What’s in a Name?
Since I started writing in this publication, many new residents have moved into the areas of the Hills and Hawkesbury districts. In this article I hope to explain the origins of various suburb and locality names.
AGNES BANKS, a locality in the Hawkesbury region, was named after Agnes Hilson, the mother of Andrew Thompson (1773-1810), who was described by Governor King as the “Father of Windsor”. Thompson was an ex-convict who received a grant of 840ha on the banks of the Nepean River near Yarramundi Lagoon. He named his parcel of land after his mother.
ANNANGROVE was a property owned by Lt-Col George Johnston who lived at Annandale and was famed for his role In putting down the Castle Hill Rebellion in 1804. He planted an orange grove on the property.
ARCADIA was originally part of a district called Galston Heights. It was named Arcadia in 1895, the name being derived from Greek mythology and meant to epitomise the pastoral character of the area.
BAULKHAM HILLS was in official use from about 1801-2 and was bestowed by Andrew McDougall, a Scotsman, who arrived in the district in 1798. He named the area after a village in Roxburgh, Scotland. I have also heard that the name was a corruption of Balcombe Hills. A section of the suburb is known as Balcombe Heights.
BEECROFT, appropriately named in 1886 when a large number of beehives existed in the area. Some say that the suburb was named, however, by the then Minister for Lands after the maiden names of his two wives , sisters Hannah and Mary Beecroft.
BELLA VISTA, once part of Baulkham Hills, was named after Bella Vista Farm. The property was owned by the Pearce family for over 100 years and was once a leading citrus farm for the colonies. A portion of the farm, including the home, remains today and is open to the public on the first Sunday of each month.
BOX HILL, named by wealthy ex-convict Samuel Terry after Box Hill, London.
CARLINGFORD was originally called Mobbs Hill after the Mobbs family who owned orchards in the district. It was renamed in the mid 1800’s after Lord Carlingford, Under-Secretary for the Colonies, at the request of residents of the area.
CASTLE HILL. The name was mentioned in dispatches by Governor King in March 1802 and is said to have arisen because of the splendid views from surrounding hills. It was also the site of a rebellion in 1804 by 300 Irish convicts.
CHERRYBROOK. The land was originally granted to to Mary Russell in the 1820s. A descendent, Mary Anne Thompson, inherited the land. She married Joseph Harrison in 1839 and they named the property after the cherry trees that they planted near a creek that ran through a portion of the preperty.
CLARENDON comes from Clarendon Park, an English Royal forest. In 1811 William Cox built a home there and called it Clarendon House. Cox built the first road across the Blue Mountains in 1814-15.
CONSTITUTION HILL, is part of Toongabbie, The name has been in use since 1797. It was the site where the rebels of the 1804 rebellion had gathered to attack the settlement of Parramatta. However they decided to head along the Windsor Rd towards Windsor and were then persued by Lt.-Col. Johnson’s troops.
MORE LOCALITY NAME ORIGINS WILL APPEAR IN FUTURE ISSUES
