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Originally comprising small farm blocks subdivided by Sophia Campbell, Hurlstone Park was to see a building boom with the development of both rail and tram lines through the area around the beginning of the twentieth century.

Built on the short-lived Fairy Bower pleasure gardens established in 1858 by Charles Hemington, the earliest European residents were fishing families. From 1880, subdivision into housing lots had begun, with little success. More people moved in between the wars in the…

The Commissariat held a strategic role in the economy of the early colony, supplying and storing foodstuffs and other necessities including 'liquor, hardware and other goods' for the population.

A retiring, even-tempered man, William Broughton won the respect of his peers, and showed concern for all his parishioners, including convicts and Aboriginal people, while travelling extensively throughout his jurisdiction.

Home to the Tharawal and Gundungurra people, Camden West was part of the area named Cowpastures after escaped cattle were found there in 1795. Granted to John Macarthur in 1823, the land was subdivided into small farms in the 1880s, and dairying became the main industry until…

Created by successive city councils through resumptions and rebuilding, Chifley Square was a venue for anti-conscription demonstrations during the Vietnam War.

Traditional country of the Tharawal and Gundungurra people, the Narellan area was granted to colonists by Governor Macquarie and became a prosperous farming area, though the village remained small, and overshadowed by nearby Camden. From the 1970s, commercial and residential…

The area that became Brookvale was granted and sold to settlers from the 1830s, the land becoming farms, market gardens and brickyards. The gardens were worked by Chinese and later Italian gardeners. Industrial growth during the 1960s covered the gardens with factories and a…

Coal lumpers were crucial to coal-powered shipping, hauling giant quantities of fuel from ship to ship in appalling conditions. With the disappearance of steam power, a whole occupation, with its own skills, lore and traditions as well as hazards and dangers, faded into…

Thomas Thompson, who opened a bakery on the corner in the 1850s, gave his name to this locality.

In the 19th century, there were parts of The Rocks most ordinary folk wouldn't dare to enter, lest they run into The Rocks Push. The underground bare-knuckle boxing gang were known by some as larrikins, and others as criminals. Their leader was Larry Foley, a notorious…

A radio movie about a highway robber turned patron of the arts: Robert Sidaway was a convict transported to Australia. By day he was a baker, and by night, he dreamed of starting a theatre in new land. Produced by Merran Winchester. The cast included: Brendon Taylor- Robert…

A peninsular suburb on the northern shore of the Parramatta River, Putney's waterside position has influenced its development, recreations, industries and people.

Originally the country of the Wallumedegal, Marsfield is built on part of what became the Field of Mars common, proclaimed in 1804. The common was resumed in the 1870s and sold in the 1880s, when Marsfield was subdivided. The expected tramway was never built, and Marsfield…

In colonial times, the area known today as Prince Alfred Park contained the colony's gaol and was known as 'the Gaol Green' and 'the Hanging Green.' Regular public punishments occurred there until the 1840s when the gaol moved to a new location and the area became a public…

Daughter or grand-daughter of Bungaree's wife Matora, Biddy Lewis lived on her land at Marramarra Creek until 1880.

First known to Europeans as Cleveland Paddocks, the area that became Prince Alfred Park was gazetted as a public reserve in 1865, and called after Prince Alfred during his ill-fated visit in 1868. Exhibition buildings were built in the park in 1870, lasting until 1954, and…

Part of the traditional lands of the Tharawal and Gundungurra people, Narellan Vale is a new suburb on land granted to William Howe and William Hovell in the 1810s. For much of its history, it was dairy farms.

Grotto Point became an important part of navigational safety with the erection of a lighthouse in 1910.