Western Suburbs, Sydney
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Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
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 ...
(NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, and far western sub-regions within Sydney's metropolitan area and encompasses 13
local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phrase i ...
:
Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown,
Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs o ...
,
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
, Fairfield,
Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to: People *Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman Places ;Geography *Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada * Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...
,
Hills Shire 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 stre ...
,
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
, Penrith and
Wollondilly Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollon ...
. It includes Western Sydney, which has a number of different definitions, although the one consistently used is the region composed of ten local government authorities, most of which are members of the
Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) (pronounced 'wesrock') is one of the oldest Regional Organisations of Councils or ROCs in NSW, Australia. It was formed in November 1973 to represent the councils of Western Sydney and to a ...
(WSROC). Penrith, Hills Shire & Canterbury-Bankstown are not WSROC members. The NSW Government's Office of Western Sydney calls the region "Greater Western Sydney".
Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...
suggests human activity occurred in the Sydney metropolitan area from around 30,000 years ago. The
Darug people The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...
lived in the area that was greater western Sydney before European settlement regarded the region as rich in food from the river and forests.
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
was founded in 1788, the same year as Sydney, making it the second oldest city in Australia. Opened in 1811,
Parramatta Road Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. Since the 1990s its role has been a ...
, which navigates into the heart of greater western Sydney, is one of Sydney's oldest roads and Australia's first highway between two cities –
Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...
(CBD) and Parramatta, which is now the sixth largest business district in Australia. Rapid population increase after World War II saw the settlement of many ex-service men and migrants in the greater west, making it one of the most urbanised regions in the country and an area of growing national importance. Being the third largest
economy in Australia Australia is a highly developed country with a mixed-market economy. As of 2022, Australia was the 14th-largest national economy by nominal GDP (Gross Domestic Product), the 20th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP, and was the 22nd-largest goods e ...
, behind Sydney CBD and
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, the region covers and is one of the fastest growing populations in Australia, with an estimated resident population of 2,288,554 in 2017. Western Sydney has the most multicultural suburbs in the country with 38% of the population speaking a language other than English at home, and up to 90% in some suburbs. Containing about 9% of Australia's population and 44% of Sydney's population, the people of GWS are predominantly of a working class background, with major employment in the heavy industries and vocational trade. Encompassing significant areas of national parks, waterways and parklands, agricultural lands, natural bushland and a range of recreational and sporting facilities, the region also largely contains remnants of critically endangered native Cumberland Plain Bushland and
World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
-listed areas of the Blue Mountains. The
Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to: People *Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman Places ;Geography *Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada * Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...
and
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 ...
system is Sydney's firsthand water source and the mainstay of the region's agricultural and fishing industries, and is also major recreational area for the inhabitants of GWS. The heritage-listed
Warragamba Dam Warragamba Dam is a heritage-listed dam in the outer South Western Sydney suburb of Warragamba, New South Wales, Warragamba, Wollondilly Shire in New South Wales, Australia. It is a concrete gravity dam, which creates Lake Burragorang, the prima ...
, the primary reservoir for water supply for Sydney, is located in the greater west.


History


Indigenous settlement

Near Penrith, numerous Aboriginal stone tools were found in Cranebrook Terraces gravel sediments dating to 50,000–45,000 BP. For more than 30,000 years, Aboriginal people from 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 ...
tribe have lived in the Fairfield area. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the Penrith area was home to the Mulgoa tribe of the
Darug people The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...
, who spoke the
Eora language The Dharug language, also spelt Darug, Dharuk, and other variants, and also known as the Sydney language, Gadigal language (Sydney city centre, Sydney city area), is an Australian Aboriginal languages, Australian Aboriginal language of the Yui ...
. They lived in makeshift huts called ''gunyahs'', hunted native animals such as kangaroos, and fished in the Nepean River. The
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
area was once used by Dharug people as a market place for the exchange of goods between them and
Dharawal people The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...
on the coast. The area that later became Campbelltown was inhabited prior to European settlement by the
Tharawal people The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...
. For more than 30,000 years, Aboriginal people from 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 ...
tribe have lived in the Fairfield area. The people of what is now known as Carlingford, a suburb on the eastern peripheries of the greater west, were the
Wallumedegal The Wallumettagal or Wallumedegal (derived from ''wallumai'', meaning snapper (fish)) tribe was an indigenous Aboriginal tribe that inhabited the area of Sydney today known as the Ryde–Hunters Hill area of the Northern Suburbs. Common Abo ...
people, who practised
fire-stick farming Fire-stick farming, also known as cultural burning and cool burning, is the practice of Aboriginal Australians regularly using fire to burn vegetation, which has been practised for thousands of years. There are a number of purposes for doing this ...
along the northern banks of the Parramatta River, which encouraged animals to graze, thus enhancing the ease of
hunting and gathering A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
. Most of the natives died due to introduced diseases, such as
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, following the arrival of the
First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
, and the remainder were largely relocated to government farms and a series of settlements.


