Jannali is an Aboriginal word, meaning the Place of the Moon, originating from an unknown language as recorded by George Thornton. The Dharug language word for the Moon is 'yanada', and Jannali may be an alternative Anglicization of this. The area began to develop with the arrival of the railway line in 1884. However, the railway station at Jannali was not built until 1931. The department of railways paid for the construction of the railway station and ramps while the local council paid for the road bridge over the line at the southern end of the station. This attracted residents to the suburb and many more homes were built after World War II when blocks of land were offered to returned servicemen. Jannali had a 10-court squash centre between 1978 and 2001. The building has been demolished and offices and apartments built on the site. During the existence of the squash centre, Jannali Squash Club, who leased courts at the centre, produced many players of first grade standard and in the mid-1980s was considered Sydney's leading Squash Club and one of the strongest in Australia.
Shops and commercial businesses provide a broad range of services to the Jannali community. Most are centred on the main transport hub of the railway station and the bridge over the railway line. This bridge provides the only link for both automotive and pedestrian movement between the eastern and western portions of the Jannali community. While the majority of enterprises are located on the eastern side of the railway line, i.e., along Railway Crescent and Box Road, further enterprises are located in White Street. A small group of business are situated in Jannali Avenue on the western side of the railway line, as is Sutherland Shire Council's Kurranulla Aboriginal Resources Centre and the community hall.
Parks
The residential streets feature many houses, units and local reserves which contain a diversity of flora and fauna. Jannali Reserve is a large recreational area on the western border. Playgrounds in the area include Charles Orwin Reserve and Alice Street Reserve.
Education
The suburb has three public schools: the Jannali High School, Jannali Public School & Jannali East Public School. The Jannali High School was formed in 1992 from the amalgamation of Jannali Girls' High School and Jannali Boys' High School. Jannali East primary opened in 1956. The St George & Sutherland Community College is housed in the former Jannali Girls High School grounds. SGSCC has over 40 staff and operates a range of courses including leisure, work skills, disability, international, school-age coaching, English, including courses at Diploma to Certificate IV levels.
The localsoccer team is Como-West-Jannali Junior Soccer Club, based at Jannali Oval. Jannali also has a baseball club known as the "Comets", based at the playing fields at Soldiers Rd. The local rugby league team is the Como-Jannali Crocodiles who are based at Scylla Bay Oval in nearby Como. As part of the boom in Squash in the late 1970s, on 30 October 1978, a new, state-of-the-art squash centre was opened by local Member of Parliament. Maurie Keane at 48-54 Railway Crescent. The centre featured 10 competition squash courts, a gymnasium, and sports therapist underneath. The centre closed in 2001, the squash boom having long ended, however during its time, the Jannali Squash Club rose to be one of the strongest in the country, winning several men's and women's first grade premierships and at times reaching over 200 playing members from Jannali and neighbouring suburbs.
Population
In the 2016 Census, there were 6,184 people in Jannali. 75.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.0%, and China 2.2%. 82.8% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin at 1.9%.The top responses for religious affiliation were Catholic 27.2%, No Religion 26.9% and Anglican 20.1%. The median weekly household income of $1,784 was higher than the national figure of $1,438.
