Greendale, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Greendale is a suburb
of Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
.
. The first British explorer to visit the area was botanist George Caley
in 1800. A number of land grants were made in the area in 1811, one of which was to a Mary Birch who named her property Greendale. Another 1811 grant was made to Ellis Bent
who was the colony's judge-advocate. Bents Basin, a recreational area on the Nepean Rivert at Greendale is named after him.
The land was mainly used for wheat farming until 1861 when wheat rust infected the entire crop. The local farmers tried other crops unsuccessfully and gradually moved to other pastoral areas, effectively killing off the town that had grown up in the area. By 1929, the bakery, post office, school and churches had all closed down. A bushfire in 1939 destroyed virtually all the buildings left in the town. Today, even though the suburb has a population of a few hundred, there is no town centre.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, in the state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
History
Greendale was originally home to the Mulgoa tribe of the Darug peopleDarug people
The Darug people are a language group of Indigenous Australians, who are traditional custodians of much of what is modern day Sydney. There is some dispute about the extent of the Darug nation. Some historians believe the coastal Eora people were a separate tribe to the Darug...
. The first British explorer to visit the area was botanist George Caley
George Caley
-Early life:Caley was born in Craven, Yorkshire, England, the son of a horse-dealer. He was educated at the Free Grammar School at Manchester for around four years and was then taken into his father's stables. Coming across a volume on farriery, he became interested in the herbs mentioned in...
in 1800. A number of land grants were made in the area in 1811, one of which was to a Mary Birch who named her property Greendale. Another 1811 grant was made to Ellis Bent
Ellis Bent
Ellis Bent was the deputy judge advocate between 1810 and 1815 of the Australian colony of New South Wales, which was eventually to become an Australian state. The deputy judge advocate was the senior legal officer of the colony and functioned in many ways as a Chief Justice...
who was the colony's judge-advocate. Bents Basin, a recreational area on the Nepean Rivert at Greendale is named after him.
The land was mainly used for wheat farming until 1861 when wheat rust infected the entire crop. The local farmers tried other crops unsuccessfully and gradually moved to other pastoral areas, effectively killing off the town that had grown up in the area. By 1929, the bakery, post office, school and churches had all closed down. A bushfire in 1939 destroyed virtually all the buildings left in the town. Today, even though the suburb has a population of a few hundred, there is no town centre.