European colony

Old Toongabbie Old Toongabbie is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. History Toongabbie is derived ...
is noted for being the third settlement set up after the British occupation of Australia began in 1788 after Sydney and Parramatta, respectively. During that year, Governor
Arthur Phillip Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 unti ...
had reconnoitred several places before choosing Parramatta as the most likely place for a successful large farm. The
Sydney Cove Sydney Cove (Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locatio ...
region originally settled in 1788 turned out to be unsuitable for farming, and after a number of years of near-
famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
in the colony, efforts were made to relocate
food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...
inland to hopefully more climatically stable regions. Phillip sent exploratory missions in search of better soils and fixed on the Parramatta region as a promising area for expansion and moved many of the
convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...
from late 1788 to establish a small township, which became the main centre of the colony's economic life. Nevertheless, poor equipment and unfamiliar
soils Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former term ...
and climate continued to hamper the expansion of farming from Farm Cove to Parramatta and
Toongabbie Toongabbie is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. One of the oldest suburbs in Sydney, Toongabbie is located approximately 30 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater W ...
. In February 1793, the Auburn area was established as the first free-agricultural settlement thanks to Governor Phillip's repeated applications to the British government for free settlers, and by the end of that decade Prospect,
West Pennant Hills West Pennant Hills is a suburb in the Hills District of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. West Pennant Hills is located 20 km north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of The Hills Shire and Horn ...
,
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. Baulkh ...
and
Greystanes Greystanes is a suburb in Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Greystanes is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Cumberland Council. Founded in the late 1790s, Grey ...
were established. Eighteen months after the landing of the First Fleet, an exploring party led by Captain
Watkin Tench Lieutenant General Watkin Tench (6 October 1758 – 7 May 1833) was a British marine officer who is best known for publishing two books describing his experiences in the First Fleet, which established the first European settlement in Australia in ...
set out to further findings made by Governor Phillip where, in 1789, they discovered the broad expanse 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 ...
and Penrith.
Windsor Road Windsor Road is a notable road in the Hills District of Sydney. It starts from Windsor, New South Wales and ends at Northmead, New South Wales. However, Windsor Road is not continuous. The northern section of Windsor Road (Windsor to Kellyvil ...
, one of the oldest roads in Sydney, was opened in 1794.Old Windsor Road and Windsor Road Heritage Precincts
''Roads and Transport Authority'', Published on 16 November 2010, Retrieved on 16 July 2013
In 1795,
Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
and
George Bass George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia. Early years Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George ...
explored up the
Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...
for about 20 miles beyond what had been previously surveyed, and reported favourably to Governor John Hunter of the land on its banks. The earliest recorded white settlement in the Fairfield district is described in William Bradley's Journal where he noted an expedition from Rose Hill to Prospect Creek to determine whether Prospect Creek led to
Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
. The
Battle of Parramatta The Battle of Parramatta was a battle of the Australian Frontier Wars which occurred in Sydney on March 1797. In the conflict, Aboriginal resistance leader Pemulwuy led a group of Bidjigal warriors, estimated to be at least 100, in an attack on ...
, a major battle of the
Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars The Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars (1794–1816) were a series of conflicts where British forces, including armed settlers and detachments of the British Army in Australia, fought against Indigenous clans inhabiting the Hawkesbury River region and ...
, occurred in March 1797 where resistance leader
Pemulwuy Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in th ...
led a group of
Bidjigal The Bidjigal (also spelt Bediagal, Bejigal, Bedegal or Biddegal) people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are modern-day western, north-western, south-eastern, and southern Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...
warriors, estimated to be at least 100, in an attack on a government farm at Toongabbie, challenging the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
to fight. On 4 March 1804 Irish convicts rose up in
Rouse Hill Rouse Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rouse Hill is located in the Hills District, 43 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 19 kilometres north-west of the Parramatta central ...
as one, in what was to become known as the
Castle Hill convict rebellion The Castle Hill convict rebellion was an 1804 convict rebellion in the Castle Hill area of Sydney, against the colonial authorities of the British colony of New South Wales. The rebellion culminated in a battle fought between convicts and the ...
. Governor
Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...
and Mrs Macquarie preferred the clean air of rural Parramatta to the unsanitary and crime-ridden streets of Sydney CBD and transformed
Old Government House, Parramatta } The Old Government House is a heritage-listed former "country" residence used by ten early governors of New South Wales between 1800 and 1847, located in Parramatta Park in Parramatta, New South Wales, in the greater metropolitan area of Wes ...
, into an elegant
Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
-style home in the English manner. Originally constructed under Governor Hunter in 1799 to reflect the economic importance of the Parramatta district, the building remains today Australia's oldest public building and was given World Heritage Listing by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
in 2010. In 1803 a government stock farm was established in what was to become the Riverstone/
Marsden Park Marsden Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marsden Park is located north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Blacktown local government area and is part of the Greater Western Sydney ...
area, on the basis of the abundant water supply and good grazing land there, and also in Smithfield, due to its good soil and dependable
water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
.
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
is the fourth-oldest place of British settlement on the
Australian continent The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, Meganesia, or Papualand to distinguish it from the Australia, country of Australia, is located within the Southern ...
, where European settlers utilised the fertile river flats for agriculture. Governor
Phillip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a British politician who was the third Governor of New South Wales. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detailed to colonise Norfolk Island for defence ...
began granting land in the area to settlers in 1804 with Captain
Daniel Woodriff Captain Daniel Woodriff (17 November 1756 – 25 February 1842) was a British Royal Navy officer and navigator in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. He made two voyages to Australia. He was Naval Agent on the convict transport ...
's on the banks of the river the first land grant in the area.


