History of Northmead

City of Parramatta, Shire of Baulkham Hills Location: 26 kilometres west of Sydney on Windsor Road

The name of this suburb to the north of Parramatta describes its situation. It was the north "mead", or meadow, of the governor's domain, or park. It is a hilly area, rising from the Darling Mills Creek, north towards Winston Hills, with Darling Mills Creek and Toongabbie Creek as its other boundaries.

A station for a light railway opened here in January 1923 and was known as Woollen Mills, because of the Darling Mills nearby. The line, which carried goods and passengers, opened in 1902 and ran from Parramatta Station to Baulkham Hills. A new line to Castle Hill from Northmead and Westmead opened in 1923. Seven months later the name was changed to Northmead, which has remained as the suburb's name, although both lines had closed by 1927.

The official post office opened in June 1916, and the first school was established in January 1924. The residents here are home-lovers, as their houses and gardens show. Nearby are the shopping centres and sports facilities of Blacktown and Parramatta.

The area was originally one of orchard and poultry farms, and retains something of the tranquillity of its farming days.

Reference: The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled & Edited by Frances Pollon, published by Angus & Robertson Publishers 1988