Castle Hill, New South Wales

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Castle Hill is a suburb in the northwest of Sydney in Australia, about 30 kilometres north-west of the central business district. It situated in the Baulkham Hills Shire (it also overlaps in jurisdiction with Hornsby Shire).

Contents

1 History
2 Geography

2.1 Commercial area
2.2 Industrial area
2.3 Residential areas

3 Religion
4 The Castle Hill Show
5 External links

History

It is believed that the first European visitors to the district were Governor Phillip and a party of 21 from Parramatta who reached the Hills in April 1791. Their aim was to find new country for settlement and farming to feed the struggling Sydney colony.

Governor King began a government farm there on 8 July 1801, referring to it as Castle Hill on 1 March 1802. The majority of the convicts who worked the farm were Irish, many having been transported for agitation against British rule. In 1804, the convicts rebelled in the Castle Hill Rebellion (also known as the 'Battle of Vinegar Hill'), overpowering their guards and marching on towards Parramatta. However, they were vastly outgunned and outnumbered by British troops, who massacred about twenty of them and then hanged several others.

In later years the area became filled with market gardens and especially orchards which supplied Sydney with fresh produce. However, as Sydney has expanded, the orchards have disappeared and been replaced with a sprawl of suburban dwellings, retail and commercial establishments and light industry. However, Baulkham Hills Shire Council commemorates the shire's former status as an orange-growing area with the Orange Blossom Festival each year.

In the past Castle Hill was serviced by a rail line to Parramatta, to take the rural area's produce to the city. However, it was closed in 1932, due to competition with trucks and cars. This is now widely viewed as a mistake, and the NSW State Government has promised to construct a new railway line there which will branch off from the Strathfield-Hornsby line north of Epping. As of July 2005, the railway line there is only expected to be completed around 2017.

Although a precise explanation on why Castle Hill is named so may never be known, there are some possible suggestions.

Some believe it have been named because of the fine views from the hills in the district.
The first free settler in Castle Hill was Frenchman, Baron Verincourt de Clambe, who received a grant of 200 acres (800,000 m²) in 1802. It has been suggested that de Clambe's house " The Hermitage" was commonly called 'The Castle' by locals, because of the Baron's noble status.

Geography

Commercial area

Castle Hill's commercial area centres around a section of the Old Northern Road at the suburb's eastern side. Its southern side is an older, traditional shopping strip, with the modest-sized Castle Mall shopping centre. Its northern side is dominated by the large Castle Towers shopping centre, with two department stores as well as two Greater Union cinema multiplexes (giving a total of 16 Cinemas). A new library and community centre, with an unit apartment building on its upper floors, opened next to Castle Towers several years ago.

Industrial area

Castle Hill also has a light industrial area at the suburb's western side. It is linked with the commercial area by Showground Road. The Baulkham hills Shire Council chamber, the Hills Centre performing arts complex, and the Castle Hill Showground all situate next to the industrial area.

Residential areas

The largest residential area in Castle Hill is located at the two sides of Showground Road, sandwiched between the commercial and the industrial area. Smaller residential areas are located at the east of the commercial area, as well as the suburb's north-east (part of Hornsby Shire, separated by Old Northern Road and Castle Hill Road). These consist almost entirely of free-standing houses, many of which are project homes dubbed "McMansions". Several government and private schools, as well as an RSL Club, are located within these areas. To the North of Showground Road lies suburban Knightsbridge, with approximately 1000 homes, the Samuel Gilbert Public School, Castle Glen Oval and the Knightsbridge Shopping Court. Across from Knightsbridge creek is Glenhaven.

Religion

Castle Hill and its surrounding areas are sometimes dubbed the "Bible Belt" of Sydney, owing to the considerable influence of evangelical Christianity in the region. The gigantic Hillsong Church, although not within Castle Hill itself, is located nearby; many more churches of various denominations are also active within Castle Hill. Such is the influence of the churches in the area that Christian music albums can be found alongside mainstream chart singles at the local independent records store.

The Castle Hill Show

On the last weekend of March an annual castle hill show is held on the showgrounds and entertainment centre. This show dates back to early times when the suburb was just getting on its feet. The show is mainly agricultural with many sheep, cattle and horse competitions on every year. The Castle Hill Show is considered the second best show in the district and only beaten by the enormous Sydney Royal Easter Show. The Castle Hill show also includes novelty games and items, showbags and educational stalls. The show runs for three days over the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), and is supported by a lot of local, independent companies including the local public school, Castle Hill Public School, who has an all-school excursion to the Friday show every year.

External links

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