Penrith, New South Wales
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Penrith is a city in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the
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 ...
on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevation is 32 metres (105 ft). Penrith is the administrative centre of the
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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
of the City of Penrith. The
Geographical Names Board of New South Wales The Geographical Names Board of New South Wales, a statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or stat ...
acknowledges Penrith as one of only four
cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
within the Greater Sydney metropolitan area.


History


Indigenous settlement

Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the Penrith area was home to the Mulgoa tribe of the Darug people. They lived in makeshift huts called ''gunyahs'', hunted native animals such as kangaroos, fished in the Nepean River, and gathered local fruits and vegetables such as yams. They lived under an elaborate system of law which had its origins in the
Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...
. Most of the Mulgoa were killed by
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 (W ...
or ''galgala'' shortly after the arrival of the
First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...
in 1788. Early British explorers such as Watkin Tench described them as friendly, saying, "they bade us adieu, in unabated friendship and good humour".


European exploration

The recorded history of Penrith began on 26 June 1789. Eighteen months after the landing of the
First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...
, an exploring party led by Captain Watkin Tench set out to further discoveries made by Governor
Arthur Phillip Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New South Wales, governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Royal Hospital School, Gree ...
earlier in the month. In the daylight hours of 27 June, Tench and his party discovered the broad expanse of the Nepean River. Tench's party became the first Europeans to see the site of what is now the City of Penrith. Tench later wrote 'we found ourselves on the banks of a river, nearly as broad as the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
at Putney and apparently of great depth'. Phillip later named the river after
Evan Nepean Sir Evan Nepean, 1st Baronet, PC FRS (9 July 1752 – 2 October 1822)Sparrow (n.d.) was a British politician and colonial administrator. He was the first of the Nepean baronets. Family Nepean was born at St. Stephens near Saltash, Cornwal ...
, the under-secretary of state in the Home Office, who had been largely responsible for the organisation of the First Fleet. From this point, European settlement began in earnest, firstly on the Hawkesbury River, and later southward up the Nepean.


European settlement

Governor Phillip Gidley King began granting land in the area to settlers in 1804 with Captain Daniel Woodriff's on the banks of the river the first land grant in the area. The first government building in the district was the military depot built (at the present Penrith police station) by William Cox, in mid-1815 near the new Road ( Great Western Road) on unassigned Crown land, set well back from the river. It represented the formalisation of law and order in the district. Its placement seems to have been a practical decision by Cox, placing it on flood-free Crown land on the new road to Parramatta, just east of Woodriff's Rodley Farm. Governor
Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...
paid Cox £200 for 'erecting a Depot for Provisions, Guard House, erecting necessary Enclosures for cattle and Garden Ground, Frame for a Well ... on the new near Emu Ford'. At this time, Emu Ford was one of the few locality names that would indicate the depot's position. In 1816, Cox mentioned the lockup at 'Penryhn', among a list of expenses. There appears little doubt that he was referring to the depot that was later referred to as Penrith. The name for the new depot, Penrhyn, may have simply been misinterpreted by others. Penrhyn was possibly named after the First Fleet ship that carried women convicts, the ''Lady Penrhyn''. There is no historical evidence to prove Macquarie's hand in naming the depot, especially considering he often endowed and recorded benefactors with that favour. Furthermore, Macquarie would have ensured that a plan of the town would have been drawn up. No documentary evidence has shed any light on Macquarie's reasoning for the placement of this depot and its connection with his vision for a township at Castlereagh. What is clear is that the origin of the name, Penrith is steeped in mystery. Penrith was possibly named after Penrith in Cumbria by someone who knew the old town and who noted geographical similarities. By 1819, the name Penrith was in use with its first reference in the ''Sydney Gazette'' on 8 December 1821 appointing John Proctor as keeper of the new gaol and court house. The lockup at Penrith placed government law and order in the centre of the Evan district. This group of buildings became the point of contact for local administration for anything ranging from issuing publican's licences, holding inquests and church services. Although a magistrate had been appointed to Castlereagh in 1811, the Penrith lockup increased in importance with its promotion to a court house in 1817. A bench of magistrates was appointed: Sir John Jamison, the Reverend Henry Fulton, John McHenry and a military officer from the regiment stationed there. In 1814, William Cox constructed a
road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...
across the Blue Mountains which passed through Woodriff's land at Penrith. Initial settlement in the area was unplanned but substantial enough for a courthouse to be established in 1817. The post office was established in 1828, the Anglican church, St Stephens, was opened and consecrated 16 July 1839 followed by the Catholic Church, St Nicholas of Myra, in 1850. Two other prominent Penrith pioneers were Irish-born
Thomas Jamison Thomas Jamison ( – 25 January 1811) was a naval surgeon, who was surgeon mate on as part First Fleet which founded Colony of New South Wales in 1788. He was surgeon at the Norfolk Island settlement, before returning to Sydney and becoming pr ...
(1752/53-1811), a member of the
First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...
and surgeon-general of New South Wales (after whom Jamisontown is named), and his son, the landowner, physician and constitutional reformer Sir
John Jamison Sir John Jamison (1776 – 29 June 1844) was an Australian physician, pastoral farming, pastoralist, banker, politician, constitutional reformer and public figure. Family background John Jamison was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Kingdo ...
(1776–1844). In 1824, Sir John erected the colony's finest Georgian mansion, Regentville House, near Penrith, on a ridge overlooking the Nepean River. Sir John established an agricultural estate at Regentville and became a Member of the
New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
. His grave can be seen in St Stephen's graveyard. Regentville House burned down in 1868 but most of its stonework was salvaged and used for building projects in and around Penrith. The first bridge, financed by local businessman James Tobias (Toby) Ryan was opened over the Nepean in 1856 and was washed away the following year in a flood. The railway line was extended to
Penrith railway station Penrith North Lakes (also shortened to Penrith) is a railway station on the West Coast Main Line, which runs between Euston railway station, London Euston and Glasgow Central station, Glasgow Central. Situated south of Carlisle, it serves the ...
in 1863, a school was established in 1865 and in 1871 the area became a municipality. It officially became a city in 1959.


