boating facilities. Streets were named after Australian rivers to emphasise the association with water, such as Shoalhaven, Tweed, Murrumbidgee, Hawkesbury and Barwon. The suburb has been identified as an area that is particularly vulnerable to inundation, should predictions of climate change, global warming and rising sea levels prove correct. Commercial areas Southgate Shopping Centre is located on the corner of the Princes Highway and Port Hacking Road. The shopping centre adjoins The Crest Hotel Sylvania and a McDonald's restaurant. A small group of shops and restaurants is located on Princes Highway near the foot of Tom Uglys Bridge. Another group of shops known as Sylvania Heights Plaza is located further west along the Princes Highway at Sylvania Heights. Transport The Princes Highway crosses the Georges River over the Tom Uglys Bridge at Horse Rock Point and links Sylvania north to Blakehurst, in the St George area. The suburb is serviced by buses operated by the Transdev NSW company. Schools Sylvania Heights Public School Sylvania High School Sylvania Public School Churches Our Lady of the Way Catholic Church St Michael's Orthodox Church Sylvania Anglican Church Sylvania Uniting Church Demographics According to the 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population, there were 10,479 people usually resident in Sylvania. 72.1% stated they were Australian-born. 2.8% were born in England, 3.4% in China (excluding Taiwan), 1.4% in New Zealand and 1.6% in Greece. English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 70.2% of residents and the most common other languages spoken were Greek 6.8%, Arabic 2.4% and Cantonese 2.3%. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 26.9%, Anglican 18.5%, No Religion 18.8%, Orthodox 12.9% and Uniting Church 4.1%. Notable residents Graham Annesley - former politician and rugby league referee Myles Baldwin - horticulturalist Brielle Davis - recording artist Jim Russell, cartoonist Glenn Wheeler - media personality References Further reading Audet, S. et al. Sylvania Back Then: Aspects of Local History, Sylvania High School, Sylvania, 1985. Bursill, L., Jacobs, M., Lennis, D. Timbery-Beller, B., & Ryan, M. Dharawal: The Story of the Dharawal Speaking People of Southern Sydney, Privately Published, 2007?, Salt, D. F., Gateway to the South: An Intimate Insight into the Origins of the Sutherland Shire: First Stop—Sylvania!, privately published, 1987. Suburbs of Sydney Sutherland Shire