Riverstone, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Riverstone is a suburb
of Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
. Riverstone is located 48 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district
, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown
. Riverstone is part of the Greater Western Sydney
region. Riverstone is colloquially known as 'Rivo' .
of Australia, the area that was to become known as Riverstone was inhabited by the Darug tribe
. Most of these people died due to introduced diseases following the arrival of the First Fleet
, and the remainder were largely relocated to government farms and a series of settlements.
The Sydney Cove region originally settled in 1788 turned out to be unsuitable for farming, and after a number of years of near-famine in the colony, efforts were made to relocate food production inland to hopefully more climatically stable regions. In 1803 a government stock farm was established in what was to become the Riverstone/Marsden Park area, on the basis of the abundant water supply and good grazing land there. In 1810 Lieut-Col Maurice Charles O'Connell
was granted 2,500 acres (10 km²) of land in the district, which he named "Riverston Farm", after his birthplace in Ireland. (The "e" at the end first appeared on railway timetables in the 1860s, apparently a misprint that has become the accepted spelling).
Originally, beef cattle farmed in the area were driven overland to the Hawkesbury River
for transport by sailing ship to the convict settlement at Sydney Cove
. The construction of the Sydney to Richmond Railway line in the 1864 both eliminated the need for this and opened up the region to non-rural development.
An important meatworks was established there in 1878, undergoing various stages of rebuilding and expansion until it closed permanently in 1992.
In 1988, as part of a Federal Government programme to commemorate the 200th anniversary of European settlement in Australia, a heritage museum was established in the old Masonic hall.
In the 1880s O'Connell's widow subdivided and sold off most of the original grant, and a pattern of intersecting streets was laid out, mostly named after famous streets in London
(eg Piccadilly Street, Gladstone Parade etc). A substantial railway station, churches and other infrastructure were also constructed. The presumption was that Riverstone was set to become an important regional centre but his did not actually happen.
Most of the allotments were eventually taken up for suburban housing but a few of the original 1880s blocks remain vacant to the present day. Riverstone terrace, erected in 1883, is a curious relic of the anticipated 19th century population boom. It was meant to be the first of a row of high-density terrace housing units that would run the length of Garfield road. However this single block and the small unit next to it were the only ones ever built. For many years the sight of a high density inner-city housing block situated in an empty country paddock remained a bizarre local landmark.
Riverstone remained small country town until the beginning of the 21st century when a housing boom made it part of the urban sprawl
. On its northern side Riverstone still has a large and thriving industrial area.
Poultry farming and intensive market gardening are also still important activities in the area.
and Riverstone Public School. It also has three Private schools: Norwest Christian College (formerly known as Coverdale Christian School), St Johns Catholic School and Australian Christian College. Australian Christian College has two components: the day school (formerly known as Allowera Christian School); and the distance education school, which serves home educated students throughout the whole state of New South Wales.
Riverstone railway station is on the Richmond branch of the Western railway line
on the Cityrail
network, between Blacktown and Richmond
. From dawn to about 9pm, commuter trains to Sydney leave at approximately 30 minute intervals, in most cases coinciding with the arrival of a train from Sydney. After that they shift to an hourly schedule. Depending on the hour, train services running through Riverstone offer a varying number of "limited stops" to the Sydney CBD and the majority then continue over the Sydney Harbour Bridge
to the North Shore line and Hornsby or Berowra. Apart from the city stations, transfer to most other lines is easily made at Strathfield, Redfern or Parramatta, and other stops that offer fewer choices. The peak-hour journey from Riverstone to Central takes a little over an hour, and another 20 minutes to the popular destination of Chatswood
.
Riverstone is one of the few suburbs left in the Sydney region with a level crossing with old-fashioned boom gates. This view looking West onto the undeveloped flood-prone paddocks is popular with Sydney film and TV commercial makers as a stand-in for a small country railway station. The final parting scene in the film Beneath Clouds
was shot there.
