Prospect, New South Wales

Prospect is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Prospect is located 32 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.

History
Prospect Hill was climbed by Watkin Tench and party on 26 June 1789 following the establishment of a settlement at Parramatta in November 1788. Tench does not name the hill in his account of that expedition but makes several references to Milton's Paradise Lost, in which there is also a reference to a "goodly prospect of some forein land" [sic]. It is likely therefore that the name was first suggested by Watkin Tench.

The earliest written reference to Prospect Hill that I have found is in connection with an after-dinner walk from Parramatta to the hill by Governor Phillip and Lieutenant(later Governor) Philip Gidley King in April 1790. King's account shows that the name Prospect Hill had become established by then.

There is a myth that Prospect Hill was the hill which Governor Arthur Phillip named 'Bellevue' on climbing it in April 1788. Close examination of the contemporary texts shows no evidence for this. As for Tench's Prospect Mount, it is nowhere near Prospect Hill but was climbed by a party led by Governor Phillip in April 1791 and so named by him. Tench was a member of the party. The incorrect information can be traced to a publication by Frances Pollen but may have oprginated earlier.

Shortly after 1808, William Lawson was appointed aide-de-camp to George Johnston and was granted 500 acre at Prospect, which he named Veteran Hall, and built a 40-room mansion there. He died on the property on 16 June 1850 and the property was eventually acquired by the Metropolitan Water Board. The house was demolished in 1926 and most of the property is submerged in what is now Prospect reservoir. .

The Emu and Prospect Gravel and Road Metal Company Limited opened a private railway line from Toongabbie to Prospect Quarry on 7 April 1902. Following the inability of the Government railway to supply rail wagons, trains stopped running on the line in 1945, however the rails remained in situ until the early 1960s.

Landmarks

 * Prospect Hill, though no longer in Prospect, is visible from many locations in the suburb. It is a noticeable landmark of historical importance in the early settlement history of New South Wales and the suburb takes its name from the hill. The hill is composed entirely of dolerite intruded into the Sydney Basin rocks during the Jurassic era.
 * Prospect reservoir is a water storage reservoir located at the headwaters of Prospect Creek.
 * St Bartholomew's Church of England is a brick church with a cemetery that contains the tomb of Lieutenant William Lawson and the graves of a number of pioneering families. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate.

Transport
Prospect is adjacent to the Great Western Highway and the M4 Motorway, providing road access to the western sections of the city and eastward to the Sydney CBD.

Prospect Highway links Prospect to central Blacktown.

Blacktown railway station provides access to the Cityrail and Countrylink networks, especially Cityrails' Western railway line. Several bus companies offer connecting services between Prospect and Blacktown, via Blacktown Road.

Notable residents
Notable people who have resided in the suburb include:
 * Natasha Crofts - Australian Mother of the Year in 2007