (94% of listings are units; stMate). Notable recent projects: the Waitara station upgrade completed February 2024 — a new northern entrance, underpass and lift delivered by Transport for NSW under the station upgrade program ; The Grange over-55s retirement village built by Lendlease ; and the Mark Taylor Oval precinct upgrades at Waitara Park, including a new pavilion and the $3.5 million indoor cricket centre opened by Mark Taylor.

Jobs & Local Economy

Local employment centres on the small retail and hospitality strip along the Pacific Highway (shops, cafes and the Blue Gum Hotel pub) plus community facilities such as the PCYC. The big employment drivers are just outside the suburb: Hornsby town centre in the adjacent suburb of Hornsby — Westfield Hornsby shopping centre, council and civic services, and the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital district hospital on Palmerston Road — is the local jobs and services hub, while many residents commute by T1 train to the Sydney CBD.

Nearby Suburbs

Hornsby, Asquith, North Wahroonga, Wahroonga, Normanhurst

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:

• Transport for NSW
• NSW Government

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

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