Prior to the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the area of today's Blacktown was inhabited by different groups of the Darug people including the Warmuli, based around what is now Prospect, and their neighbours the Gomerigal from the South Creek area and the Wawarawarry from the Eastern Creek area. It is estimated that fifty to ninety percent of the Darug died of smallpox and other introduced diseases within a few years of the British arrival. Governor Arthur Phillip began granting land in the area to white settlers in 1791. In 1819 Governor Lachlan Macquarie granted land to two indigenous men, Colebee and Nurragingy as payment for their service to The Crown, for assisting Cox with the road over the Blue Mountains and in dealing with Aboriginal issues.[3]
In 1823, the Native Institution (a school for Aboriginal children) was moved from Parramatta to the site where Richmond Road meets Rooty Hill Road North (this intersection is now in the suburbs of Oakhurst and Glendenning) which was named "The Blacks Town". The institution was then known as Black Town Native Institute and it was synonymous with the stolen generation. Although the institution closed in 1833, the road heading out to the Institute became known as the Black Town Road. In 1860 the Railway Department gave the name of Black Town Road Station to the railway station at the junction of the railway and the Black Town Road, with the name shortening to Blacktown by 1862.[4][5][6]
The arrival of the railway led to the formation of a town around the station. A post office was opened in 1862 and a school in 1877. In 1906, the Shire of Blacktown was formed and in 1930, electricity was introduced to the town. The population in 1933 was then around 13,000. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was a large amount of suburban development both in the current suburb of Blacktown and the new suburbs that sprung up around it. This led to civic development in the town centre with the hospital opening in 1965, the courthouse and police station in 1966, the library in 1967 and the TAFE college in 1969. In 1973, the Westpoint shopping centre opened which was soon followed by the cinema complex.[4]
Climate
Blacktown experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa/Cfb, Trewartha: Cfbl/Cfal), with moderately hot, moderately rainy summers and cold, moderately dry winters, and experiences precipitation year-round.[7] Like Greater Western Sydney, Blacktown has a greater annual temperature range between winter and summer, and receives less precipitation than on Sydney Observatory Park.[8]
Summers are moderately hot and humid, having a similar average temperature to Port Jackson, but diurnal temperature range is higher from the lack of coastal sea breezes from the Tasman Sea, which only make up to the suburb of Homebush, which is east of Blacktown, which also reduces summer precipitation .[9] In addition, 29.6 days will exceed 30 °C (86 °F), which is more than twice as common compared to Observatory Park, which only records 11.1 days exceeding the same threshold.[10] Extremes range from 41.7 °C (107.1 °F) on 30 December 1965 to 8.3 °C (46.9 °F) on 2 February 1965.
Winters are cold and moderately dry. Due to its inland position further from the Tasman Sea, it typically records 11.0 nights below 5 °C (41 °F) and 2.3 nights below 0 °C (32 °F), which is cold compared to the Sydney CBD, which on an average year, records zero nights below 5 °C (41 °F), allowing light frosts on many winter mornings. Southwesterly winds, known as frontal lows often affect Blacktown in the winter, but lose much of their moisture over the Victorian Alps and Great Dividing Range, making this the driest season in Blacktown.[11] Extremes range from 27.8 °C (82.0 °F) on 25 August 1972 to –3.9 °C (25.0 °F) on 16 July 1970.
Climate data for Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia (1955–1975 normals, extremes 1965–1975)
The Blacktown Commercial Business District is located close to Blacktown railway station. Westpoint Blacktown is a major shopping centre and there are a number of small shops, restaurants and hotels in the surrounding area. Westpoint also houses a western suburb television studio of the Nine Network. The Blacktown CBD features the following landmarks:
A notable Blacktown retailer in the 1950s was Frank Lowy who conducted a delicatessen and small goods shop in Main Street.[13]
Blacktown HospitalMax Webber LibraryBlacktown Rail Station
Transport
According to the 2006 census, the most common way of getting to work from Blacktown was by car (74%) with public transport used by just under twenty percent. Most public transport was done by train (17%) with five percent catching buses for all or part of their journey.[14]Blacktown railway station is on the North Shore & Western Line and the Cumberland Line of the Sydney Trains network. A major bus interchange is located next to the station and an underground bus station is at the entrance to Westpoint. Blacktown is a terminus of the North-West T-way.
The Blacktown Tourist Centre is located in the original Blacktown School buildingBlacktown Arts Centre
The first school, a single-storey brick building with gables, was opened in 1877. While no longer in use as a school, the building in Flushcombe Road is now used as a Visitor Information Centre. It is the oldest remaining building in the Blacktown CBD and is heritage-listed.[4][15][16]
Government-run primary schools in the area include: Blacktown North Public School, Blacktown South Public School, Blacktown West Public School, Lynwood Park Public School, Marayong South Public School, Shelley Public School, and Walters Road Public School. Public high schools include: Blacktown Boys High School, Blacktown Girls High School, Evans High School and Mitchell High School. There is also the Coreen School, which caters to older children with learning difficulties.[17]
Blacktown Arts Centre is located at 78 Flushcombe Road on the highest point of land in the Blacktown CBD.
Originally built in the 1950s as an Anglican church, the building was deconsecrated in 1999. Originally acquired by Blacktown Council as a site for a car park, the Council in partnership with Arts NSW subsequently refurbished the building as a multi-arts centre.[21]
The centre opened to the public in October 2002. In 2006 the centre underwent a multimillion-dollar refit and extension. The building reopened in April 2007 with facilities for performance, extended visual art galleries, workshop space and enhanced administrative areas.
According to the 2016 census, there were 47,176 residents in the suburb of Blacktown. 46.1% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were India 13.3%, Philippines 5.4%, China 2.5%, New Zealand 2.2% and Fiji 2.0%. 44.2% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Punjabi 8.9%, Hindi 5.0%, Arabic 4.0%, Tagalog 3.2% and Gujarati 2.4%. The most common responses for religion in Blacktown were Catholic 25.3%, No Religion 14.1%, Hinduism 12.3% and Anglican 8.6%.[1]
Religious destinations
Islam
Blacktown Mosque and Ghausia Masjid serve as the main Islamic religious places for the area.
Both Mosques are located off Sunnyholt road, and are barely a 2 minute drive from each other.
They are both open for all 5 daily Prayers, (Fajr, Dhur, Asr, Maghrib, Isha) - note the times change depending on the season, however Jumah currently is at 1.15pm for both Mosques.
Blacktown_Arts_Centre.jpg)
