Bankstown War Memorial

I can never go past a war memorial without stopping. In fact I have never been to the central area of Bankstown before so it was a day of discovery. However, what struck me when I was walking around is how 'new' the centre of Bankstown appears to be. It looks like all the buildings are post 1960s which begs the question what was there before? Is there anyone out there that has some knowledge on the growth of the area?