Commercial area

Penrith is one of the major commercial centres in Greater Western Sydney. The suburb contains two shopping centres. * Westfield Penrith, (formerly Penrith Plaza) is the largest shopping centre in the suburb, it opened on 30 March 1971, it was acquired by Westfield in 2005, and it is located within a main commercial centre. *Nepean Village (formerly Nepean Square) is a single level shopping centre located in Penrith. It has many retailers including Kmart, Coles, and The Reject Shop.


Transport

Penrith railway station Penrith North Lakes (also shortened to Penrith) is a railway station on the West Coast Main Line, which runs between Euston railway station, London Euston and Glasgow Central station, Glasgow Central. Situated south of Carlisle, it serves the ...
is a major railway station on the Main Western railway line. It has frequent services to and from the city and is also a stop on the intercity Blue Mountains Line. Penrith railway station is served by a bus interchange and by the Nightride Bus route 70. Between 1940 and 1950, the Log Cabin Hotel in Penrith was served by its own station. Log Cabin railway station was accessible to the public and used by patrons of the hotel from the city. Despite requests by Penrith Council for full integration with Sydney rail services as the western terminus for the suburban network, Log Cabin station was only ever used for special services. Penrith can be accessed from St. Marys and Mount Druitt via the
Great Western Highway Great Western Highway is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the ...
. Access from further east is best obtained by the
M4 Western Motorway The M4 motorway is a series of partially Road pricing, tolled dual carriageway motorways in Sydney designated as route M4. The M4 designation is part of the wider A4/M4 (Sydney), A4 and M4 route designation, the M4 runs parallel and/or below ...
using either The Northern Road or Mulgoa Road exits. If travelling east from the Blue Mountains, access is best obtained by the Great Western Highway. Access from the south can be obtained by The Northern Road and Mulgoa Road, north from Castlereagh road or Richmond road, or from north and south via Westlink M7 and the M4 Western Motorway. The NSW Government announced funding for the construction of the M9 in the 2014 state budget to connect Camden, Penrith and Windsor. The proposed motorway will start from the
M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...
and run west of the current M7 motorway.


