Cabramatta is colloquially known as 'Cabra' and has the largest Hoa Vietnamese community in Australia. It is also Australia's largest non-Anglo-Celtic commercial precinct. The population demographics are reflected by the many Vietnamese-Australian and Chinese-Australian businesses. As a result, the suburb is considered a gourmand destination for Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese cuisines.

Cabramatta has a longstanding image problem, primarily due to its reputation as a point for drug-dealing. These drug activities began in the 1990s as drug addicts were drawn to the area. However, since 2002, the problems have receded after an anti-drug crackdown was enforced by the NSW State Parliament.

In 1795, an early settler named Hatfield called the area ‘Moonshine Run’ because it was so heavily timbered that moonshine could not penetrate. The name Cabramatta first came into use in the area in the early 19th century when the Bull family named a property they had purchased Cabramatta Park. When a small village formed nearby in 1814, it took its name from that property. A township grew from this village, and a railway was built through Cabramatta in the 1850s. It was used for loading and unloading freight and livestock. The railway station wasn't open for public transport until 1856; a school was established in 1882, and a post office in 1886. Cabramatta remained a predominantly agricultural township.

It developed a close community relationship with neighbouring Canley Vale, and until 1899, they shared a common municipality . In 1948, Cabramatta's local government merged with the neighbouring Fairfield, and today remains governed by the Fairfield City Council. It evolved into a Sydney suburb in the mid 20th century, partly as the result of a major state housing project in the nearby Liverpool area in the 1960s that in turn swallowed Cabramatta. The presence of a migrant hostel alongside Cabramatta High School was decisive in shaping the community in the post-war period. In the first phase, large numbers of post-war immigrants from Europe passed through the hostel and settled in the surrounding area during the 1950s and 1960s. They satisfied labour demand for surrounding manufacturing and construction activities, and eventually gave birth to a rapidly growing population in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The entrepreneurs were developing local enterprises.

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