Jamisontown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It is 56 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the

City of Penrith The City of Penrith is a local government area in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The seat of the city is located in Penrith, located about west of Sydney's central business district. It occupies part of the traditional lands of the ...

, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. It is on the eastern side of the

Nepean River Nepean River (Darug: Yandhai), is a major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River and its associated mouth, the Hawkesbury River, almost encircles the metropolitan region of ...

, just south of Penrith and bears the name of

Thomas Jamison Thomas Jamison ( – 25 January 1811) was a naval surgeon, who was surgeon mate on as part First Fleet which founded Colony of New South Wales in 1788. He was surgeon at the Norfolk Island settlement, before returning to Sydney and becoming pr ...

, a pioneer landowner and First Fleet surgeon.

History

Aboriginal culture

Prior to European settlement, what is now Jamisontown was home to the Mulgoa people who spoke the

Darug language The Dharug language, also spelt Darug, Dharuk, and other variants, and also known as the Sydney language, Gadigal language ( Sydney city area), is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Yuin–Kuric group that was traditionally spoken in th ...

. They lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle governed by traditional laws, which had their origins in the

Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...

. Their homes were bark huts called 'gunyahs'. They hunted

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

s and

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...

s for meat, and gathered sweet potatoes, berries and other native plants.

European settlement

In 1805, the then Surgeon-General (Principal Surgeon) of the Colony of New South Wales,

(1752/53-1811), was granted on the banks of the Nepean River, to the south of what is now Jamison Road. Later, the property passed to his son, Sir John Jamison (1776–1844), Kt, MD, MLC - a celebrated physician, land owner and political reformer, who erected a splendid mansion (since destroyed by fire) on the nearby Regentville estate during the 1820s. The land at Jamisontown stayed rural for the next 150 years or so. In 1911, it was the departure point for the first cross-country flight in Australia, made by William Ewart Hart. In the 1960s the area began to be subdivided and developed and in 1976, Jamisontown was officially gazetted as a neighbourhood. ''Jamison Town'' Post Office opened on 10 May 1889 and closed in 1931. The sikh locals formed Sydney Gurdwara Penrith (Sikh Association of Australia) as well.

Transport

Mulgoa Road is the main road in the suburb, connecting with both Penrith and the

M4 Western Motorway The M4 Motorway is a dual carriageway partially tolled motorway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is designated as the M4 route. The M4 designation is part of the wider A4 and M4 route designation, the M4 runs parallel/below grou ...

which in turn provides quick connection to greater Sydney and the Blue Mountains. The nearest railway station is at Penrith on the Western Line of the

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban-suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...

network.

Busways Busways is an Australian bus company operating services in Sydney, and in the Central Coast, Great Lakes, Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales and Adelaide. It is the largest privately owned bus operator in Australia. History The ...

provides three bus services in the area with route 791 connecting Jamisontown to Penrith, route 795 connecting to Penrith and

Mulgoa Mulgoa is a village, located in the local government area of the City of Penrith, in the region of western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mulgoa is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district. Mu ...

, and route 797 connecting to Penrith and Glenmore Park.

Local Attractions

The

Penrith Ice Palace The Penrith Ice Palace (also known as Penrith Ice Rink.) was an ice sports and public skate centre, located west of Sydney in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. It permanently closed on Wednesday 29 June 2022 It served as the home ice rink ...

is located in Jamisontown close to the river.

Education

Jamisontown Public School is the only school in the suburb. Jamison High School is actually located in South Penrith.

Population

Demographics

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 5,500 people in Jamisontown. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.2% of the population. * The most common ancestries were English 28.4%, Australian 27.3%, Irish 8.6%, Scottish 6.6% and German 3.1% * 74.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 4.7%. * 83.6% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Catholic 28.4%, No Religion 23.9% and Anglican 22.3%.

Notable residents

(1745–1811), NSW surgeon-general and colonial landholder in Jamisontown.

Governance

At a local government level, Jamisontown is part of the south ward of

Penrith City Council The City of Penrith is a local government area in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The seat of the city is located in Penrith, located about west of Sydney's central business district. It occupies part of the traditional lands of the ...

, represented by Jim Aitken, Mark Davies, Karen McKeown, Susan Page and Gary Rumble. The current mayor is Pat Sheehy. At the state level, it is part of the

Electoral district of Penrith Penrith is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales since 1973. It has been represented by Stuart Ayres of the Liberal Party since the 2010 by-election. It was a safe seat for most of its ...

, represented by

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Stuart Ayres. Federally, it is part of the

Division of Lindsay The Division of Lindsay is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. Ever since Lindsay was first contested at the 1984 federal election the seat had always elected a member of the government of the day − a pattern ...

, represented by

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Melissa McIntosh.

References

External links

Penrith Local Suburb Profiles
{{Sydney Penrith suburbs Suburbs of Sydney City of Penrith