Greystanes, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Greystanes is a suburb
of Sydney
, New South Wales
, Australia
. Greystanes is located 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district
in the local government area of the City of Holroyd
.
and the settlers, the Darug people
being led for many years of guerrilla warfare by Pemulwuy
.
The area later became differentiated into Prospect, to the west of Greystanes Creek, and Greystanes to the east of the Creek, the latter taking its name from a historical home on Prospect Hill, built by Nelson Simmons Lawson, third child of Lieutenant William Lawson. The name 'Grey Stanes', given by Nelson Lawson, came from the outcrops of basalt on Prospect Hill, "Grey" being its colour and "Stanes" being the Scottish word for stones.
The land was originally granted to William Cummings in 1799, before being acquired by William Lawson in approximately 1810. It was from this land that William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland
and William Charles Wentworth
set out on their successful crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813 and discovered the Bathurst Plains. The Lawson family crypt still exists today at St Bartholomew's Church, Prospect.
The area was used for poultry farming in the early twentieth century until Greystanes developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a residential suburb. Frank Cefai, a Maltese
migrant, is a well known developer built hundreds of residential homes throughout Greystanes and its surrounding suburbs. Cefai built and helped fund the Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in 1975 and the surrounding primary and secondary schools.
and M4 Western Motorway
. Greystanes is serviced by Westbus' routes 806, 809, 810, 811, and 818 which connect Greystanes and Pemulwuy with the train stations at Parramatta
and Merrylands
.
High schools
Private schools
, which was a water canal once used to transport water from the Prospect Reservoir, but has since been decommissioned and converted into a cycleway/walkway. Despite this, it is still referred to by its original function. The Canal features the regionally well-known Canal bridge - also known as the Boothtown Aqueduct
(as its original function was).
The south-west of Greystanes contains the Gipps Road Sporting Complex and the Rosford Street Reserve, which consist of multiple ovals suitable for sports such as football and cricket. Around the ovals are large, open fields, suitable for other forms of recreation and a small BMX track in Rosford Street Reserve. A small-bore rifle club is located on Hyland Road, near these sporting complexes and the Hyland Road Youth Centre is also on this road. The Cumberland Country Gold Club is located to the geographic centre of the suburb.
and many of them operated poultry farms. Three family poultry businesses from Greystanes became household names throughout Australia - Cordina Chickens, Baiada Chickens and Pace Farm Eggs.
Greystanes still has a large Maltese
-Australian community. The Maltese
community have hosted a Festa (Festa tal-Vitorja & Maria Bambina) every October since 1965 in and around the church. The Maltese
community purchased the land and built a new church dedicated to Our Lady of Victories in 1975. The Maltese
Festa has its origins in the religious festivals held annually in each village of Malta
, celebrating the patron saint of the village. The church and parish were named after Our Lady of Victories, a beautifully hand crafted statue from Italy
, a replica of Maria Bambina from Gozo
. Despite hundreds of years of tradition, the clergy of the Catholic church deemed it incorrect to have the moniker Victories attached to Our Lady. The church then became the Parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace. The statue is on display in the church and at the annual procession of the Maltese
Festa.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Greystanes is located 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
in the local government area of the City of Holroyd
City of Holroyd
Holroyd is a Local Government Area and suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, located in the Western Sydney region. Originally known as the Municipality of Prospect and Sherwood it was incorporated in February 1872, in 1927 it was renamed the Municipality of Holroyd after Arthur Holroyd,...
.
History
In the early years of British settlement the area was known as Prospect Hill and was the site of the first land grants to emancipated convicts in 1791. At this period it was one of several areas of conflict between the Darug peopleDarug people
The Darug people are a language group of Indigenous Australians, who are traditional custodians of much of what is modern day Sydney. There is some dispute about the extent of the Darug nation. Some historians believe the coastal Eora people were a separate tribe to the Darug...
and the settlers, the Darug people
Darug people
The Darug people are a language group of Indigenous Australians, who are traditional custodians of much of what is modern day Sydney. There is some dispute about the extent of the Darug nation. Some historians believe the coastal Eora people were a separate tribe to the Darug...
being led for many years of guerrilla warfare by Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy was an Aboriginal Australian man born around 1750 in the area of Botany Bay in New South Wales. He is noted for his resistance to the European settlement of Australia which began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. He is believed to have been a member of the Bidjigal clan of...
.
The area later became differentiated into Prospect, to the west of Greystanes Creek, and Greystanes to the east of the Creek, the latter taking its name from a historical home on Prospect Hill, built by Nelson Simmons Lawson, third child of Lieutenant William Lawson. The name 'Grey Stanes', given by Nelson Lawson, came from the outcrops of basalt on Prospect Hill, "Grey" being its colour and "Stanes" being the Scottish word for stones.