Urban development

Liverpool Hospital Liverpool Hospital is located in the South Western Sydney suburb of Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia and is a 50-minute drive from the Sydney CBD. It is the second largest hospital in New South Wales (behind Westmead Hospital) and one of t ...
was founded on a portion of land beside the
Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...
, making it the second oldest hospital in Australia. Fairfield railway station was opened in 1856 and has the oldest surviving railway building in New South Wales.
Quarrying A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...
in the Prospect area began in the 1820s and naturalist
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
visited Prospect Hill in January 1836, to observe the geology. Designed and constructed by the NSW Public Works Department,
Prospect Reservoir The Prospect Reservoir is a heritage-listed potable water supply and storage reservoir (water), reservoir created by the Prospect Dam, across the Prospect Creek (New South Wales), Prospect Creek located in the Western Sydney suburb of Prospec ...
was built as Sydney's main water supply in the 1880s. The
Upper Nepean Scheme The Upper Nepean Scheme is a series of dams and weirs in the catchments of the Cataract, Cordeaux, Avon and Nepean rivers of New South Wales, Australia. The scheme includes four dams and two weirs, and a gravity-fed canal system that feeds int ...
was commenced in 1880 after it was realised that the
Botany Swamps The Botany Water Reserves are a heritage-listed former water supply system and now parkland and golf course at 1024 Botany Road, Mascot, Bayside Council, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by City Engineers, W. B. Rider, E. Bel ...
scheme was insufficient to meet Sydney's water supply needs. By the latter part of the nineteenth century coarse-grained
picrite Picrite basalt or picrobasalt is a variety of high-magnesium olivine basalt that is very rich in the mineral olivine. It is dark with yellow-green olivine phenocrysts (20-50%) and black to dark brown pyroxene, mostly augite. The olivine-rich p ...
, and other
dolorite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...
rock types were being extracted from William Lawson's estate on the west and north sides of Prospect Hill.
Lansvale Lansvale is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 28 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, the other side of Chipping Norton and its lake, in the Local government in Australia, local government ...
was a popular recreational site of the early 20th century due to its waterways and meadows. During World War II,
Bankstown Airport Bankstown Airport is an airport and business park located in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, approximately from the Sydney Central Business District (CBD), Australia and west of Sydney Airport. It is situated on of land and has three paral ...
was established as a key strategic air base to support the war effort and the control of Bankstown Airport was handed to US Forces. Campbelltown was designated in the early 1960s as a
satellite city Satellite cities or satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a principal city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere suburbs, subdivisions and especially bedroom communities in that they have mun ...
by the New South Wales Planning Authority, and a regional capital for the south west of Sydney. Until the 1950s, Liverpool was still a satellite town with an agricultural economy based on poultry farming and
market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to ...
. However the urban sprawl of Sydney across the
Cumberland Plain The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the ...
soon reached Liverpool, and it became an outer suburb of metropolitan Sydney with a strong working-class presence and manufacturing facilities. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was a large amount of suburban development both in the current suburb of
Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
and the new suburbs that sprung up around it, which led to civic development in the town centre with the Blacktown Hospital opening in 1965. In the 1960s and 1970s, migration from south-east Asia as a result of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
transformed
Cabramatta Cabramatta ('Cabra') is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Cabramat ...
into a thriving Asian community. Also in the 1970s, an influx of Middle Eastern immigrants, namely
Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may also include those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains prior to the creation ...
, settled in
Lidcombe Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...
,
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
and the surrounding suburbs. Opened in December 1985, in
Eastern Creek Eastern Creek is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Creek is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the Blacktown local government area and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. E ...
,
Wonderland Sydney Wonderland Sydney (originally known as Australia's Wonderland), was an amusement park in Eastern Creek, Sydney, Australia. Officially opened in December 1985 by the Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, the park was the largest in the southe ...
was the largest
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
in the southern hemisphere until its closure in 2004. In 2015, the Abbott government granted 12,000 extra humanitarian visas to persecuted Christians, largely the Assyrians, in the war-torn Middle Eastern countries, which were admitted to Australia as part of its one-off humanitarian intake, with half of them primarily settling in Fairfield and also Liverpool.


Geography


Topography

The Greater Western Sydney region spans from
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
in the north to Campbelltown in the south,
Lidcombe Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...
and
Roselands Roselands is a suburb to the south-west of the Sydney CBD, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Roselands is located 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown. It is one of ...
in the east, with the A3 creating the boundary between the greater west and
inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...
, to Penrith and the lower parts of the Blue Mountains in the far west. The 151st meridian east passes through the heart of western Sydney, namely in the suburbs of Castle Hill,
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
, Granville, and Revesby, with the suburbs west of those being on the eastern end of the 150th meridian, which is a line that passes through the Russian city of
Magadan Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a port town and the administrative center of Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayev Bay (within Taui Bay) and serving as a gateway to the Kolyma region. History Maga ...
in the northern hemisphere. In 1820s, Peter Cunningham described the country west of Parramatta and
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
as "a fine timbered country, perfectly clear of
bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...
, through which you might, generally speaking, drive a gig in all directions, without any impediment in the shape of rocks,
scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," o ...
, or close forest". This confirmed earlier accounts by Governor
Arthur Phillip Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 unti ...
, who suggested that the trees were "growing at a distance of some twenty to forty feet from each other, and in general entirely free from brushwood..." Greater western Sydney predominantly lie on the
Cumberland Plain The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the ...
and are relatively flat in contrast to the above regions. The region is situated on a
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...
, thanks to the Hills District to the northeast, where they tend to be drier than the coast and less lush than the hilly Northern Suburbs. However, there are still a number of ridgy areas on the plain —
Western Sydney Parklands The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ...
, one of the largest parklands in the world, and Prospect Hill, the only area in Sydney with ancient
volcanic activity Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called a ...
, are between high. Highly elevated suburbs, which typically range between in height, include
Leppington Leppington is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Leppington is located 38 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Liverpool and Camden Counci ...
and Oran Park to the southwest,
Pemulwuy Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in th ...
, Cecil Hills and
Horsley Park Horsley Park is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Horsley Park is located 39 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Horsley Park is part of the G ...
to the greater west, and
Greystanes Greystanes is a suburb in Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Greystanes is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Cumberland Council. Founded in the late 1790s, Grey ...
, Seven Hills and
Mount Druitt Mount Druitt is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney reg ...
to the northwest.


Ecology

The main
plant communities A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant co ...
in the Greater Western Sydney region are
sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaf, leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is paral ...
grassy woodlands (i.e.
savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
s), dry sclerophyll forests and small pockets of wet sclerophyll forests to the northeast as one approaches the
Hornsby Plateau The Hornsby Plateau is a dissected sandstone plateau lying to the north of Sydney Harbour that rises 200 metres. The plateau is a part of the larger Sydney Basin structure. Geography The North Shore and the Berowra Valley National Park are locat ...
. The grassy woodlands contain eucalyptus trees which are usually in open woodlands that have sclerophyllous shrubs and sparse grass in the
understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...
, reminiscent of
Mediterranean forest Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...
s. It has been calculated that around 98,000 hectares of native vegetation remains in the Sydney metropolitan area, about half of what is likely to have been existing at the time of European arrival. The endemic flora is home to a variety of
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
,
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
,
reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
and
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
species, which are conspicuous in urban areas. Introduced species, Introduced birds such as the house sparrow, common myna and feral pigeon are ubiquitous in the CBD areas of Sydney. Phalangeriformes, Possums, bandicoots, rabbits, feral cats, lizards, snakes and frogs may also be present in the urban environment, albeit seldom in city centres.Williams, J. et al. 2001
''Biodiversity, Australia State of the Environment Report 2001'' (Theme Report)
CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra.