Education

Penrith Public School and Penrith High School are two public schools in High Street. Jamison High School is in South Penrith. St Nicholas of Myra is a Catholic primary school, which is part of Catholic Education, Diocese of Parramatta, is located in Higgins Street. The Penrith campus of Nepean College of TAFE is located in the centre of town on Henry Street. The Penrith campus of the University of Western Sydney is located in nearby Werrington. The
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
has a campus near Nepean Hospital in Kingswood, for research into the basic biomedical sciences and educating medical students at the hospital.


Landmarks and tourist attractions


Heritage listings

Penrith has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: *34–40 Borec Road: Craithes House *26 Coombes Drive: Torin Building *Great Western railway: Penrith railway station, Sydney *Nepean River, Great Western Highway: Victoria Bridge (Penrith) *Off Bruce Neale Dr, Steel Trusses 1.3 km past station: Emu Plains Underbridge *1 Museum Drive: Penrith Museum of Fire, including the following: **Fire and Rescue NSW Heritage Fleet **NSW Fire Brigades No 10 Vehicle Number Plates **1869 Shand Mason 7 inch Manual Fire Engine **1891 Shand Mason Fire Engine **1898 Shand Mason Curricle Ladders **1909 Edward Smith Headquarters Switchboard **1929 Ahrens Fox PS2 Fire Engine **1939 Dennis Big 6 Fire Engine **1942 Ford 21W Fire Brigade Mobile Canteen Other items of interest include: *Nepean Belle, an old-world style paddlewheeler located on the Nepean River at Penrith. *St Stephen's Church (1839), in High Street, and its historic graveyard, is heritage-listed *Penrith has a campus of the Western Sydney University * Sydney International Regatta Centre, which was the location for the rowing competitions for the
2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
*Panthers World of Entertainment *Penrith Sake Brewery * Nepean River * Head of the River, which takes place at the regatta centre *Red Cow Hotel, Station Street, is Penrith's oldest standing hotel *Thornton Hall, Mountain View Crescent, is heritage-listed *Nepean Park, Castlereagh Road, is heritage-listed


Culture


Arts

The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Complex is in High Street next to the Council Chambers. Named after
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
singer
Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She possessed a voice ...
, the building was designed by architect Philip Cox and opened in 1990. It incorporates the Penrith Conservatorium of Music and the Q Theatre (Penrith), which had been operating in Station Street for 30 years before moving to the complex in 2006.


Sport and recreation

Penrith Stadium Penrith Stadium, currently known as BlueBet Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league and association football stadium located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. The 22,500 capacity venue is the home ground for the Penrith Panthe ...
is the home of the
Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...
NRL team. Penrith's Junior Rugby League competition is the largest in the world, which also incorporates teams from the Blue Mountains, Blacktown and Windsor/Richmond areas. Penrith Stadium was also home to the Penrith Nepean United FC soccer club. The team had a 2–1 win against
Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...
in a home game friendly match in front of 5000 fans on 17 August 2007. There are also many other sporting associations, including
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
clubs, AFL clubs, Penrith City Outlaws gridiron team, Panthers Triathlon club, Penrith Emus Rugby,
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
, and soccer clubs. Just west of Cranebrook is Penrith Lakes, a system of flooded quarries that are now recreational lakes, in addition to featuring Pondi Beach, an artificial beach. One of these lakes hosted the rowing events of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. This facility is rated as a Level One course which can be used for international events. The course itself is fully buoyed and can be modified to accommodate swimming and kayaking events. North of the rowing lake is the
Penrith Whitewater Stadium The Penrith Whitewater Stadium is located near Sydney, Australia. It is an artificial whitewater sporting facility which hosted the canoe/kayak slalom events at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The facility is part of the Penrith Lakes Sche ...
, the only pump-powered and artificial whitewater slalom course in the Southern Hemisphere. It was built for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and it continues to host international competitions on a regular basis. Penrith is home to the Elite Fight Gym. A
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
training facility established by UFC fighter James Te-Huna. In 2013, James te Huna left EFG to establish a rival MMA centre in St Marys named Bee Stingz (located at Valley Fitness). The first Flip Out trampoline arena was opened in Penrith in 2012. The franchise has since gained over 60 locations across 6 countries. Penrith Softball Club - Founded in 1975, the Penrith Softball Club has been the driving force behind the sport in the local area.


