Windsor is a historic town north-west of

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 Mounta ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. It is the council seat of the Hawkesbury

local government area 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 (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. The town sits on the Hawkesbury River, enveloped by farmland and

Australian bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this ...

. Many of the oldest surviving European buildings in

are located at Windsor. It is north-west of

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

, on the fringes of

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

Demographics

At the , Windsor had a reported population of 1,891 people, with a median age of 42. The most common ancestries in Windsor were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

(30.9%), Australian (28.9%), Irish (10.3%), Scottish (7.5%), and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

(2.8%). Most people from Windsor were born in

(78.8%), followed by

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 ...

(3.3%), and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

(1.5%). The most common religious group in Windsor was

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

(65.8%), 25.2% being

Catholic 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 ...

and 23.0%

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

. The second largest group was No Religion (28.9%). The most common occupations in Windsor included Professionals (15.9%), Technicians and Trades Workers (15.1%), Clerical and Administrative Workers (13.6%), Managers (12.8%), and Labourers (11.0%). The median weekly household income was .

Geography

Windsor's proximity to the Hawkesbury River has resulted in numerous disastrous floods. A horseshoe on the outside wall of the Macquarie Arms pub marks the level the flood peaked at in 1867. During the 1867 flood, beaches along the Hawkesbury River to Barrenjoey were littered with the debris from the town.

History

The Windsor area was originally inhabited by the Dharuk (also

Darug 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 ...

) nation of indigenous aboriginal peoples. Windsor is the third-oldest place of British settlement on the Australian continent. Settlement at the location was first established circa 1791, near the head of navigation on the Hawkesbury River (known as ''Deerubbin'' in Dharuk). European settlers utilised the fertile river flats for agriculture. The area was originally called Green Hills, but renamed Windsor (after Windsor in England). The town was officially proclaimed in a Government and General Order issued from

Government House, Sydney The Government House is the heritage-listed vice-regal residence of the governor of New South Wales, Australia, located on Conservatorium Road in the Sydney central business district adjacent to the Royal Botanic Garden, overlooking Sydne ...

, dated 15 December 1810. Governor Lachlan Macquarie "marked out the district of Green Hills", which he "... called Windsor", after Windsor-on-the-Thames. While in Windsor, Governor Macquarie ordered the main institutions of organised settlement to be erected, including a church, school-house, gaol and "commodious inn" (

Macquarie Arms Hotel Macquarie Arms Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at Thompson Square, Windsor, City of Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as the Royal Hotel. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. H ...

). Of these new buildings, the most outstanding was Francis Greenway's

St Matthew's Anglican Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosoph ...

. Governor Macquarie himself chose the site for the church. Samuel Marsden, principal chaplain of the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

, consecrated the church on 8 December 1822. Windsor was chosen during settlement because of its agricultural potential and accessible location. In 1813 a report was given to Governor Macquarie from Earl Bathurst detailing a proposed invasion of the Hawkesbury River by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. This planned invasion that did not eventuate targeted the Windsor granary in order to cut off supply to

, demonstrating the relative importance of this new settlement on a global scale. Windsor is north-west of Sydney, and easily accessible by coastal shipping from Sydney along the Hawkesbury River. It was known as the "bread basket", ensuring the survival of the starving colony. The extensive agriculture caused major silting in the Hawkesbury River; by the 1890s the Hawkesbury River had become so blocked with silt, ships could not travel up to Windsor from the coast. By then, a railway (in 1864) and road (in 1814) had been built to compensate. On 1 January 1803,

Daniel Egan Daniel Egan ( – 16 October 1870) was an Australian politician who served as Mayor of Sydney in 1853. He was also a member of the New South Wales Parliament. Egan was born in Windsor, New South Wales and was a foreman at the Government Doc ...

was born in Windsor. He went on to become

Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has b ...

in 1853.

Heritage listings

Windsor has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Blacktown-Richmond railway: Windsor railway station * 32-34 Bridge Street: Windsor Police Station Stables * Claremont Crescent: Claremont Cottage * Court and Pitt Streets:

Windsor Court House Windsor Court House is a heritage-listed courthouse at Court and Pitt Streets, Windsor, City of Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Francis Greenway with a later extension by James Barnet and built from 1821 to 1822 by W ...