Geology

The Sydney area lies on Triassic shales and sandstones with low rolling hills and wide valleys in a
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...
area. Sydney sprawls over two major regions: the
Cumberland Plain The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the ...
, a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney Harbour, and the
Hornsby Plateau The Hornsby Plateau is a dissected sandstone plateau lying to the north of Sydney Harbour that rises 200 metres. The plateau is a part of the larger Sydney Basin structure. Geography The North Shore and the Berowra Valley National Park are locat ...
, a plateau north of the Harbour rising to 200 metres and dissected by steep valleys. Sydney's native plant species are predominantly eucalyptus trees, and its soils are usually red and yellow in texture. At a time in the past, monocline formed to the west of Sydney. The monocline is a sloping bend that raises the sandstone well above where it is expected to be seen, and this is why the whole of the visible top of the Blue Mountains is made of sandstone. Sandstone slopes in the Sydney area are on three sides: to the west the Blue Mountains, and to the north and south, the Hornsby and Woronora plateau. The centre of the Sydney basin is located beneath Fairfield, New South Wales, Fairfield. Bringelly Shale and Minchinbury Sandstone are often seen in the greater western parts of Sydney, which are part of the Wianamatta Shale group. The Prospect dolerite intrusion in
Pemulwuy Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in th ...
is the largest assemblage of igneous rock in Sydney. The oval-shaped ridge was made many millions of years ago when volcanic material from the Earth's upper mantle (Earth), upper mantle moved upwards and then sideways. Swamps and lagoons are existent on the floodplain 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 ...
, one being Bents Basin, which is also a recreational area. Parramatta River drains a large area of Sydney's western suburbs. With 5,005,400 inhabitants (as of 2016) and an urban population density of 2037 people per square kilometre, Sydney's urban area covers , comprising 35% of Sydney and is constantly growing. The south and southwest of Sydney is drained by the
Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...
, flowing north from its source near Appin, towards
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and then turning east towards
Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
. Minor waterways draining Sydney's western suburbs include South Creek, New South Wales, South Creek and
Eastern Creek Eastern Creek is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Creek is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the Blacktown local government area and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. E ...
, flowing into the Hawkesbury, and Prospect Creek draining into the Georges River. Cowan Creek and Berowra Creek run north from the Upper North Shore to the Hawkesbury river.


Climate

Western Sydney experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: ''Cfa'') with the annual temperatures having an average maximum of and a minimum of , making the region a few degrees warmer than the Sydney CBD. Maximum summer temperatures average at around and winter temperatures are mild, averaging at around , depending on the location. Autumn and spring are the transitional seasons, with spring showing a larger variation than autumn in terms of temperatures. Rainfall is almost evenly spread throughout the year, although the first few months tend to be wetter, namely February through to April. The months from July through to December tend to be drier (late winter through to early summers). Thunderstorms are common in late summer and early autumn. Winters are pleasantly cool and relatively sunny (especially August), although Australian east coast low, east coast lows can bring large amounts of rainfall, especially in June. Most suburbs in the west have an annual precipitation that averages at around , in contrast to Sydney CBD's . Sydney usually experiences a Southeast Australian foehn, föhn effect that originates from the Great Dividing Range, where the lifting of winds on the windward side of the Blue Mountains forces the air to gradually warm up and lose moisture as the winds descend into the Sydney basin. They may exacerbate fire danger in the warm months, although they usually tend to occur between late winter and early spring when westerlies, westerly cold fronts become more frequent and would therefore be rain shadow, blocked by the ranges – This phenomenon thereby permits the late winter and early spring period to feature the highest amount of clear days in the year. It should be worth noting that Richmond, New South Wales, Richmond features the greatest temperature range ever recorded in Australia; to . ;Summer Western Sydney is much warmer than Sydney city in summer. During this time, daytime temperatures can be warmer than the city (in extreme cases the West can even be microclimate, hotter). This is because sea breezes in the City do not penetrate the inland areas. Northwesterlies occasionally bring hot winds from the Australian desert, desert that raise temperatures as high as . Though southerly busters may still end the hot conditions. The humidity in the summer is usually in the comfortable range, though some days can be slightly humid (due to the ocean proximity) or very arid, dry (due to the heat from the Australian outback, desert). ;Autumn In early autumn, hot days are possible, with temperatures above possible in March, but quite rare. April is cooler, with days above happening on average only 1.1 times during the month. Days cooler than occur more regularly leading into May. In May, days are usually mild, ranging from , but can get quite cold, with maximums of or lower starting to occur. Average minimums fall throughout the season, with the first night below often occurring in April. ;Winter Winter temperatures often show a higher variation in late winter than early winter, with a day or two in August occasionally reaching above , which is unknown in June and July. Winter nights average , although a few nights per year see temperatures fall below , mostly in July. Nights reaching below more often occur in the far-western suburbs, such as Campbelltown, New South Wales, Campbelltown, Camden, New South Wales, Camden, Penrith and Richmond. These low temperatures often occur when the night sky is clear and the ground can radiate heat back into the atmosphere. Winter nights, though, are typically a few degrees cooler and frost is not uncommon in some areas, especially those in the far west such as Penrith and Richmond, New South Wales, Richmond. ;Spring Spring temperatures are highly variable, with temperatures fluctuating quite often. September will normally see one day reaching above , and extremely rarely, above . Cool days in September can occur, occasionally failing to reach . October and November show high variability, where hot north-westerlies can cause temperatures to rise above , and even above in November, while cool days below are also quite common. The average minimum temperature increases throughout the season, September can still have nights falling below . October and November occasionally have nights falling below .