The M7 Motorway
can be accessed by the Richmond Road ramp to provide faster access from Riverstone to the City. Riverstone and surrounding suburbs have a continuous motorway link to Sydney Airport
via the Lane Cove Tunnel
.
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...
. Riverstone is located 48 kilometres west 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 area of the City of Blacktown
City of Blacktown
The City of Blacktown is a Local Government Area in the heart of Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately 35 km from Sydney CBD. It is bounded by the Local Government Areas of Penrith, Parramatta, Fairfield, Holroyd, Hawkesbury and The Hills Shire. It occupies an area...
. Riverstone is part of the Greater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney is a term used to describe the western region of the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. The University of Western Sydney defines Greater Western Sydney as comprising 14 local government areas...
region. Riverstone is colloquially known as 'Rivo' .
History
Prior to settlement and colonisationHistory of Australia (1788-1850)
The history of Australia from 1788–1850 covers the early colonies period of Australia's history, from the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Sydney to establish the penal colony of New South Wales in 1788 to the European exploration of the continent and establishment of other colonies...
of Australia, the area that was to become known as Riverstone was inhabited by the Darug tribe
Darug 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...
. Most of these people died due to introduced diseases following the arrival of the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
, and the remainder were largely relocated to government farms and a series of settlements.
The Sydney Cove region originally settled in 1788 turned out to be unsuitable for farming, and after a number of years of near-famine in the colony, efforts were made to relocate food production inland to hopefully more climatically stable regions. In 1803 a government stock farm was established in what was to become the Riverstone/Marsden Park area, on the basis of the abundant water supply and good grazing land there. In 1810 Lieut-Col Maurice Charles O'Connell
Maurice Charles O'Connell
Sir Maurice Charles O'Connell was a commander of forces and lieutenant-governor of New South Wales.O'Connell was born in Ireland in 1768. He had had a distinguished career in the army when he came with Macquarie to New South Wales in charge of the 73rd regiment...
was granted 2,500 acres (10 km²) of land in the district, which he named "Riverston Farm", after his birthplace in Ireland. (The "e" at the end first appeared on railway timetables in the 1860s, apparently a misprint that has become the accepted spelling).
Originally, beef cattle farmed in the area were driven overland to the Hawkesbury River
Hawkesbury River
The Hawkesbury River, also known as Deerubbun, is one of the major rivers of the coastal region of New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its tributaries virtually encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney.-Geography:-Course:...
for transport by sailing ship to the convict settlement at Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
. The construction of the Sydney to Richmond Railway line in the 1864 both eliminated the need for this and opened up the region to non-rural development.
An important meatworks was established there in 1878, undergoing various stages of rebuilding and expansion until it closed permanently in 1992.
In 1988, as part of a Federal Government programme to commemorate the 200th anniversary of European settlement in Australia, a heritage museum was established in the old Masonic hall.
Developments
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(eg Piccadilly Street, Gladstone Parade etc). A substantial railway station, churches and other infrastructure were also constructed. The presumption was that Riverstone was set to become an important regional centre but his did not actually happen.
Most of the allotments were eventually taken up for suburban housing but a few of the original 1880s blocks remain vacant to the present day. Riverstone terrace, erected in 1883, is a curious relic of the anticipated 19th century population boom. It was meant to be the first of a row of high-density terrace housing units that would run the length of Garfield road. However this single block and the small unit next to it were the only ones ever built. For many years the sight of a high density inner-city housing block situated in an empty country paddock remained a bizarre local landmark.
Riverstone remained small country town until the beginning of the 21st century when a housing boom made it part of the urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
. On its northern side Riverstone still has a large and thriving industrial area.
Poultry farming and intensive market gardening are also still important activities in the area.