Media

Penrith is home to three local newspapers: '' The Western Weekender'', ''Nepean News'', and ''Penrith Press'', the latter of which no longer produces a print edition. The Weekender is considered its newspaper of record, and produces a weekly print edition as well as 24/7 online coverage. The current FM radio station "the edge" 96.1 FM evolved from the former (original) 2KA station founded by Frank Kelly. With the sale of Vintage FM, and My88 leaving the 88.0 band to go online, Penrith is no longer served by a local radio station. In 2001 the Penrith Museum of Printing opened. Its collection represents the history of Australian
letterpress printing Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable t ...
.


Geography

Penrith sits on the western edge of the Cumberland Plain, a fairly flat area of Western Sydney, extending to Windsor in the north,
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
in the east and
Thirlmere Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district in Cumbria and the English Lake District National Park, Lake District. The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a numbe ...
in the south. The Nepean River forms the western boundary of the suburb and beyond that, dominating the western skyline, are the Blue Mountains. There is a difference of opinion between
Penrith City Council Penrith may refer to: Australia *Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean R ...
and the
Geographical Names Board of New South Wales The Geographical Names Board of New South Wales, a statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or stat ...
as to the boundaries of Penrith the suburb. The Board includes in its official description the area of Kingswood Park, Lemongrove and North Penrith, which the Council considers separate suburbs.


Climate

Penrith has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cfa'') with long, hot summers, mild to cool short winters with cold nights, and pleasant spring and autumn. The daytime temperatures are generally a few degrees hotter than Sydney (Observatory Hill), especially during spring and summer, when the difference in temperature between Penrith and the Sydney area can be quite pronounced. Night-time temperatures are a few degrees cooler than Sydney on most nights of the year. In extreme cases, there could be a temperature differential of in summer, owing to
sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is a wind that blows in the afternoon from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass. By contrast, a land breeze or offshore breeze is a wind that blows in the night from a landmass toward or onto a large ...
s, which affect coastal areas much more than areas further from the ocean and do not usually penetrate as far inland as Penrith. Frost occasionally occurs on some winter mornings, mainly due to a mountain breeze and a temperature inversion caused by the proximate mountains. The average summer temperature range is from and in the winter .
Mean A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...
yearly rainfall in Penrith is , which is significantly less than recorded closer to the coast (Sydney Observatory Hill's mean yearly rainfall is ), as coastal showers do not penetrate inland. The highest recorded temperature was on 4 January 2020 — a day when Penrith was the hottest place on earth. The lowest recorded temperature was on 16 July 2018. Penrith's hot temperatures are exacerbated by a combination of its inland location, urban heat island effect (i.e. density of housing and lack of trees) and its position on the footsteps of the Blue Mountains, which trap hot air. Penrith’s dry, sunny winters are owed to the
Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...
blocking westerly cold fronts, which turn to foehn winds on the range's
leeward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point o ...
side (that includes all of the Sydney metropolitan area).


Population


Demographics

In the 2021 census, Penrith recorded a population of people. Of these: *Age distribution: The median age was 36 years compared to the national median of 38. Children aged under 15 years made up 14.9% of the population compared to the national average of 18.2% and people aged 65 years and over made up 17.1% of the population compared to the national average of 17.2%. *Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population: Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...
people made up 6.2% of the population of Penrith compared to the national average of 3.2%. *Ethnic diversity : 65.8% of people were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 66.9%; the next most common countries of birth were
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
2.9%,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
2.7%, the Philippines 2.2%,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
2.0% and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(excluding SARs and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
) 1.7%. 71.9% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 1.7%, Tagalog 1.0%, Hindi 0.9%, Korean 0.8% and Arabic 0.8%. *Religion : The most common responses for religion were No Religion 35.1%,
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
20.7%,
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
12.3 and
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, not further defined 3.1%. *Finances: The median household weekly income was $1,397, compared to the national median of $1,746. This difference is also reflected in real estate, with the median mortgage repayment being $1,783 per month, compared to the national median of $1,863. *Housing: Nearly half (36.0%) of occupied private dwellings were separate houses, 20.4% were semi-detached (row or terrace houses, townhouses etc.) and 43.4% were flats, units or apartments.