Climate data


Demographics


Languages

The residents of GWS come from more than 170 countries and speak over 100 different languages and 12% of them, namely the newcomers, do not speak English very well. Cabramatta is made up of 87.7% of people from non-English speaking backgrounds, the highest anywhere in Australia (excluding remote indigenous communities). Other Western Sydney suburbs, such as Fairfield, New South Wales, Fairfield, Bankstown and Canley Vale, are also over 80%. Although many of these communities are Australian-born (including Arabic speakers, with about 50% born therein), Western Sydney still is the main centre of Australian migration, with 60% of new arrivals settling in greater western Sydney in between 2006 and 2011, with the majority coming from India, China, Iraq, the Philippines and Vietnam. Furthermore, GWS also has more Indigenous Australian residents than either South Australia or Victoria, making it the largest indigenous community in Australia. These are some of the largest population groups of Australia's non-English speakers found in Western Sydney: *62% of Assyrian Neo-Aramaic speakers *50% of Akan language, Akan speakers *48% of Lao language, Lao speakers *45% of Arabic language, Arabic speakers *43% of Kurdish languages, Kurdish speakers *37% of Tongan language, Tongan speakers *34% of Samoan language, Samoan speakers *33% of Hindi language, Hindi speakers *29% of Vietnamese language, Vietnamese *28% of Filipino language, Filipino/Tagalog language, Tagalog speakers *28% of Tamil language, Tamil speakers *27% of Maltese language, Maltese speakers


Religion

Western Sydney is the most religious and socially conservative region in Sydney. Previously, the districts of Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire in the north were the most religious areas in Sydney, and were formerly known as being part of Sydney's "bible belt". Today however, the western suburbs have become Sydney's so-called believer belt, with a high proportion of believers found in a band of suburbs that span the cities of Liverpool, Fairfield, Cumberland and Canterbury-Bankstown. According to the Bureau of Statistics, areas with the highest percentage of Christians were found in the western and south-western Sydney, south-western suburbs such as, Bossley Park (85%), Grasmere, New South Wales, Grasmere (82.3%), Theresa Park, New South Wales, Theresa Park (81.1%), Abbotsbury (81%) and
Horsley Park Horsley Park is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Horsley Park is located 39 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Horsley Park is part of the G ...
(79.6%), with the most popular denominations being Catholic and Anglican, respectively. The suburbs east of those, in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, had a high amount of Islamic adherents, such as Lakemba, New South Wales, Lakemba (59.2%), South Granville, New South Wales, South Granville (49%) and Old Guildford (45.9%). Buddhism was the common response in the suburbs of
Cabramatta Cabramatta ('Cabra') is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Cabramat ...
, Canley Vale, New South Wales, Canley Vale and Canley Heights, New South Wales, Canley Heights, with 43.0%, 37.1% and 38.4% adhering to it, respectively. In Harris Park, New South Wales, Harris Park, to the northwest, Hinduism was the common religion with 44.8% of its inhabitants practicing it. Westmead, New South Wales, Westmead (40.8%),
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
(28.5%) and Rosehill, New South Wales, Rosehill (24.0%) also had Hinduism as the most common faith. File:Auburn Gallipoli Mosque.JPG, Auburn Gallipoli Mosque File:(1)St Patricks Cathedral Parramatta-1.jpg, St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta, St Patrick's Cathedral Saint Hurmizd cathedral.jpg, Assyrian Church of the East in Greenfield Park, New South Wales, Greenfield Park File:Bonnyrigg Buddhist temple.jpg, Buddhist temple in Bonnyrigg, New South Wales, Bonnyrigg OldGuildfordChurch.jpg, Arabic Baptist Church in Old Guildford Guildford St Marys Anglican Church.JPG, St Mary's Anglican Church in Guildford, New South Wales, Guildford


Society

The region's major city centre is Parramatta, and the rest of the LGAs are growing immensely when it comes population, economic opportunity and environmental diversity. In the early 2010s, urban development has occurred in places like Camden, Campbelltown and Penrith, while Parramatta and Blacktown have grown rapidly. The GWS region overall grew at 2.1% in 2014 and 1.6% p.a. for the past decade. The South-West, such as, Leppington, New South Wales, Leppington, spanning Liverpool, Camden and Campbelltown councils, had higher number of families. The region's population is projected to reach 3 million by 2036. The more recent suburban developments tend to be less leafy than more established Sydney neighborhoods.These two Western Sydney streets are completely different temperatures — here's why
By Mridula Amin from ABC News. Retrieved 28 November 2020
Home to around 1 in every 11 Australians, the 2 million inhabitants of GWS live in 743,940 dwellings with an average household size of 3.02. While Sydney CBD and the Inner West mostly consist of Federation architecture, federation-era homes, the west usually features larger modern homes, which are predominantly found in the outer, newer suburbs, starting from the City of Fairfield and
Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
and including Stanhope Gardens, Kellyville Ridge, and Bella Vista, New South Wales, Bella Vista to the northwest, Bossley Park, Abbotsbury, New South Wales, Abbotsbury, and Cecil Hills to the west, and Hoxton Park, Harrington Park, New South Wales, Harrington Park, and Oran Park to the southwest. Grade retention, High school retention rates for years 7 to 12 are the lowest in the Sydney metropolitan area, recording 69.5% compared to 95.2% in Northern Sydney. In 2009, twice as many people in GWS aged 15 or older hadn't attended school at all compared to the rest of Sydney and NSW. The region has strong automobile dependency with consequent effects on air quality, health, quality of life and household budgets.


Regions

The Department of Planning and Infrastructure (New South Wales), Department of Planning and Infrastructure Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney divides Greater Western Sydney into three sub-regions:


Western Sydney

Western Sydney as defined by the WSROC region covers and had an estimated resident population as at 30 June 2008 of 1,665,673. The region comprises the areas administered by the Blacktown City Council, Blue Mountains City Council, City of Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland Council (New South Wales), Cumberland Council, Fairfield City Council, Hawkesbury City Council, The Hills Shire, Hills Shire Council, City of Liverpool (New South Wales), Liverpool City Council, City of Parramatta Council, and the Penrith City Council. Western Sydney is also sometimes used to refer to the whole Greater Western Sydney region, which is the combination of Western Sydney as defined above and the Macarthur, New South Wales, Macarthur Region (also referred to as South-western Sydney). As well as the ten councils listed above, the GWS region includes Camden Council (New South Wales), Camden Council, City of Campbelltown (New South Wales), Campbelltown City Council and Wollondilly Shire Council.


