Rouse Hill, New South Wales

Rouse Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rouse Hill is located 42 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire. Rouse Hill is part of Greater Western Sydney and is in the Hills District.

History
Rouse Hill encompasses what was originally known as the Village of Aberdour along with the area originally known as Vinegar Hill following the convict rebellion of 1804. Vinegar Hill Post Office was renamed as Rouse Hill Post Office in 1858. The new name was chosen after the estate of Richard Rouse (1774-1852), a prominent free settler who arrived in the colony in 1801. His first grant here was in 1802 and his second grant was in 1816. Rouse built his home, Rouse Hill House, from 1813-18. Service wings and an arcaded courtyard were added circa 1863. The garden is probably the oldest intact garden in Australia. The building is now on the Register of the National Estate. Governor Lachlan Macquarie suggested the estate be called Rouse Hill. Rouse was the maiden name of a local resident, Mrs Terry. Rouse Hill is noteworthy in Australian history as the site of the main battle during an Irish rebellion, known as the Castle Hill rebellion or the second Battle of Vinegar Hill. On 4 March 1804, Irish convicts including political prisoners transported for participating in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, broke out of the Government Farm at Castle Hill, aiming to seize control of the area and to capture Parramatta. The uprising was crushed by the military authorities at Rouse Hill the following day with much loss of life. Many of the participants in the rebellion were summarily executed. The exact site of the Battle is uncertain but a monument with a plaque commemorating the event can be seen within Castlebrook Lawn Cemetery on Windsor Road in Kellyville Ridge.

Commercial area
Rouse Hill Town Centre built on the old golf course is a new town centre, owned and managed by The GPT Group, is located at the intersection of White Hart Drive and Windsor Roads. The first stage opened in September 2007 with the launch of the town centre on 6 March 2008. The first stage comprises Woolworths and Coles supermarkets, a food terrace, and 80 specialty stores. The second stage comprises Big W, Target, Reading Cinemas, an additional 130 specialty stores, a Community Centre, Library, Medical Centre, commercial and residential accommodation and the Secret Garden. The development has been integrated with the North-West T-way with provisions made for the proposed North West Rail Link.

Rouse Hill Village Centre which opened in 1999, is a small shopping centre located on Windsor Road. This complex features a major discount supermarket chain selling packaged groceries and perishables, as well as specialty shops and restaurants. The Terrace is another small shopping centre which was opened on Panmure Street in 2004.

Churches
Christ Church, located on Windsor Road, was built in 1863 for the United Church of England and Ireland (Warren et al. 2006). It was a church, school and the centre of most community events. In 2008, a Ministry and Education Centre opened alongside the restored Christ Church and the old hall built in 1908.

Education
In 2010, Chris Cooper performed Rouse Hill's first ever webinar.
 * Rouse Hill Public - Public Primary School
 * Ironbark Ridge Public - Public Primary School
 * Rouse Hill Anglican College - K-12 co-educational Christian day independent school
 * Rouse Hill High - Public High School
 * Our Lady of the Angels Primary - Catholic Primary School (due to be opened in 2010)

Transport
Rouse Hill is bisected by Windsor Road, which is now a major 4-lane road running from North Parramatta north-west to Windsor. Most residents of Rouse Hill are reliant on private cars for transport, with a high number of households having two or more cars.

Hillsbus provides services to Sydney CBD, Parramatta and Castle Hill, whilst Busways provides services to Blacktown, Riverstone and Castle Hill. In September 2007 the North-West T-way opened, providing a bus rapid transit service to Parramatta railway station.

The North West Rail Link is a proposed railway line running from Rouse Hill to Epping, where it will connect to the existing CityRail network.