Galston, New South Wales

Galston is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Galston is located 36 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Hornsby Shire and is part of the North Shore region.

History
The area was originally known as Upper Dural until early settler Alex Hutchinson suggested in 1886 that the new school be named Galston after the town of Galston, East Ayrshire in Scotland.

Landmarks
Galston Gorge is located between Galston and Hornsby Heights, Galston Gorge is at the bottom of Galston Road, a winding road with several hairpin bends.

Historic Waddell Cottage, which is the former family home of one of the original orchard growers in the area, is situated next to Galston High School. The historic 55 hectare Fagan Park is named after an early farming family. The last descendant, Bruce Fagan, specified in his will that the land be granted to Hornsby Shire Council and be developed into parkland. The original homestead, Netherby Cottage, has been converted into a museum overlooking over 15 acre of parkland. The park is popular with picnickers on public holidays such as Mother's Day and ANZAC Day.

History Cottage, owned by Hornsby Council and located next to Hayes Park (Galston Recreation Reserve), is the home of the Dural & District Historical Society. The Buddhist Golden Wheel Temple on Galston Road is a modern building with magnificent gardens tended by members of the temple community. The gardens, which feature flowering peach trees, are open to the public in early September each year.

Commercial areas
The Galston shopping village is on Galston Road. Franklins Supermarket is located here. The Galston Branch Library is situated in the deconsecrated Anglican Church opposite. Swane's Nursery on Galston Road is a regular stop for tour groups from all over Sydney. Until recently, this nursery with its ornamental gardens and magnificent rose displays was owned by the local Swane family.

There is no heavy industry in Galston. Many small businesses are run from homes in the area. Agriculture is a significant industry, with a number of orchards growing citrus, persimmons, strawberries and stone fruit. Some properties grow hydroponic produce. Chickens are raised on several properties with Summertime Chickens being one of the largest businesses in the area. There are numerous small specialist and larger retail plant nurseries in the Galston area.

Housing
There is a variety of housing available in Galston. There are a number of recently built modern brick townhouses and home units close in to the shopping village and several hundred modern brick dwellings in subdivisions near the village. Dwellings on the many 5 acre lots in the suburb range from older simple fibro and timber cottages to substantial, luxurious brick and tile residences.

Events
Hornsby Shire's largest annual community event, the Bushland Shire Festival, is held at Fagan Park every September and is organised by Hornsby Shire Council. Galston hosted the annual Galston Country Music Festival, which was held on a Sunday in early September. 2008 marked the last one that was held. Past performers at the festival included Troy Cassar-Daley, Kasey Chambers, Pat Drummond, The Bushwackers, Smoky Dawson, Normie Rowe, Nicki Gillis and the pop group Bella. Galston Rotary Club which hosted this event, patronised by the legendary Frank Ifield, now stages Opera by the Lake in Fagan Park on the first Sunday in May. The Galston SpringFest (started in 1982/3 by Galston Rotary as the Galston Spring Festival) is also held in early September each year. The Galston Garden Club holds an Open Gardens Weekend each October where several local gardens are open to public view. Galston also hosts the Rotary Scarecrow festival where families and friends gather to create the best scarecrow.