Economy

With more than 240,000 local businesses which generated more than $95 billion gross regional product in 2009, Western Sydney is a diverse area when it comes to socio-economics, with the two largest industries in the region being manufacturing and construction. Of the 544,000 jobs situated in the GWS, 75% of those who live in the region also work there. The Smithfield–Wetherill Park Industrial Estate is the largest industrial estate in the southern hemisphere and is the centre of manufacturing and distribution in GWS. Lying strategically between the major population growth zones in the north-west and south-west of Sydney, it contains more than 1,000 manufacturing, wholesale, transport and service firms which employ more than 20,000 persons. While overall a lower income area for Sydney, with families who are dependent on childcare as both parents work, and higher than average unemployment and lower than average salary levels, it has some exceedingly high income suburbs nonetheless. Namely, the suburb of The Ponds, New South Wales, The Ponds, in the City of Blacktown, which is the most highly advantaged suburb in NSW on the SEIFA index of advantage-disadvantage, ahead of suburbs on the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore, such as St Ives, New South Wales, St Ives and Avalon, New South Wales, Avalon. Other affluent suburbs in western Sydney, ranging from upper middle class to upper class neighbourhoods, include, Acacia Gardens, Kellyville Ridge, Bella Vista, New South Wales, Bella Vista, Castle Hill, Cherrybrook, New South Wales, Cherrybrook,
Pemulwuy Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in th ...
,
Rouse Hill Rouse Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rouse Hill is located in the Hills District, 43 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 19 kilometres north-west of the Parramatta central ...
, Schofields, New South Wales, Schofields, Edmondson Park, Beaumont Hills, Glenmore Park, New South Wales, Glenmore Park, Cecil Hills, Elizabeth Hills, New South Wales, Elizabeth Hills, Middleton Grange, Carnes Hill, Oran Park, Jordan Springs, New South Wales, Jordan Springs, Ropes Crossing, New South Wales, Ropes Crossing,
Leppington Leppington is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Leppington is located 38 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Liverpool and Camden Counci ...
and Spring Farm, among others. Lower middle class and working class neighbourhoods are mainly concentrated near the heart of the central business district areas of Fairfield, New South Wales, Fairfield,
Mount Druitt Mount Druitt is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney reg ...
, Guildford, New South Wales, Guildford,
Cabramatta Cabramatta ('Cabra') is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Cabramat ...
, Merrylands, Rosehill, New South Wales, Rosehill, Granville, Canley Vale and
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
. Yennora is known to be the most poorest suburb of western Sydney overall, where the median personal income is just $19,000, followed by Lansdowne, New South Wales, Landsdowne, Blairmount, Wiley Park, Campsie, New South Wales, Campsie, Roselands, Carramar, New South Wales, Carramar, Villawood, New South Wales, Villawood and Punchbowl, New South Wales, Punchbowl. Furthmore, Claymore, New South Wales, Claymore in the southwest was listed as one of the most socially disadvantaged areas in New South Wales. Nonetheless, the rest of the GWS region is generally made up of a middle class population, with such even found in both affluent and low income suburbs.


Livability

Due to Parramatta's emergence as "Sydney's second CBD", livability in the surrounding western suburbs has been advancing, with Harris Park, New South Wales, Harris Park being 63rd most liveable area by Domain Group, followed by Parramatta at 110 and Rosehill at 187. Further to the west, Penrith warranted a spot in the top 200 suburbs of the 555 on the list. Seven of the top ten suburbs for home purchasers were more than west of the Sydney CBD, which included areas with high construction activity such as
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. Baulkh ...
, Castle Hill, Liverpool and Blacktown, which has become Sydney's most popular area for home buyers, with more sales than any other suburb. This is mainly due to the immense cultural activities and high affordability in the region, and also the development of new restaurants, high-rise apartments, telecommunications, local employment, retail, ferry access and education. Regarding this, ''Allworth Homes'' director Stephen Thompson states, "While the outskirts of Sydney were once considered undesirable, improved infrastructure coupled with soaring house prices has meant many property seekers are looking further afield for their homes, including high-income earners". With Western Sydney Airport opening in the mid 2020s, Penrith is slated to become another CBD, with the airport creating 35,000 jobs by 2035.


Agriculture

Agriculture is mainly concentrated in the outskirts of the Greater Western Sydney area, such as in suburbs of Kemps Creek, New South Wales, Kemps Creek, Mount Vernon, New South Wales, Mount Vernon, Mulgoa, Bringelly, Silverdale, New South Wales, Silverdale, Orchard Hills, New South Wales, Orchard Hills, Luddenham, New South Wales, Luddenham and Horsley Park, among others, which lie in a countryside adjacent to the footsteps of the Blue Mountains westwards of these country plains. Abbotsbury, New South Wales, Abbotsbury, Cecil Hills and Glenmore Park, New South Wales, Glenmore Park were farms through until the 1980s when it was decided to redevelop them for housing. The area around the site of Regentville has remained largely rural, if hemmed in somewhat by the modern residential suburbs of Jamisontown and Glenmore Park. In the 1800s, John Blaxland (explorer), John Blaxland built an original wooden weir at "Grove Farm" (now known as Wallacia, New South Wales, Wallacia) for a sandstone flour mill and additional brewery. The land was also used for wheat farming until 1861 when wheat rust infected the entire crop. The rural regions were chiefly one of dairying and grazing during the 19th century, but in the early 20th century – because of its rural atmosphere and proximity to Sydney – tourism in Sydney, tourism developed as people opened their homes as guest houses. Today, the rural areas include a number of orchards and vineyards in the meadows. Vegetable farming and fruit picking are common activities.


Transport

The M4 Western Motorway is a prominent dual carriageway motorway in western Sydney, that stretches from in the east, where it connects with the Great Western Highway/
Parramatta Road Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. Since the 1990s its role has been a ...
as the A4/M4 (Sydney), A4 to in west. It continues as the Great Western Highway as the A32, passing the southern fringe of the Parramatta central business district, moving due west across western metropolitan Sydney to Penrith, north of the central business district, crossing the Nepean River via the 1867 Victoria Bridge, Picton, Victoria Bridge. Cumberland Highway links the Pacific Highway (Australia), Pacific Highway (A1/B83) and Pacific Motorway (Sydney–Newcastle), Pacific Motorway (Highway 1 (New South Wales), M1) at Pearces Corner, Wahroonga in the northeast with the Hume Highway (A22/A28) at
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in the southwest. The M5 Motorway (Sydney), M5 Motorway is the primary route from to the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, with its terminus being in the south of an interchange near Prestons, New South Wales, Prestons where the M5 meets the Westlink M7 and the M31 Hume Motorway. The A6 (Sydney), A6 is a major arterial road that provides a link from the northern and western suburbs to the centre western suburbs –
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
and the Princes Highway at , via
Lidcombe Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...
and
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
. Henry Lawson Drive was conceived of as a scenic drive to follow the north bank of the
Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...
in Sydney's southwest. The Light Horse Interchange is a motorway Interchange (road), interchange located in Eastern Creek at the junction of the M4 Western Motorway and the Westlink M7 that was opened to traffic in December 2005 due to the population boom in Sydney's western suburbs.


