North Rocks, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
North Rocks is a suburb of Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
. North Rocks is located 26 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district
in the local government area of The Hills Shire, in the Hills District
.
. In 1789 Governor Phillip reserved large areas to the north and west of Rosehill for the use of Government stock - the present Northmead
and Westmead
. The reserve to the north was described as extending as far as 'the North Rocks'. The area was also known as Jerusalem Rocks.
The North Rocks were a massive sandstone outcrop, which terminated the ridge on the south side of Hunts Creek. These rocks so dominated the landscape and were such prominent features that they gave their name to the locality but were not preserved. In 1841 when it was decided to build a new gaol at Parramatta
, a shrewd contractor bought the Rocks as they consisted of the best sandstone in the district - and were very conveniently situated. His tender was accepted, and much of the North Rocks became gaol walls and flagstones in 1844. Further inroads were made on what was left when the wall of masonry was erected in 1855-56 which held back the waters of Lake Parramatta. Much stone was needed for the dam, as the wall is about 240 feet (73.2 m) long and is fifteen feet through at the base.
and the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children
school are located around North Rocks Road. The shopping centre
features a Franklins and a Coles Supermarket and Kmart
discount department store and specialty shops. Beside the shopping centre is a new development featuring an Aldi
supermarket, Reject Shop
,First Choice Liquor and Nando's Restaurant. A small group of shops is also located on the opposite side, around the intersection of North Rocks Road and Lawndale Avenue.
There is a light industrial area towards North Parramatta, which includes industrial businesses such as Unilever
and Rexona
.
Private
runs through North Rocks, and there is close access to this road from neighbouring suburbs. Public transport to, from and throughout the area is provided by bus, with train stations accessible from nearby Epping and Parramatta. The Barclay Road M2 Bus Station provides fast, frequent services to the City and Castle Hill
7 days a week via Route 610. Sydney Buses routes 549 and 546 provide links from Parramatta railway station to Epping railway station through different parts of North Rocks, although both converge at North Rocks Westfield shopping centre. There is also currently on trial route 553 from North Rocks Westfield shopping centre to Beecroft railway station running on a trial basis on weekdays via the Oakes Rd M2 bus station.
data from the 2006 census records the population of North Rocks as 7,234 residents, with 3,525 males and 3,709 females. The median age of people in North Rocks was 40, compared with 37 for the whole of Australia
.
Country of birth
In the 2006 Census, 90% of people living in North Rocks were Australian citizens. 67.4% of people were born in Australia, with 3.8% born in China
, 3.4% in England
, 2% in Hong Kong
, 1.7% in the Republic of Korea
, and 1.6% in New Zealand
.
Languages
In the 2006 Census, 72.7% of people only spoke English
at home, while 5.9% spoke Cantonese, 4% spoke Mandarin, 2.2% spoke Korean
, 1.9% spoke Arabic
and 1% spoke Italian
.
Religion
In the 2006 Census, 31% of people identify themselves as Catholic
, 20.1% of people are Anglican
, 14.6% have no religion, 7.6% belong to the Uniting Church
and 3.7% belong to the Presbyterian and Reformed Church
.
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...
, in the state of 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...
. North Rocks is located 26 kilometres north-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 Hills Shire, in the Hills District
Hills District (Sydney)
Hills District or The Hills is a general term for the north-western suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Hills District is also referred to as The Sydney Hills and The Hills Shire...
.
History
The name "North Rocks" dates back to the beginning of the settlement at Parramatta and is older even than the name of the city itself, which at first was called RosehillRosehill, New South Wales
Rosehill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rosehill is located 23 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region....
. In 1789 Governor Phillip reserved large areas to the north and west of Rosehill for the use of Government stock - the present Northmead
Northmead, New South Wales
Northmead is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Northmead is located 26 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Parramatta and The Hills Shire...
and Westmead
Westmead, New South Wales
Westmead is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Westmead is located 26 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region....
. The reserve to the north was described as extending as far as 'the North Rocks'. The area was also known as Jerusalem Rocks.
The North Rocks were a massive sandstone outcrop, which terminated the ridge on the south side of Hunts Creek. These rocks so dominated the landscape and were such prominent features that they gave their name to the locality but were not preserved. In 1841 when it was decided to build a new gaol 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...
, a shrewd contractor bought the Rocks as they consisted of the best sandstone in the district - and were very conveniently situated. His tender was accepted, and much of the North Rocks became gaol walls and flagstones in 1844. Further inroads were made on what was left when the wall of masonry was erected in 1855-56 which held back the waters of Lake Parramatta. Much stone was needed for the dam, as the wall is about 240 feet (73.2 m) long and is fifteen feet through at the base.