Schools
Riverstone features two Public schools:Riverstone High SchoolRiverstone High School
Riverstone High School, is a co-educational, comprehensive high school located on the northwest fringes of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
and Riverstone Public School. It also has three Private schools: Norwest Christian College (formerly known as Coverdale Christian School), St Johns Catholic School and Australian Christian College. Australian Christian College has two components: the day school (formerly known as Allowera Christian School); and the distance education school, which serves home educated students throughout the whole state of New South Wales.
Churches
- Riverstone Baptist Church - corner McCulloch and Regent Streets
- Riverstone Community Church - corner Garfield Road East and Hamilton Street
- Riverstone Anglican Church (St Pauls) - 19 Elizabeth Street
- Riverstone Uniting Church - corner Oxford Street and Garfield Road East
- St Johns Catholic Church - corner Garfield Road East and McCulloch Street
- Voice of Victory Church - Sam Lane Centre, Park Street
- Free Presbyterian - corner Oxford and Regent Streets
Transport
Riverstone is situated between the Richmond Road running from Blacktown to Richmond, and the Windsor Road running from Windsor to North Parramatta. Windsor Road is currently (July 7) undergoing a major upgrade to four lanes.Riverstone railway station is on the Richmond branch of the Western railway line
Western railway line, Sydney
The Western Line is part of the CityRail metropolitan rail network in Sydney, and is the suburban section of the Main West line which connects Sydney with the west of New South Wales. It connects the Sydney CBD to the employment centre of Parramatta and the outer western suburbs, terminating at Emu...
on the Cityrail
CityRail
CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...
network, between Blacktown and Richmond
Richmond railway station, Sydney
-Transport links:Westbus:*677 - to Penrith*678 - to Penrith*679 - to University of Western Sydney*680 - between Windsor and Kurrajong*682 - to Glossodia and Freemans Reach...
. From dawn to about 9pm, commuter trains to Sydney leave at approximately 30 minute intervals, in most cases coinciding with the arrival of a train from Sydney. After that they shift to an hourly schedule. Depending on the hour, train services running through Riverstone offer a varying number of "limited stops" to the Sydney CBD and the majority then continue over the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
to the North Shore line and Hornsby or Berowra. Apart from the city stations, transfer to most other lines is easily made at Strathfield, Redfern or Parramatta, and other stops that offer fewer choices. The peak-hour journey from Riverstone to Central takes a little over an hour, and another 20 minutes to the popular destination of Chatswood
Chatswood, New South Wales
Chatswood is a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Chatswood is located 10 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Willoughby. Chatswood West is a separate suburb...
.
Beneath Clouds
Beneath Clouds is a 2002 film by Australian director Ivan Sen.Lena has an absent Irish father she longs to see and an Aboriginal mother she finds disgusting...
was shot there.
The M7 Motorway
Westlink M7
Westlink M7 - formerly Western Sydney Orbital - is one of Sydney, Australia's urban motorways and a part of Metroad 7 and the Sydney Orbital Network. It connects three Metroads: M5 at Prestons, M4 at Eastern Creek and M2 at Baulkham Hills...
can be accessed by the Richmond Road ramp to provide faster access from Riverstone to the City. Riverstone and surrounding suburbs have a continuous motorway link to Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport may refer to:* Sydney Airport, also known as Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney, Australia* Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, in Nova Scotia, Canada...
via the Lane Cove Tunnel
Lane Cove Tunnel
The Lane Cove Tunnel is a A$1.1 billion, 3.6 km twin tunnel tollway in Sydney, Australia, connecting the M2 Motorway at North Ryde with the Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon. It forms part of Sydney Metroad 2 and the 110 km Sydney Orbital Network...
.
National Broadband Network (NBN)
Riverstone has been named as one of the Second release sites in the rollout of the National Broadband Network. This will bring high-speed internet to the area, enabling a range of services to be employed.External links
- http://riverstonehistoricalsociety.org.au/ Riverstone & District Historical Society
- http://www.users.on.net/~woolwash/examples/index.htm Joseph Henry Cragg's Riverstone 1880-1920
- http://www.nbn.gov.au/content/geographical-rollout