Politics

Greater Western Sydney local government authorities agree on the broad definition of greater western Sydney, but divide the region based on the Regional Organisations of Councils, regional organisations of councils. The
Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) (pronounced 'wesrock') is one of the oldest Regional Organisations of Councils or ROCs in NSW, Australia. It was formed in November 1973 to represent the councils of Western Sydney and to a ...
(WSROC) includes the local government areas of
Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
,
Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs o ...
, Fairfield,
Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to: People *Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman Places ;Geography *Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada * Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...
, Cumberland City Council (New South Wales), Cumberland,
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
and Penrith. The Macarthur Regional Organisation of Councils (MACROC) includes the local government areas of Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly. In Government of New South Wales, government administration, the region has a Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Minister for Western Sydney, currently held by the Hon. David Elliott (politician), David Elliott, MP. Western Sydney is home to a large number of marginal electorates at both a state and federal level. Western Sydney includes, or partially includes, the NSW Electoral Districts of Electoral district of Penrith, Penrith, Electoral district of Londonderry, Londonderry, Electoral district of Mulgoa, Mulgoa, Electoral district of Camden, Camden, Electoral district of Macquarie Fields, Macquarie Fields, Electoral district of Campbelltown, Campbelltown, Electoral district of Liverpool, Liverpool, Electoral district of Cabramatta, Cabramatta, Electoral district of Fairfield, Fairfield, Electoral district of Prospect, Prospect, Electoral district of Bankstown, Bankstown, Electoral district of Granville, Granville, Electoral district of Parramatta, Parramatta, Electoral district of Seven Hills, Seven Hills, Electoral district of Baulkham Hills, Baulkham Hills, Electoral district of Castle Hill, Castle Hill, Electoral district of Riverstone, Riverstone, Electoral district of Mount Druitt, Mount Druitt, Electoral district of Blacktown, Blacktown, Electoral district of Holsworthy, Holsworthy, Electoral district of Bankstown, Bankstown, Electoral district of Auburn, Auburn, Electoral district of Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury. Western Sydney is considered a particularly crucial region in federal politics, and the region's social conservativism has been credited with forming policy on migration and the treatment of asylum seekers by both major political parties. Western Sydney voted 'no' in high margins in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey held in 2017. 12 of the 17 divisions that voted 'no' nationally were from Western Sydney. Despite this, Western Sydney is largely dominated by Australian Labor Party, Labor, while the conservative Christian Democratic Party (Australia), Christian Democrats draw much of their support from the large and devout Arab Christians, Arab Christian and Assyrian populations. Western Sydney can therefore be described as an economically left-wing but very socially conservative region, at least compared to the other regions of Sydney.


Media

The city is also served by several local radio stations, including those from Sydney. FM stations, Community: *SWR Triple 9 FM, SWR Triple 9 (Blacktown) – 99.9 kHz *Vintage FM (Penrith) – 87.6 kHz *2GLF (Liverpool, Fairfield) – 89.3 kHz *2BACR (Bankstown) – 100.9 MHz *Alive 90.5 (Parramatta, Hills, Holroyd) – 90.5 MHz *2MCR (Macarthur) FM stations, Commercial: *WSFM 101.7 – 101.7 MHz *Edge 96.1 – 96.1 MHz *C91.3 (Campbelltown) – 91.3 MHz Television: Greater Western Sydney is also served by 5 Sydney television networks, three commercial and two national services: *Nine Network *Network 10 *Seven Network *Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC TV *Special Broadcasting Service, SBS


Sport

The region hosts many professional sporting teams in a wide range of codes. The National Rugby League has four teams based in the region; the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers. The region acts as the namesake of the Australian Football League's Greater Western Sydney Giants Australian rules football club. The A-League's Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Western Sydney Wanderers association football club is also based in this region of Sydney. The region also hosts Macarthur FC of the A-League. Greater Sydney Rams now represent the region in the National Rugby Championship. The Sydney Thunder play at the Big Bash League (cricket). Other sporting teams include: *Australian Baseball League, Baseball: Sydney Blue Sox *Australian Ice Hockey League, Ice hockey: Sydney Ice Dogs, Western Sydney Ice Dogs *Suncorp Super Netball, Netball: Giants Netball, Greater Western Sydney Giants The Sydney Olympic Park was built for the 2000 Olympic Games, and has hosted the NRL Grand Final, the Sydney 500 auto race and the Sydney International tennis tournament. Previously the region was represented in Australia's professional Basketball league the National Basketball League (Australia), NBL, by the West Sydney Razorbacks. While the Razorbacks folded, the Sydney Kings who typically played at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, an eastern Sydney venue, have since moved to the Sydney Super Dome, Sydney Superdome at Sydney Olympic Park and market towards the whole metropolitan area of Sydney.


Education

Major education facilities include: * Western Sydney University, a multi-campus university that is ranked in the top 300 in the world in the 2021 THE World University Rankings and 18th in Australia in 2021. *TAFE NSW campuses across Western Sydney (including OTEN) and South Western Sydney *University of Sydney – Camden and Cumberland Campus *Australian College of Physical Education It contains many List of schools in Greater Western Sydney, primary and secondary schools.


