Killara is an Aboriginal word meaning permanent or always there. The name of the suburb was chosen when the railway line opened in 1899. James George Edwards was a representative of the people who requested a station be built here. The suburb was established as a 'Gentlemen's suburb', designed so that there would be no commercial ventures in the area. For this reason, the suburb has very few shops in the original development. Killara Post Office opened on 7 November 1904. Killara later became the home of the famous architect Harry Seidler, whose home—designed by him and his wife Penelope in the 1960s—can still be seen in Kalang Avenue. It is sometimes known as Killara House and sometimes as Harry and Penelope Seidler House. The couple moved into the house on Harry Seidler's birthday in 1967. The garden contains a sculpture by the Los Angeles sculptor Eric Orr. The house is heritage-listed. Marian Street Theatre played a significant role in the cultural life of the North Shore.
Heritage listings
Killara has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
is on the North Shore & Western Line of the Sydney Trains network. The Pacific Highway is the main road through Killara. Churches in the suburb comprise St Martin's Anglican Church and Killara Uniting Church on Karranga Avenue. The Swain Gardens were donated to Ku-ring-gai Council by Mr Swain, a Sydney bookseller, in the 1920s, and are today maintained by the council and volunteers. The gardens have been listed by the National Trust of Australia.
Schools
Killara is served by two top ranking public primary schools, Killara Public School and Beaumont Road Public School. The suburb is also home to Killara High School, one of the highest performing non-selective government secondary school in the state of New South Wales. A short-lived private school in Killara, Abbotsholme College, counted two future prime ministers among its pupils.
Commercial
Commercial developments are located along the length of the Pacific Highway, including the Greengate Hotel. Residents often travel to nearby suburbs of Gordon, Macquarie Park and Chatswood for regular shopping.
Residential
The majority of residential properties are built in the Federation and Californian Bungalow styles, although the suburb includes many other styles. The Harry and Penelope Seidler House at 13 Kalang Avenue was designed by Harry and Penelope Seidler. The 1960s-era modern-design home, constructed with reinforced masonry walls, concrete floors and roof, rubble-stone retaining walls and fireplace, won the Wilkinson Award in 1967. At the 2016 census, 57.5% of occupied private dwellings were separate houses and 40.5% were flat or apartments. The average household size was 2.9 people.
In the 2016 Australian census, the total population of Killara was 10,574 people; 47.5 percent were male and 52.5 percent were female. 53.7% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were China 11.5%, England 4.7%, Hong Kong 3.9%, South Korea 2.7% and New Zealand 1.8%. 61.1% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 13.9%, Cantonese 7.6%, Korean 3.2% and Japanese 1.0%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 35.5%, Catholic 17.7% and Anglican 15.8%, Of persons aged 15 years and over, 59.1% were married, 28.2% never married, 5.8% widowed 5.2% divorced, and 1.6% separated. The median weekly personal income was 951, compared with A$662 in Australia. The median weekly household income was A$2,534, compared with A$1,438 in Australia. The median weekly family income was A$2,918, compared with A$1,734 in Australia.
