History
Imagine a long time ago, back to when the whole of Sydney was trees and no large apartment buildings, shops or large homes, no trains. This was home to the Indigenous or Dharug peoples. [3]
Going forward in time, you can imagine Governor Arthur Phillip and his party in the pitch black (no streetlights or city lights), camping overnight on the banks of a creek (now Pendle Creek) on 25 April, 1788. [3]
The Colony was facing a food crisis in 1790 [4] and things were deteriorating in 1793 [5] with public farming crop failures.
In August 1819, D’Arcy Wentworth was granted land to assist with food production to the Colony. European settlers commenced clearing of the land for farming purposes, including animals for meat, with local farms and merchants. [6]
Take a moment on your journey to imagine a world where Australia was a land of opportunity for new immigrants. These worked hard to make a life for themselves and their family in a new country and promote industry and growth. A time when there were only a few train stops, when the large train stations were just two sleepers (or two pieces of timber). [7]
The area around Pendle Hill was first owned as party of the Darcyville estate which extended from Westmead to Toongabbie. This was owned by D'Arcy Wentworth and family until being subdivided in the late 1800’s. The map of the Toongabbie estate subdivision in the reference below shows Toongabbie station leading to Parramatta station as the Pendle Hill, Wentworthville and Westmead railway stations had not yet been built. [8]
A traveller en-route to Sydney from the Blue Mountains in the late 1800’s would have been excited to see the developments and progress in this area. Toongabbie is one of the oldest suburbs in Sydney and could originally be reached by the tall ships via Toongabbie Creek. (Now, the Rivercat only goes as far as Parramatta and no longer can anyone travel further West by boat via this passage).
A traveller on their train voyage would have passed by Castrella the historic family home of William Hart Junior, timber merchant. [9] This villa was built in 1888 and can still be seen by passerby’s today. On your journey to Sydney, between Pendle Hill and Wentworthville stations, look out the window to your left where you will find two historic houses next to each other. The first historic house you come to is Castrella set back from the road surrounded with beautiful Australian gum trees. The second historic house was built after Castrella and is attached to and now run as a child care centre. [10] The subdivisions of land parcels were large and these two historic houses are heritage listed to protect our local history and culture. [11]
Imagine these two historic houses on Wentworth Avenue, Wentworthville were built before the suburb of Pendle Hill even existed.
But perhaps you might be wondering, with all of these Wentworth and Darcy references in the community from the late D'Arcy Wentworth, including the Darcy Road primary school (which is in walking distance from both Pendle Hill and Wentworthville stations), how did Pendle Hill come to be known as Pendle Hill?
George Bond (1876–1950), an American who came to Australia in 1909, [12] established a cotton picking business in 1903. It was Australia's first attempt to spin and weave cotton from cotton farms that the company owned in Queensland. Lancashire was the centre of England's cotton industry, and Pendle Hill is a hill in the heart of the Lancashire cotton industry. It seems likely this is where the town gained its name. George Bond was originally in the business of importing hosiery and underwear but during World War I began manufacturing hosiery in Redfern and by 1925 was producing a quarter of Australia's output of hosiery and knitted garments. Bond Industries Limited became a public company in 1927.
The railway station at Pendle Hill opened here on 12 April 1924. The first government school opened in 1955 and the first post office was opened in 1956 by Postmaster Sqn. Ldr.[Rtd] Richard R. Purdie M.B.E. and his wife Elsie. Nearby "Purdie Lane" is named after these long time pioneers of Pendle Hill. [13]
In 1975, the Maltese Monument was unveiled at Civic Park, Pendle Hill; with the President of Malta and builder Frank Cefai. It is a Bicentennial gift from the Maltese Community "to commemorate the presence, contribution and development of the State of NSW by the Maltese community". An annual memorial service is held at the Monument to mark the anniversary of the Maltese uprising, known as "Sette Giugno", which occurred on 7 June 1919 against British rule, which is now a national holiday in Malta.