Landmarks

;West *Raging Waters Sydney in Prospect, in the City of Blacktown, a water park operated by Palace Entertainment. *Auburn Botanic Gardens, a botanical garden situated in
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
. *Central Gardens Nature Reserve in Merrylands West. *Sydney Olympic Park, a suburb created to host the 2000 Summer Olympics *Sydney Motorsport Park, a motorsport Race track, circuit located in
Eastern Creek Eastern Creek is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Creek is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the Blacktown local government area and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. E ...
. *Boothtown Aqueduct in Greystanes, New South Wales, Greystanes, a 19th-century water bridge that is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register as a site of State significance *The Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains, which is situated on the outskirts of greater western Sydney. *
Western Sydney Parklands The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ...
, a major urban parkland which features many attractions such as picnic areas and lookouts, Calmsley Hill Farm, Blacktown Olympic Park, Eastern Creek Raceway, and, most notably, the Nurragingy Reserve. *Western Sydney Regional Park, a major precinct in the above parkland, located in Abbotsbury *Fairfield Showground, a multi-purpose indoor-outdoor venue situated in Prairiewood, New South Wales, Prairiewood. *Bents Basin, a protected nature reserve, a state park and a swimming hole near Wallacia, New South Wales, Wallacia *Prospect Nature Reserve, a large recreational area that features a potable
water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
and storage reservoir. *Lower Prospect Canal Reserve, a heritage-listed former farm and public water supply canal and now bushy corridor and nature reserve stretching 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi). *Linnwood, Guildford, a heritage-listed former residence, school, local history museum and children's home and now historical society located in Guildford, New South Wales, Guildford. * Auburn Gallipoli Mosque, an Ottoman architecture, Ottoman-style mosque in Auburn. ;Northwest *Featherdale Wildlife Park, an Australian zoo in Doonside, near
Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
. *Westfield Parramatta, Parramatta.Westfield Group – Westfield Property Portfolio
*Old Government House, Parramatta, Old Government House, a historic house museum and tourist spot in Parramatta, was included in the Australian National Heritage List. Moreover, the house is Australia's oldest surviving public building. * Prospect Hill, a historically significant ridge in the west, listed on the NSW State Heritage Register. *Lake Parramatta, a man-made reservoir, a swimming spot and a recreational area located in North Parramatta. * Balaka Falls, a natural waterfall in Carlingford * Neoblie, a heritage-listed former residence at Great Western Highway in
Mount Druitt Mount Druitt is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney reg ...
. * The Manse, Mount Druitt, The Manse, a heritage-listed former residence and now community museum also in Mount Druitt. * Hunting Lodge, Rouse Hill, a heritage-listed colonial era hunting lodge located at The Water Lane. * Royal Oak Inn, Rouse Hill, a heritage-listed hotel located on
Windsor Road Windsor Road is a notable road in the Hills District of Sydney. It starts from Windsor, New South Wales and ends at Northmead, New South Wales. However, Windsor Road is not continuous. The northern section of Windsor Road (Windsor to Kellyvil ...
. * Elizabeth Farm, an historic estate (land), estate located in Rosehill, New South Wales, Rosehill. * Comfort Lodge, heritage-listed former residence and boarding house in Rosehill. * Elizabeth Farm Reserve, a heritage-listed public reserve on former farmland also in Rosehill. * Rosehill Gardens Racecourse * Granville Town Hall * Crest Theatre, Granville, Crest Theatre * Camden, Rosehill, Camden * Goldfinders Inn, a heritage-listed former inn, guesthouse, general store and post office and now residence at Kurrajong, New South Wales, Kurrajong. ;Southwest *Cecil Hills Farm, a heritage-listed residence in Cecil Hills. *Chipping Norton Lake, an important recreational area for Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown Council and Fairfield City Council. *Georges River National Park *Macarthur Square, a shopping complex in Campbelltown.Herron Todd White Property Advisors
''The Month in Review''
, 1 February 2004.
*Bankstown Reservoir, a New South Wales State Heritage Register. *The Bland Oak in Carramar, New South Wales, Carramar, one of the oldest and largest trees in Sydney. *Lansdowne Bridge, a heritage-listed road bridge that carries the Hume Highway across the Prospect Creek at
Lansvale Lansvale is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 28 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, the other side of Chipping Norton and its lake, in the Local government in Australia, local government ...
. *Oran Park (homestead), a heritage-listed former golf course, private residence and golf clubhouse and now private residence in Oran Park. *Raby, Catherine Field, a heritage-listed former sheep farm and cattle farm and now private residence located in Catherine Field. *Horningsea Park, a heritage-listed homestead in Horningsea Park *Sydney Zoo, A zoo located in the
Western Sydney Parklands The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ...


Gallery

Image:Wentworthville Presbyterian Church.JPG, Presbyterian Church Wentworthville, New South Wales, Wentworthville Image:ParramattaTownHallfixedperspective.jpg, Parramatta, New South Wales, Parramatta Town Hall Image:Prospect Reservoir Sunset.jpg, Prospect Reservoir Image:Bicentennial_Park_5.JPG, Bicentennial Park at Sydney Olympic Park Image:Bankstownreservoir.jpg, Bankstown Reservoir File:MerrylandsWestNSWgardens.jpg, Central Gardens Nature Reserve File:Greystaneswaterbridge.jpg, Boothtown Aqueduct File:ProspectPemulwuypine.jpg, Prospect Hill Laccolith (Monterey Pine forest) File:Blandoaktree.jpg, The Bland Oak tree File:WilliamLawsonDr.jpg, Entrance to Prospect Reservoir recreational area File:Zengardengate.jpg, Auburn Botanic Gardens File:Bentsbasin.jpg, Rocky rapids of Bents Basin


See also

*
Cumberland Plain The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of the ...
*
Darug people The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...
* Westie (person)#Sydney, Australia, Westie * Regions of New South Wales ** Regions of Sydney *
Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) (pronounced 'wesrock') is one of the oldest Regional Organisations of Councils or ROCs in NSW, Australia. It was formed in November 1973 to represent the councils of Western Sydney and to a ...
* Local government areas of New South Wales * Geography of Sydney


References


External links


Centre for Western Sydney

Centre for Western Sydney's statistical service

Western Sydney demographic profile

NSW Government's Office of Western Sydney

Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC)
*
WSROC Regional Profile

Macarthur Regional Organisation of Councils (MACROC)

SYDNEY.com – Sydney-West
* [Creative Commons license, CC-By-SA]
Centre for Western Sydney at Western Sydney University
{{coord missing, New South Wales Regions of Sydney Regions of New South Wales