Notable residents

* Jason Arnberger (b. 1972), cricketer * Richie Benaud (1930−2015), cricketer and commentator * Thomas Bent (1838−1909), 22nd Premier of Victoria 1904 to 1909, born in Penrith * Nathan Bracken (b. 1977), Australian cricketer * David Bradbury (b. 1976), former Federal Member of Lindsay, and former Mayor of Penrith * Yvette D'Ath (b. 1970), Attorney General of Queensland * Jason Dundas (b. 1981), television presenter * George Ellis (b. 1964), composer * Mick Fanning (b. 1981), surfing world champion 2007 * Jessica Fox (b. 1994), French-born Australian slalom canoer, Olympic gold medallist, world championships gold medalist * Mark Geyer (b. 1967), Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and a media identity. * Michael Hartley (b. 1993), Australian rules footballer * John Hastings (b. 1985), former Australian Test and ODI cricketer * Bill Howell (1869−1940), cricketer * Tony Jones (b. 1961), sports journalist based in Melbourne. * Ahmad Akbar Khan (born 1984), Australian born Pakistani footballer * Ken Kearney (1924−2006) Dual international rugby player, Australian Test and St George premiership-winning captain-coach. * Simon Keen (b. 1987), Australian U19s cricketer * Jennifer Maiden (b. 1949), poet * Nic Naitanui (b. 1990), Australian rules footballer, born in Penrith * Evelyn Grace Ione Nowland (1887–1974), nurse and trade unionist * Dominic Purcell (b. 1970), actor, best known for his role as Lincoln Burrows in 2000's Golden Globe award-winning TV series ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers: Lincoln Burrows (Dominic P ...
''. * James Tobias (Toby) Ryan businessman, politician ( Nepean Electorate) * Ben St Lawrence (b. 1981), Olympic long-distance runner * Kent "Smallzy" Small (b. 1984), radio presenter for Nova FM * Brad Smith (b. 1994), football player for
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...
* Grigor Taylor (b. 1943), 1970s TV actor * Ray Watson, (1922−2010), judge who reformed family law to create no-fault divorce. * Alan Whiticker (b. 1958), non-fiction author *Numerous
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
players including Ben Alexander (1971–1992), Greg Alexander, Mark Carroll, John Cartwright, Nathan Cleary, Kurt Falls, Craig Gower, Des Hasler, Liam Ison, Luke Lewis, Soni Luke,
Luke Rooney Luke Rooney (born 16 January 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played rugby league, becoming an Australia national rugby league team, Australian internation ...
, Tim Sheens, and Joseph Sua'ali'i.


Twin towns – sister cities

Penrith is twinned with: *
Fujieda, Shizuoka is a Cities of Japan, city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 145,032 in 59,480 households, and a population density of 750 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Fujieda is a member of th ...
, Japan, a Sister City since 1984. *
Penrith, Cumbria Penrith (, ) is a market town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It is less than outside the Lake District, Lake District National Park and about south of Carlisle. It is between the Rivers River Pet ...
, United Kingdom, a Sister City since 1989. * Gangseo District, Seoul, Republic of Korea, a Friendship City since 1994. * Xicheng District,
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, China, under a Mutual Co-operation Agreement since 1998. *
Kunshan Kunshan is a county-level city in southeastern Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu province with Shanghai bordering its eastern border and Suzhou on its western boundary. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Suzhou. Name Th ...
, China, under a Mutual Co-operation Agreement since 2003. * Hakusan, Ishikawa, Japan, a Friendship City since 2005.


References


External links

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Visit Penrith
' – Penrith City Council Tourism website
Future plan for Penrith CBD– Nepean Belle PaddlewheelerPenrith City Council websitePenrith City HistoryPenrith Panthers Rugby League ClubPenrith on Visit NSWPenrith News & EventsWestern Weekender Newspapersydney.com – Penrith
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CC BY-SA A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work". A CC license is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and bui ...
] {{Authority control Penrith, New South Wales, Suburbs of Sydney Cities in New South Wales