The land was originally granted to William Cummings in 1799, before being acquired by William Lawson in approximately 1810. It was from this land that William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland
Gregory Blaxland
Gregory Blaxland was a pioneer farmer and explorer in Australia.- Early life :Gregory Blaxland was born 17 June 1778 at Fordwich, Kent, England, the fourth son of John Blaxland, mayor from 1767 to 1774, whose family had owned estates nearby for generations, and Mary, daughter of Captain Parker,...
and William Charles Wentworth
William Wentworth
William Charles Wentworth was an Australian poet, explorer, journalist and politician, and one of the leading figures of early colonial New South Wales...
set out on their successful crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813 and discovered the Bathurst Plains. The Lawson family crypt still exists today at St Bartholomew's Church, Prospect.
The area was used for poultry farming in the early twentieth century until Greystanes developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a residential suburb. Frank Cefai, a Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
migrant, is a well known developer built hundreds of residential homes throughout Greystanes and its surrounding suburbs. Cefai built and helped fund the Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in 1975 and the surrounding primary and secondary schools.
Transport
The major arterial roads include Cumberland Highway, Great Western HighwayGreat Western Highway
The Great Western Highway is a highway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs 210 km from Sydney to Bathurst.Starting as Broadway at the intersection of City Road near the fringe of the Sydney CBD, and becoming Parramatta Road to Parramatta itself, the Great Western Highway heads due west from...
and M4 Western Motorway
M4 Western Motorway
The M4 Western Motorway,, is a motorway in central Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. Greystanes is serviced by Westbus' routes 806, 809, 810, 811, and 818 which connect Greystanes and Pemulwuy with the train stations at Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
and Merrylands
Merrylands, New South Wales
Merrylands is a suburb in western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Merrylands is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Holroyd...
.
Schools
Primary schools- Greystanes Public School
- Beresford Road Primary School
- Ringrose Primary School
- Widemere Public School
High schools
- Greystanes High SchoolGreystanes High SchoolGreystanes High School is a publicly funded comprehensive co-educational secondary school located in Greystanes, New South Wales.- Layout :The school comprises eight blocks, including a canteen, a library and a hall. It also has a large quadrangle sheltered-area...
- Holroyd High SchoolHolroyd High SchoolHolroyd High School is a secondary school located in Greystanes, New South Wales.The school houses an Intensive English Centre which provides a specialised program to non-English speaking migrants and refugees so that they can better participate in Australian society.-School Layout:Structurally,...
Private schools
- St Pauls Catholic CollegeSt Pauls Catholic CollegeSt Pauls Catholic College is a Private Boys High School in Greystanes, New South Wales. It is named after the Christian patron, St Paul. It was originally named St Simon Stock High School and Newman High School. It resides behind the OLQP Parish in Greystanes and next to OLQP Primary School; which...
, which was originally named St. Simon Stock High School and later Newman High School - Our Lady Queen of Peace Primary School
Parks and recreation
Greystanes contains a large number of parks, ovals, and sporting facilities, as well as a golf course. Through the lower portion of Greystanes runs what is known as the CanalLower Prospect Canal Reserve
The Lower Prospect Canal Reserve is a lineal parcel of, primarily, Cumberland Plain Woodland covering 54.6 hectares and stretching 7.7 kilometres through the heart of suburban Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, which was a water canal once used to transport water from the Prospect Reservoir, but has since been decommissioned and converted into a cycleway/walkway. Despite this, it is still referred to by its original function. The Canal features the regionally well-known Canal bridge - also known as the Boothtown Aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
(as its original function was).
The south-west of Greystanes contains the Gipps Road Sporting Complex and the Rosford Street Reserve, which consist of multiple ovals suitable for sports such as football and cricket. Around the ovals are large, open fields, suitable for other forms of recreation and a small BMX track in Rosford Street Reserve. A small-bore rifle club is located on Hyland Road, near these sporting complexes and the Hyland Road Youth Centre is also on this road. The Cumberland Country Gold Club is located to the geographic centre of the suburb.
Culture
Many of the early residents of Greystanes were from MaltaMalta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
and many of them operated poultry farms. Three family poultry businesses from Greystanes became household names throughout Australia - Cordina Chickens, Baiada Chickens and Pace Farm Eggs.
Greystanes still has a large Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
-Australian community. The Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
community have hosted a Festa (Festa tal-Vitorja & Maria Bambina) every October since 1965 in and around the church. The Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
community purchased the land and built a new church dedicated to Our Lady of Victories in 1975. The Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
Festa has its origins in the religious festivals held annually in each village of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, celebrating the patron saint of the village. The church and parish were named after Our Lady of Victories, a beautifully hand crafted statue from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, a replica of Maria Bambina from Gozo
Gozo
Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...
. Despite hundreds of years of tradition, the clergy of the Catholic church deemed it incorrect to have the moniker Victories attached to Our Lady. The church then became the Parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace. The statue is on display in the church and at the annual procession of the Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
Festa.