Maroota, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Maroota is a suburb
in Sydney
, New South Wales
, Australia
. Maroota is located 83 kilometres northwest of the Sydney central business district
, in the local government areas of The Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire
.
Maroota is located at a high point, about 200m above sea-level, on the ridge-following Great Northern Road (now renamed Old Northern Road). This was the main early road, constructed by convict gangs, from Sydney north to Singleton in the Hunter Valley.
Maroota is situated on, and owes its nature to, a residual mass of Tertiary river sand deposit (the Maroota Sand) which geologists think may be the oldest known remnant of the largest waterway in the Sydney region, the Nepean-Hawkesbury system.
The first attempt to settle Maroota, as a soldier-settlement, failed totally. Some of the soldiers leaving the Army during an across-the-Empire downsizing in the wake of the Napoleonic wars bought land (sight-unseen) at Maroota, hoping to begin new lives as farmers. However, all of them as soon as they visited their new purchases were shocked and disappointed with what they found. They protested to the government that such barren sandy soil could never support them and their families, asking for replacement land to be granted to them elsewhere. What these early men did not know was that at but a short depth below surface the Maroota Sand was rich in groundwater. Later on, the land proved quite good and profitable for a variety of farming and orchard growing applications, and for limited grazing, once its true values and potential were realised.
In recent years Maroota has undergone transformation, becoming a growing centre of sandmining. As Sydney's major sand and gravel quarrying centre, at Castlereagh just north of Penrith, nears the end of its life Maroota becomes increasingly important for supplying sand to many users in the Metropolis.
One place study, commenced in 2005, which seeks to draw together the history of Maroota, especially the natural history, is at http://maroota.sands.googlepages.com
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...
in 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...
, 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...
. Maroota is located 83 kilometres northwest of the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
, in the local government areas of The Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire
Hornsby Shire
Hornsby Shire is a Local Government Area in the Northern region of Sydney, Australia. The Shire stretches from the suburb of Eastwood in the south to the Hawkesbury River town of Wisemans Ferry, some to the north...
.
Maroota is located at a high point, about 200m above sea-level, on the ridge-following Great Northern Road (now renamed Old Northern Road). This was the main early road, constructed by convict gangs, from Sydney north to Singleton in the Hunter Valley.
Maroota is situated on, and owes its nature to, a residual mass of Tertiary river sand deposit (the Maroota Sand) which geologists think may be the oldest known remnant of the largest waterway in the Sydney region, the Nepean-Hawkesbury system.
The first attempt to settle Maroota, as a soldier-settlement, failed totally. Some of the soldiers leaving the Army during an across-the-Empire downsizing in the wake of the Napoleonic wars bought land (sight-unseen) at Maroota, hoping to begin new lives as farmers. However, all of them as soon as they visited their new purchases were shocked and disappointed with what they found. They protested to the government that such barren sandy soil could never support them and their families, asking for replacement land to be granted to them elsewhere. What these early men did not know was that at but a short depth below surface the Maroota Sand was rich in groundwater. Later on, the land proved quite good and profitable for a variety of farming and orchard growing applications, and for limited grazing, once its true values and potential were realised.
In recent years Maroota has undergone transformation, becoming a growing centre of sandmining. As Sydney's major sand and gravel quarrying centre, at Castlereagh just north of Penrith, nears the end of its life Maroota becomes increasingly important for supplying sand to many users in the Metropolis.
One place study, commenced in 2005, which seeks to draw together the history of Maroota, especially the natural history, is at http://maroota.sands.googlepages.com