History of Quakers Hill

City of Blacktown Location: 41 kilometres north-west of Sydney just north-west of Blacktown, on the Richmond Line The earliest land grant in this suburb, now on the Blacktown - Richmond railway line, was of 2,000 acres to Major West in 1814. The property later passed through several hands, and an early free settler Thomas Harvey, who arrived in the colony in about 1852, leased 100 acres for thirty years. He is thought to have been a Quaker - certainly several Quakers did receive grants and settle here - and to have been the reason for the suburb's name.

The small suburb existed by farming and retained its peaceful existence until the coming of the branch railway Line from Blacktown, when residential development increased. The stop was known as Douglas Siding, and Quakers Hill became the suburb's name after a big subdivision of land in the early 1900s, the first in the area. Arthur Ricard and Company, which handled the subdivision, advertised it as The Quakers Hill Estate.

In the early part of this century, the area was mostly devoted to poultry farms, but after the construction of Schofields Aerodrome, the noise put the hens off laying The aerodrome was built on land, north of the Quakers Hill property, which had been granted to Joseph Pye in 1813. The land was resumed in 1941 for the navy's aerodrome. The navy also has an apprentices school at the aerodrome site, called HMAS Nirimba.

East of the railway line merchant Robert Campbell held 1,500 acres, which were later bought by John Pearce, the grandson of Matthew Pearce of Kings Langley. The property was used for orange groves and vineyards.

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