HistoryJannali is primarily a residential suburb. Samuel Gray purchased land in 1878 along which the Illawarra Railway line is located. Gray then sold this land to the Intercolonial Land and Investment Company in 1885. The first estate was known as the Queen's Jubilee Township Como as it was released in 1888 to honour the jubilee year of Queen Victoria. Some of the streets in this subdivision were also named for daughters of the Queen. However it was not until many years later that the township boasted a shop, railway platform or official name. Jannali's population increased when the Depression took hold in Sydney in the 1930s. Many families forced from the city took up land in the subdivisions opened up in the Jannali area. Land was also later released after the end of World War Two. Jannali became the overflow for commuters who could catch trains to the city. In the 1970s there was a trend toward medium density housing and urban consolidation.