Commercial area
Westfield North RocksWestfield North Rocks
Westfield North Rocks is a shopping centre, located in North Rocks, a suburb of Sydney. The shopping centre is located 26 km from Sydney's central business district on North Rocks Road, which links to the Hills Motorway via Pennant Hills Road....
and the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children
Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children
The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children in Sydney provides a range of educational services for students with vision and/or hearing impairment, including specialist schools for signing deaf students, oral deaf students, and students with sensory and intellectual disabilities.RIDBC offers...
school are located around North Rocks Road. The shopping centre
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
features a Franklins and a Coles Supermarket and Kmart
Kmart Australia
Kmart Australia Limited is a discount department store chain owned by Wesfarmers. It operates 172 stores in Australia and 15 in New Zealand, with its head office located in Mulgrave, Victoria. Wesfarmers uses the Kmart name under licence from Sears Holdings Corporation.-History:Kmart Australia...
discount department store and specialty shops. Beside the shopping centre is a new development featuring an Aldi
ALDI
ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...
supermarket, Reject Shop
Reject Shop
Reject Shop is a home grown Malaysian chain store within the Metrojaya group of companies which focuses on retailing global branded garments which are off-season stocks, discontinued stocks, late order cancellations together with Metrojaya's own cheap merchandise. Well known brands from the USA,...
,First Choice Liquor and Nando's Restaurant. A small group of shops is also located on the opposite side, around the intersection of North Rocks Road and Lawndale Avenue.
There is a light industrial area towards North Parramatta, which includes industrial businesses such as Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
and Rexona
Rexona
Rexona is a deodorant brand manufactured by Anglo Dutch company Unilever. It was developed in 1908 by an Australian pharmacist and his wife.The brand Rexona also exists in India...
.
Schools
Public- North Rocks Public School(which has an Opportunity Class) ;
- Burnside Public School;
- Muirfield High SchoolMuirfield High SchoolMuirfield High School is a public, co-educational, secondary day school located in North Rocks, a north-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
is a comparatively small high school with around 700 students.
Private
- Christ the King School;
- The King's SchoolThe King's School, SydneyThe King's School is an independent Anglican, day and boarding school for boys in North Parramatta in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831, it is Australia's oldest school and forms one of the nine "Great Public Schools" of New South Wales. Situated within a site, Gowan Brae,...
; - Tara Anglican School for GirlsTara Anglican School for GirlsTara Anglican School for Girls is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in North Parramatta, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
.
Churches
- Liberty Baptist Church
- North Rocks Anglican Church [Anglican Church]
- Christ the King [Catholic Church]
- North Rocks Community Church [Uniting Church]
Transport
The M2 Hills MotorwayM2 Hills Motorway
The M2 Hills Motorway is a motorway in north-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It forms part of Sydney Metroad 2 and the 110 km Sydney Orbital Network. West of Pennant Hills Road, the M2 is also part of the National Highway.-History:Previously, Sydney's western suburbs were poorly served...
runs through North Rocks, and there is close access to this road from neighbouring suburbs. Public transport to, from and throughout the area is provided by bus, with train stations accessible from nearby Epping and Parramatta. The Barclay Road M2 Bus Station provides fast, frequent services to the City and Castle Hill
Castle Hill, New South Wales
Castle Hill is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castle Hill is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Hills District of the Greater Western Sydney region...
7 days a week via Route 610. Sydney Buses routes 549 and 546 provide links from Parramatta railway station to Epping railway station through different parts of North Rocks, although both converge at North Rocks Westfield shopping centre. There is also currently on trial route 553 from North Rocks Westfield shopping centre to Beecroft railway station running on a trial basis on weekdays via the Oakes Rd M2 bus station.
Sport and recreation
Public services in the suburb include a number of large reserves, sporting facilities, a community centre, and a number of schools, and an active Rotary and Lions clubs as well as Boy scout & Girl scout associations. North Rocks also boasts an 18 hole competition Golf Course and club facilities. The North Rocks Softball Club which is part of the Hornsby District Softball Association. There is also a local soccer and rugby club.Demographics
Australian Bureau of StatisticsAustralian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
data from the 2006 census records the population of North Rocks as 7,234 residents, with 3,525 males and 3,709 females. The median age of people in North Rocks was 40, compared with 37 for the whole of 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...
.
Country of birth
In the 2006 Census, 90% of people living in North Rocks were Australian citizens. 67.4% of people were born in Australia, with 3.8% born in China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, 3.4% in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 2% in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, 1.7% in the Republic of Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, and 1.6% in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Languages
In the 2006 Census, 72.7% of people only spoke English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at home, while 5.9% spoke Cantonese, 4% spoke Mandarin, 2.2% spoke Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
, 1.9% spoke Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and 1% spoke Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.
Religion
In the 2006 Census, 31% of people identify themselves as Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, 20.1% of people are Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
, 14.6% have no religion, 7.6% belong to the Uniting Church
Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia was formed on 22 June 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....
and 3.7% belong to the Presbyterian and Reformed Church
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
.