Gun ownership in Sydney: Which suburbs have the most firearms

Australians are building huge private arsenals of guns with one owner, living in a ritzy Sydney waterfront suburb, holding more than 350 firearms. See where else they are being kept.

Ordinary Australians are building huge private arsenals of guns with one owner, living in a ritzy Sydney waterfront suburb, holding more than 350 firearms.

There are 100 people across NSW who own more than 70 registered guns each according to the latest statistics for 2021.

The largest number of guns held by a single owner is 352 in the lower north shore suburb of Cremorne. The second largest is 305 guns held by a single owner in the Matraville area, followed by a single owner of 299 guns in Goulburn and 298 guns in the Macquarie Hills area.

Five people were charged and 39 guns seized during a Western NSW investigation in 2021. Picture: Police NSW

The figures obtained under Freedom of Information from NSW Police by The Greens are said to relate to individuals and exclude businesses, gun collectors and arms dealers.

Tim Quinn from Gun Control Australia said one person living in Cremorne with 352 guns poses a clear public safety risk in the event of theft, or if individuals amass arsenals for illegal use.

“There should be a limit on the number of working guns an individual can own,” Mr Quinn said.

“When licensing a gun, the ‘Genuine Reason’ rule currently does not need to be unique for each subsequent firearm. There should be an individual genuine reason for each firearm licensed by an owner.

“In Australia, you can be registered as a firearms collector if the firing pin is removed from each gun. This offers a far safer option for those who want to collect firearms.”

A Sydney police officer seizes firearms as part of a 2016 strike force. Picture: Police NSW

But the vice president of the National Shooting Council Peter Zabrdac said on paper the figures look disturbing but deserve a closer look.

Mr Zabrdac believes the single in owner in Cremorne is a wealthy gentleman with a very extensive, high-value collection which is concentrated on military grade World War II guns – and many may be deactivated.

He said there are a number of similar collectors who would have historic guns in thematic collections that would have had their barrels plugged up.

In NSW the postcode area with the most guns is around Tamworth where there are 13,665 registered guns. The largest number of guns held in that area by a single owner is 122 guns.

Bathurst has the next highest number of 13,094 guns with a single owner holding 103 guns.

Originally published as Gun ownership in Sydney: Which suburbs have the most firearms