Wattle Grove was built on former Australian Defence Force land. The original plans for a suburb were made by the government of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in the 1970s. Infrastructure was built and the suburb lay dormant until further developed by Delfin Property Group, assisted by the Defence Housing Authority in the 1990s. In 1992, the suburb's name was changed from Holsworthy Village to Wattle Grove. On 12 April 1992, Wattle Grove was officially opened by Prime Minister Bob Hawke. In 2006, Wattle Grove's tree-lined streets underwent significant change. Many of the Casuarina trees that lined the main road were replaced, due to roots potentially damaging nearby houses or falling during storms. Native shrubs have been planted in their place.
Population
According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 8,952 people in Wattle Grove.
67.7% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were India 4.2%, Egypt 2.8%, Philippines 2.2%, England 1.7% and China 1.6%.
66.3% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arabic 5.3%, Hindi 2.2%, Mandarin 1.8%, Greek 1.6% and Tagalog 1.5%.
The most common responses for religion were Catholic 30.9%, No Religion 18.3%, Anglican 13.3%, Hinduism 5.3%.
Commercial area
Wattle Grove's shopping centre was opened in 1998, but in late 2005 several of the businesses were gutted by fire. The centre reopened in 2007 and includes a Coles supermarket, hairdressing salon, real estate agency, pizzeria, pharmacy, charcoal chicken, newsagency and other specialty shops. The Wattle Grove Club Hotel is within the complex.
The Wattle Grove area was designed to have a strong community 'feel' under the redeveloping of the area by Delfin in the 1990s. Today, it is possible to evaluate the success of this by the large numbers of young families walking the tree lined footpaths on the weekends, and the strong turnouts at community events, such as the Christmas Carols and the Annual Easter Egg Hunt in Australis Park on Easter Sunday.
Schools
Wattle Grove is served by four primary schools: Holsworthy Primary School, Wattle Grove Primary School, St Mark's Coptic Orthodox College and St Christopher's Catholic Primary School, in addition to secondary schools: Holsworthy High School, Moorebank High School and St Mark's Coptic Orthodox College. St Christopher's is a feeder school for All Saints Catholic College Liverpool.
Playgrounds are located throughout the suburb, as well as walking and bike paths leading to an artificial lake in the suburbs center. Moorebank Sports Club, located nearby, provides opportunities for formal training in rugby league, soccer, hockey, baseball, cricket, Australian Rules football and netball. The Sporting codes are associated with Moorebank Sports Club, all being in the same complex except hockey and AFL which are located in other premises. Wattle Grove Lake is an artificially constructed lake surrounded by the residential development of Wattle Grove. It is home to a variety of water birds. Anzac Creek is a small stream which leads into Wattle Grove Lake.
