The Hills Centre was a modern brutalist complex of civic buildings in

Castle Hill, New South Wales Castle Hill is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, located 34 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 9.5 kilometres north of Parramatta. It is within the Hills District region, split between the loc ...

opened in stages between 1982 and 1988, and demolished in 2013. The complex included a 1,678-seat auditorium called the Hills Entertainment Centre, a council works depot and the

Baulkham Hills Shire Council The Hills Shire (from 1906–2008 as Baulkham Hills Shire) is a local government area in the Greater Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is north-west of the Sydney central business district, and encompasses stretchi ...

(later The Hills Shire Council) chambers. The auditorium played host to early meetings of Hillsong Church before the group moved to a purpose-built facility nearby. The Entertainment Centre foyer was dominated by a large mural: a Cubism-inspired work depicting various aspects of the performing arts, made up of thousands of ceramic pieces. The mural was the work of local artist Vladimir Tichy, who maintained a studio on the premises of a local brickworks. During the development of the site, pavers were purchased by community members; these pavers had the names of individuals and families on them and were placed in the grounds of the Entertainment Centre for "posterity". It is not known if the pavers had been saved or relocated following demolition.

North West Rail Link proposal

In the 2000s, "Hills Centre" appeared on maps as a possible station for future railway lines, including the North West Rail Link (NWRL) and

North West Metro Sydney Metro was a proposed rapid transit railway network in Sydney, intended to connect the central business district (CBD) with the inner and outer city suburbs Rouse Hill, Westmead, Malabar and lower North Shore. Initially proposed in 200 ...

. The station would have been on the site of the Castle Hill Showground, which would have faced demolition as a result. After the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governme ...

determined to proceed with the NWRL in 2011, community feedback led to the station being shifted from the showground site, which had heritage significance, to the Hills Centre site opposite. The station was renamed Hills Showground as a result. Despite some local opposition to the change – the Hills Centre was of particular significance to a generation of school students who had performed there over the years – the site was compulsorily acquired by

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

in 2013. The buildings were demolished soon after. The Council moved to new offices in nearby

Baulkham Hills Baulkham Hills is a suburb in the Hills District of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 30 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district within the local government area of The Hills Shire. Ba ...

. School performances shifted to the Hillsong Centre, Parramatta Riverside Theatres and other venues. The station opened as part of

Sydney Metro Northwest Sydney Metro Northwest was a rapid transit project involving the construction of a rail line through the north-western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The line included the conversion of the existing Epping to Chatswood Ra ...

in May 2019.

References

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Former music venues in Australia Castle Hill, New South Wales 1982 establishments in Australia 2013 disestablishments in Australia Buildings and structures demolished in 2013 Event venues established in 1982 Demolished buildings and structures in New South Wales {{NewSouthWales-struct-stub