Blacktown



Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of City of Blacktown. Blacktown is the largest of any suburb or township in New South Wales and is one of the most multicultural places in Sydney. It is also notorious for having one of the highest crime rates for domestic and public violence in Sydney. Along with Bankstown, it is one of the only areas in Sydney to experience rising crime rates.

History
Prior to the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, Blacktown was inhabited by different groups of the Darug people including the Warmuli, based around what is now Prospect, and their neighbours the Gomerigal from the South Creek area and the Wawarawarry from the Eastern Creek area. It is estimated that fifty to ninety percent of the Darug died of smallpox and other introduced diseases within a few years of the British arrival. Governor Arthur Phillip began granting land in the area to white settlers in 1791, a process that was reversed slightly in 1819 when Governor Lachlan Macquarie granted land to two indigenous men, Colebee and Nurragingy.

A few years later in 1823, the Native Institution (a school for Aboriginal children) was moved from Parramatta to the site where Richmond Road meets Rooty Hill Road North (this intersection is now in the suburbs of Oakhurst and Dean Park). Although the institution closed in 1833, the road heading out to it became known as the Black Town Road. In 1860 the Railway Department gave the name of Black Town Road Station to the railway station at the junction of the railway and the Black Town Road, with the name shortening to Blacktown by 1862.

The arrival of the railway led to the formation of a town around the station. A post office was opened in 1862 and a school in 1877. In 1906, the Shire of Blacktown was formed and in 1930, electricity was introduced to the town. The population in 1933 was then around 13,000. In the 1950s and 60s, there was a large amount of suburban development both in the current suburb of Blacktown and the new suburbs that sprung up around it. This led to civic development in the town centre with the hospital opening in 1965, the courthouse and police station in 1966, the library in 1967 and the TAFE college in 1969. In 1973, the Westpoint shopping centre opened which was soon followed by the cinema complex.

Blacktown is notoriously known as the site of the vicious murder of Anita Cobby. A park in Blacktown is named after her, presumably near the site in which she was last seen alive.



Commercial area
The Blacktown Commercial Business District is located close to Blacktown railway station. Westpoint Blacktown is a major shopping centre and there are a number of small shops, restaurants and hotels in the surrounding area. Westpoint also houses a western suburb television studio of the Nine Network. The Blacktown CBD features the following landmarks:
 * Blacktown City Council corporate head office
 * Blacktown Courthouse
 * Max Webber Library - Blacktown City Council's newly completed central library
 * Blacktown Hospital
 * Patrician Brothers' College Blacktown

A notable Blacktown retailer in the 1950s was Frank Lowy who conducted a delicatessen and small goods shop in Main Street.



Transport
According to the 2006 census, the most common way of getting to work from Blacktown was by car (74%) with public transport used by just under twenty percent. Most public transport was done by train (17%) with five percent catching buses for all or part of their journey. Blacktown railway station is on the Western Line of the CityRail network. A major bus interchange is located next to the station and an underground bus station is at the entrance to Westpoint. There is a Blacktown to Rouse Hill Bus Transitway.

Busways provides services North (Rouse Hill, Castle Hill, Kellyville, Glenwood and Stanhope Gardens), west (Plumpton, Oakhurst, Quakers Hill, Dean Park, Woodcroft) and south (Prospect, Arndell Park, Huntingwood, Tallawong, Doonside, Blacktown Hospital), whilst Hillsbus provides services east (Macquarie Park, Seven Hills, Parramatta, Kings Langley) of Blacktown.

Schools
The first school in the area was opened in 1877. While no longer in use as a school, the heritage listed building in Flushcombe Road is now used as a Visitor Information Centre. There are, however, a large number of schools in the suburb. Government run primary schools in the area include: Blacktown North Public School, Blacktown South Public School, Blacktown West Public School, Lynwood Park Public School, Marayong South Public School, Shelley Public School, and Walters Road Public School. Public high schools include: Blacktown Boys High, Blacktown Girls High, Evans High and Mitchell High. There is also the Coreen School, which caters to older children with learning difficulties.

There are two Catholic primary schools, St Michaels and St Patricks, and two Catholic high schools, Nagle College for girls and Patrician Brothers' College Blacktown for boys. Tyndale Christian School is a private school covering children from kindergarten to year 12.

Churches

 * There are six Catholic churches in Blacktown: St Patricks on Allawah street, St Raphael (German) on Reservoir Road, St Michaels on Orwell Street, Our Lady (Croatian) on Douglas Road, St Marks Coptic Catholic Church on Reservoir Road and La Valette Social Centre (Maltese) Walters Road.
 * St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church is situated on Balmoral Street. It is the spiritual home to thousands of Orthodox Christians (mainly of Greek heritage) living in the Blacktown City Council area.
 * St. Pokrovski (Holy Protection of the Mother of our Lord) Russian Orthodox Church on Kildare Road.
 * St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church is on Second Avenue. There is a large community of Serbian Orthodox Christians in the Blacktown area.
 * Christ Church is an Anglican church in Richmond Road.

Sport and recreation

 * Blacktown Stadium in Blacktown Olympic park - capacity 10,000
 * Fairfax Community Stadium (Used by NSWPL team Blacktown City Demons) - 7,500 capacity (1,200 seated)
 * Blacktown Baseball Stadium (Baseball) 5,000 capacity (1,200 seated)
 * Blacktown Softball Stadium (Softball) 5,000 capacity (1,100 seated)
 * Blacktown Showground (fesitvals and cultural events/activities)
 * Francis Park (Rugby League, Soccer and Athletics)
 * Blacktown Aquatic Center
 * Alpha Park
 * Blacktown Olympic Park

Demographics
According to the 2006 census conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Blacktown had a population of 38,914 making it one of the largest suburbs in the country. In many respects, the residents were typical of the Australian national profile. Most families were couples with children (48%). Most dwelling were freestanding homes (75%). The median family income of $1080 per week was a little lower than average. The median housing loan repayment of $1588 per month was a bit higher than average. The number of people born overseas (40%) was a statistic substantially higher than the national average (22%) with the greatest numbers of people born in the Philippines (4.0%), India (3.6%), Sudan (2.4%) and New Zealand (2.3%).

Notable residents

 * Actress Toni Collette was raised here
 * Actress Kym Valentine was raised here
 * Actress Bec Hewitt (then Bec Cartwright) was raised here
 * Matt Geyer, rugby league player for the Melbourne Storm, was born here.
 * Feleti Mateo, rugby league player for Parramatta Eels,was born and raised here.
 * Brett Delaney, rugby league player for the Gold Coast Titans was born and raised here.
 * Wade Graham, rugby league player for the Penrith Panthers was born and still lives here.
 * Kurtley Beale, rugby union player for the New South Wales Waratahs was born here.
 * Michael Jennings, professional rugby league footballer for the Penrith Panthers was born and raised here.
 * Ben Creagh, rugby league, player for the St. George Illawarra Dragons was born and raised here.
 * Joseph Paulo, professional rugby league footballer for the Penrith Panthers was trained here and went to school near by.
 * Danny Galea, lived and went to school here.