Mulgoa is a village, located 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 ...
, in the region of
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
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. Mulgoa is located approximately west of the
Sydney central business district.
Mulgoa covers an area of , south of the suburbs of
Regentville and
Glenmore Park.
History
Aboriginal culture
Mulgoa takes its name from the Mulgoa people, who were an
Aboriginal Australian people, the
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
inhabitants of the area who spoke the
Dharug 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 ...
. The name is believed to mean "
black swan". The Mulgoa were not the only inhabitants of the area; they shared the Mulgoa Valley with the
Gandangara people
The Gundungurra people, also spelt Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gandangara and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shir ...
of the Southern Highlands, whose territory extended up into the
Blue Mountains. The Aboriginal peoples mostly lived a
hunter-gatherer lifestyle governed by traditional laws, which had their origins in their
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
known as 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 ''
gunyah''. 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
yams, berries and other native plants.
European settlement
Following the arrival of the
First Fleet in Sydney, there were a number of bloody battles between the British settlers and the local Indigenous people in this area, however, it is believed that the Mulgoa people were generally peaceful and most of the clashes were with the
Gandangara
The Gundungurra people, also spelt Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gandangara and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shire ...
. The first government land grants in the area were made in 1810 to Edward Cox, the four-year-old son of Captain
William Cox, who constructed a famous road across the
Blue Mountains in 1814. William Cox built The Cottage on the land in about 1811. ''
Fernhill'', a much grander residence with associated gardens, now
heritage-listed, was completed in the 1840s, although the proposed second-storey was never added.
Not far away dwelt Cox's friend Sir
John Jamison, who erected the colony's finest mansion,
Regentville House, in 1824, on an eminence overlooking 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 ...
. In 1821, three large land grants were made on the Nepean at Mulgoa to the Norton family:
James Norton, the founder of Sydney's first law firm and his father and brother, Nathaniel.
["Norton, James (1795–1862)"](_blank)
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
The centre of Mulgoa's spiritual life in the colonial era was
St Thomas' Anglican Church, which dates from 1838. It was the first public building in the Mulgoa Valley and was constructed out of sandstone and cedar on paddocks donated by the Cox family, with Sir John Jamison serving as one of its patrons. The Reverend Thomas Cooper Makinson was St Thomas' inaugural rector. Attached to the church was Mulgoa's first school which operated until 1871–72, when the Mulgoa Provisional School replaced it.
In 1893, Mulgoa's population was sufficiently large to be granted the status of a municipality. Its area extended beyond the current suburb boundaries. In 1949, however, council rationalisations led to it merging with Penrith, St Marys and Castlereagh into a larger Penrith Municipality. These days, Mulgoa is still primarily a rural area.
Mulgoa Post Office opened on 1 September 1863.
20th century
In May 1942, during the Second World War and after the
bombing of Darwin
The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, ships in ...
, a group of Aboriginal children were evacuated from "
The Bungalow
The Bungalow was an institution for Aboriginal children established in 1914 in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. It existed at several locations in Alice Springs (then called Stuart), Jay Creek and the Alice Springs Tele ...
" in
Alice Springs,
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
to an
Anglican home Mulgoa. The group included
Rona and
Freda Glynn
Alfreda "Freda" Glynn (born 24 August 1939), also known as Freda Thornton, is a Kaytetye photographer and media specialist. She is known as co-founder of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association Group of Companies, which incorporate ...
,
as well as
John Kundereri Moriarty
John Kundereri "Jumbana" Moriarty (born ) is an Aboriginal Australian artist, government advisor and former soccer player. He is also known as founder of the Balarinji Design Studio, for painting two Qantas jets with Aboriginal motifs.
Today ...
.
The Church Missionary Society Home for Half-Castes existed between 1942 and 1947, run by the
Church Missionary Society
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
. It housed Aboriginal children aged 1–14, and some mothers, who came mainly from
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, the Northern Territory and
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
, with a few from New South Wales. They were evacuated by the Department of Native Affairs, under military orders. However the group of children did not leave Mulgoa until January 1949.
