Windsor is a historic town in north-western

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is the council

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

. The town sits on the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

, enveloped by farmland and Australian bush. Many of the oldest surviving European buildings in

are located at Windsor. It is north-west of the

CBD, 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 ...

Demographics

At the , Windsor had a reported population of 1,915 people, with a median age of 41. The most common ancestries in Windsor were English (38.4%),

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

(37.7%), Irish (12.7%), Scottish (10.7%), and

Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

(6.3%). Most people from Windsor were born in

(77.2%), followed by

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%) and

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 ...

(2.2%). The most common religious group in Windsor was

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(55.5%), including 19.1%

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 ...

and 19.1%

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 ...

. The second largest group was No Religion (34.7%). The most common occupations in Windsor included Professionals (17.4%), Technicians and Trades Workers (15.9%), Clerical and Administrative Workers (13.4%), Managers (12.9%), and Labourers (10.6%). The median weekly household income was .

Geography

The Greater Windsor area includes South Windsor, Bligh Park, Windsor Downs, McGraths Hill and Mulgrave suburbs. Windsor's proximity to the

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

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, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...

) nation of indigenous aboriginal peoples. Windsor is the fourth 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

(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, 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 Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, and had a leading role ...

ordered the main institutions of organised settlement to be erected, including a church, school-house, gaol and "commodious inn" ( Macquarie Arms Hotel). Of these new buildings, the most outstanding was

Francis Greenway Francis Greenway (20 November 1777 - September 1837) was an English-Australian convict and colonial architect. After being convicted of forgery in England and subsequently transported to New South Wales, Australia (known then as New Holland) ...

's St Matthew's Anglican Church.

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

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

, 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

from Earl Bathurst detailing a proposed invasion of the

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. This planned invasion that did not eventuate targeted the Windsor

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

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

. It was known as the "bread basket", ensuring the survival of the starving colony. The extensive agriculture caused major silting in the

; by the 1890s the

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 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 be ...

in 1853.

Attractions and Heritage listings

Major attractions of Windsor are The Windsor Mall (Water Wheel), Windsor Mall Sunday Market, Hawkesbury Regional Museum, Howe Park, Windsor Beach, Macquarie Park, Governor Philip Park, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, St Matthew's Anglican Church, Windsor Bridge and Hawkesbury Paddlewheeler. 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 *29 Fitzgerald Street: Mackenzie House *41 George Street: Government Cottage Archaeological Site *126 George Street: Loder House *226 George Street: Simmons Hardware Store *350 George Street: Reverend Turner Cottage *361 George Street: McQuade Park *23–27 Johnston Street: Johnston Street terraces *Macquarie Street: Windsor Uniting Church and Hall *49 Macquarie Street: Windsor Methodist Parsonage *Moses Street: St Matthew's Anglican Church *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: Macquarie Arms Hotel *Thompson Square: Thompson Square Conservation Area *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 broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

station, Hawkesbury Radio, are located in Windsor. Pitt Town, which is north west of Windsor, was a filming location for the Channel 7 television series '' A Country Practice.'' It was the set of the fictional town of Wandin Valley. The opening credits featured the former

Court House Hotel, Windsor Court House Hotel is a heritage-listed former hotel and now residence at 37–39 North Street, Windsor, New South Wales, Windsor, New South Wales, on the urban fringe of Sydney, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Regi ...

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 ...

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 branch. Located in the town centre is the Windsor Bridge which was constructed in 1874. It is the oldest existing crossing of the

. 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 executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

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 Windsor Road is a notable road in the Hills District, New South Wales, Hills District of Sydney, linking Windsor, New South Wales, Windsor and North Parramatta, New South Wales, North Parramatta in Sydney's west. It is a constituent part of ro ...

. 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 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 ...

via the Windsor Road cycleway, with much of its route via the

North-West T-way The North-West T-way is a continuous series of bus-only lanes and bus roadways between Parramatta, Blacktown and Rouse Hill in Western Sydney. Opened in stages between March and November 2007, the T-way was the second bus rapid transit route t ...

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

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)

Bibliography

* Bowd, D. G. ''Macquarie Country: A History of the Hawkesbury.'' Library of Australian History, 1994. * CAWB. ‘Windsor Bridge.’ http://www.cawb.com.au/the-place.html * Fitzpatrick, J.C.L. ''When We Were Boys Together'': ''reminiscences of the Hawkesbury district.'' C. McHardy, c2004. * Jack, Ian, and Jan Barkley-Jack. ''St Matthews Windsor - An Anglican Landmark celebrating 200 years.'' Rosenberg Publishing, 2016. * Proudfoot, Helen''. The Hawkesbury: A Thematic History.'' Hawkesbury City Council, 2017. https://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/119911/The-Hawkesbury-A-Thematic-History-2017-February.pdf * Smith, Heather. ''Leaving The Barracks - Windsor Police Station, 1862 – 2010.'' H. Smith, 2011. * Steele, James. ''Early Days of Windsor.'' https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1302241h.html

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