* 29 Fitzgerald Street: Mackenzie House * 41 George Street: Government Cottage Archaeological Site * 126 George Street:

Loder House Loder House is a heritage-listed residence at 126 George Street, Windsor, New South Wales, Windsor, City of Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1834. It has been used at times for various other purposes: as a bank, multip ...

* 226 George Street: Simmons Hardware Store * 350 George Street: Reverend Turner Cottage * 361 George Street:

McQuade Park McQuade Park is a heritage-listed park and sporting venue at 361 George Street, Windsor, New South Wales, Windsor, City of Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia. The park was set aside by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810, first surveyed by J ...

* 23-27 Johnston Street: Johnston Street terraces * Macquarie Street:

Windsor Uniting Church and Hall Windsor Uniting Church and Hall is a heritage-listed church precinct at Macquarie Street, Windsor, City of Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia. The church was built in 1875-76 following the destruction of the original church in a fire, while ...

* 49 Macquarie Street: Windsor Methodist Parsonage * Moses Street:

* 25, 28, 29, 31–33, 35 North Street: North Street residences * 37-39 North Street: Court House Hotel * Palmer Street: Peninsula House and Tebbutt's Observatory * Thompson Square:

* Thompson Square:

Thompson Square Conservation Area Thompson Square Conservation Area is a heritage-listed precinct centred around Thompson Square in Windsor, New South Wales, Windsor, City of Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on ...

* 5 Thompson Square: 5 Thompson Square

Media

The studios of local

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popu ...

station,

Hawkesbury Radio Hawkesbury Radio 89.9 (call sign: 2VTR) community radio stations in the Hawkesbury. Hawkesbury Radio's primary purpose is to serve the residents of the Australian City of Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Radio broadcasts on the frequency 89.9 FM. The st ...

, are located in Windsor.

Pitt Town Pitt Town is a historic town and suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Pitt Town is 59 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It is ...

, which is north west of Windsor, was a filming location for the Channel 7 television series ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were p ...

.'' It was the set of the fictional town of Wandin Valley. The opening credits featured the former Court House Hotel, Windsor at 37-39 North Street as the doctor's clinic. Windsor High School at Mulgrave was also used as the fictional Burrigan High School in the series

Transport

Urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

of metropolitan Sydney has almost reached Windsor. The town is now regarded as an outer suburb which has retained its appeal as a small country town. Growth in the Hawkesbury area has created an increased need for public transport and roads. Most people from Windsor traveled to work by car in 2016 (68.9%). Only 9.0% of people used public transport. Windsor railway station opened 1 December 1864. It is on the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

branch of the T1 North Shore & Western Line and T5 Cumberland Line of the Sydney Trains network. Located in the town centre is the Windsor Bridge which was constructed in 1874. It is the oldest existing crossing of the Hawkesbury River. There was a proposal in 2013 by the

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

to demolish the existing bridge and replace it with a safer bridge. It was suggested by the political activist grou
Community Action for Windsor Bridge (CAWB)
that a bypass is a better option to preserve history, ensure safety, and better manage the congestion of Windsor Road. Nevertheless, the new bridge was constructed despite the protests. On 18 May 2020 the replacement bridge was opened to traffic within Windsor, NSW. The new bridge has a centreline height of 17.8 metres Australian Height Datum (AHD) (ie significantly higher than the typical water level – peak flood levels at Windsor bridge are 11.1 metres AHD and 17.2 metres AHD for the five year and 100 year ARI events respectively.). In 2021 the bridge was closed due to flooding in March 2021, and further work on the new bridge was completed Windsor is also connected to Parramatta via the Windsor Road cycleway, with much of its route via the North-West T-way.

Commercial area

The Windsor Mall Sunday Market are held weekly on Sunday between 9.00am to 3.00pm. The markets contain stalls selling jewellery, books, arts and crafts, paintings, fashion items, fresh locally grown produce, locally produced jams and many food and drink stands.

Gallery

File:Windsor0001.jpg, Historic Home in Windsor File:Windsor0003.jpg, St Matthew's Anglican Church, designed by Francis Greenway File:Windsor0004.jpg, Interior of St Matthew's Church File:Windsor0002.jpg, Hawkesbury River at Windsor File:14 - Sydney Road Windsor (6433405125).jpg, Poster Contest ( Royal Australian Historical Society)

References

External links

Windsor – Sydney.com
{{authority control Suburbs of Sydney Towns in New South Wales City of Hawkesbury 1810 establishments in Australia Hawkesbury River Populated places established in 1810