[
]
Heritage listings
Mulgoa has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Fairlight Road: Fairlight Homestead
* Mulgoa Road: Fernhill, Mulgoa
''Fernhill'' is a heritage-listed former chicken hatchery, plant nursery, guest house, farm, residence, stone mason's yard and piggery and now residence and horse stud located at 1041 Mulgoa Road, in the western Sydney suburb of in the City of ...
* 754-760 Mulgoa Road: Glenmore, Mulgoa
''Glenmore'' is a heritage-listed former farm, vineyard, rural residence and private school and now golf club and function centre located at 754-760 Mulgoa Road in the western Sydney suburb of Mulgoa in the City of Penrith local government ar ...
* St Thomas Road: St Thomas' Anglican Church, Mulgoa
St Thomas' Anglican Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church located in the western Sydney suburb of in the City of Penrith local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The church forms part of the Diocese of Sydney. It was design ...
* 2 St Thomas Road: Cox's Cottage
Transport
Mulgoa Road is the main road in the suburb, connecting with Penrith. 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 a bus route 795 which runs from Warragamba to Penrith along Mulgoa Road.
The iconic Mulgoa speedhump is known amongst the locals for its inability to slow cars down.
Education
There is a government-run primary school, Mulgoa Public School, and a privately run school, Nepean Christian School.
Demographics
The recorded population of Mulgoa in the was 1,898. The majority of residents are Australian born (79 per cent) with small minorities born in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
(2.8 per cent), Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(1.6 per cent), and Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
(1.5 per cent). The most common responses for religion were Catholic 36.7%, Anglican 24.7% and No Religion 14.1%. There are a large number of couples with children (52 per cent) and most houses are owned outright (42.6 per cent) or being paid off (41.9 per cent). The number of renters (12.9 per cent) was substantially less than the national average of 30.9 per cent. The median household income
Household income is a measure of the combined incomes of all people sharing a particular household or place of residence. It includes every form of income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, near cash government transfers like food stamp ...
($2,217 per week) was higher than the national average ($1,438).
Notable residents
* Edward Cox, a son of William Cox, and politician; and his son, Edward King Cox
Edward King Cox (28 June 1829 – 25 July 1883) was an Australian politician.
He was born in Mulgoa to pastoralist Edward Cox, who would also serve in the New South Wales Parliament, and Jane Maria Brooks. He studied sheep breeding in Brit ...
, also a politician.[
* Captain William Cox (1764–1837), Mulgoa pioneer, military officer, landowner and road-builder.][
* ]Robert Dulhunty
Robert Venour Dulhunty (1803 – 30 December 1853) is chiefly remembered as being the first permanent white settler of what has since become the City of Dubbo, in the rural heartland of the Australian state of New South Wales.
Early life
Robert ...
(1803–1853), landowner, police magistrate, alderman and founder of the Dubbo district in central-western New South Wales.
* Sir John Jamison Kt, MD (1776–1844), landowner, physician and Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales.
* The Reverend Thomas Cooper Makinson (1809–1893), Mulgoa's first resident Anglican clergyman and schoolmaster, who later converted to Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
* Emmanuel Margolin, entrepreneur and former operator of El Caballo Blanco El Caballo Blanco may refer to:
* El Caballo Blanco, Sydney
* El Caballo Blanco, Wooroloo
El Caballo Blanco (Spanish for The White Horse) was the name for an equine Andalusian theme park and resort that operated in the north-eastern Perth subur ...
, which contained Sydney's largest private zoo.
* Senator The Honourable Marise Payne
Marise Ann Payne (born 29 July 1964) is an Australian politician who served in the Morrison Government as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022 and as Minister for Women from 2019 to 2022. She has been a Senator for New South Wales si ...
.
* David Stove
David Charles Stove (15 September 1927 – 2 June 1994) was an Australian philosopher.
Philosophy
His work in philosophy of science included criticisms of David Hume's Inductive scepticism. He offered a positive response to the problem of ...
(1927-1994), philosopher.
Governance
At a local government level, Mulgoa is part of the south ward of Penrith City Council, 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 Mulgoa, represented by Tanya Davies, of the 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 ...
. 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 ...
, and 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