Regentville, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Regentville is a suburb
of Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
. Regentville is located 56 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district
, in the local government area of the City of Penrith
, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney
region. It is located on the eastern bank of the Nepean River
, just south of Jamisontown
.
lifestyle governed by traditional laws, which had their origins in the Dreamtime
. Their homes were bark huts called 'gunyahs'. They hunted kangaroo
s and emu
s for meat, and gathered yam
s, berries and other native plants.
in Sydney
, the indigenous people were forced off their land which was then granted to British settlers by the colonial administration. The first land grant in this area was to the Irish-born Surgeon-General of New South Wales, Thomas Jamison
, who had arrived in 1788 aboard the Sirius
. After Thomas' death in London in 1811, the land (at what is now Jamisontown) was taken up by his son, John, also a surgeon, who had served under Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar
, and was knighted for his medical services to the Royal Navy
by the Prince Regent
of the United Kingdom
, later King George IV, in 1813.
Sir John Jamison
arrived in Sydney
in 1814 and progressively established himself during the ensuing two decades as one of the colony's biggest and wealthiest land owners. In 1823-24, he built a magnificent Georgian-style, sandstone mansion on a rise overlooking the Nepean River. He named the mansion Regentville House in honour of the Prince Regent. Sir John held so many lavish balls, banquets and other social activities at the mansion that he became known as the "hospitable knight of Regentville". He later erected a multi-storey tweed
mill on his extensive estate and established a dairy, a thoroughbred horse stud, ornamental gardens, a cemetery, and a school for the children of his work force. Other parts of the estate were given over to an orchard
, a terraced vineyard
, and grazing paddocks for sheep and cattle.
Sir John died at Regentville House in 1844, aged 68, having lost much of his fortune in a severe economic downturn then afflicting the colony. He is buried in St Stephen's churchyard, Penrith. The Regentville estate passed to his children but the land was gradually sold off in chunks, following an acrimonious inheritance dispute. Regentville House was later turned into an asylum and then leased out as a hotel. Sadly, however, it burned down in suspicious circumstances in 1868. Today, only the house's cellars and drains survive, along with some meagre sections of its masonry walls. Sir John's tweed mill has disappeared, too, but the overgrown terracing of the estate's vineyard can still be discerned.
The area around the site of Regentville House has remained largely rural, if hemmed in somewhat by the modern residential suburbs of Jamisontown and Glenmore Park. It has been the subject of archaeological excavations undertaken by the University of Sydney
and images of the house are extant in various public and private collections.
which in turns provides quick connection to greater Sydney and the Blue Mountains. The nearest railway station is at Penrith
on the Western Line of the Cityrail
network. Westbus provides three bus services in the area with the 799 connecting the majority of Regentville with both Glenmore Park
and Penrith, while Route 797 and Route 795 travels along Mulgoa Road towards Glenmore Park and Warragamba/Wallacia respectively.
.
was just 714. The majority of residents are Australian born (81%) with small minorities born in England
(4%) and Malta
(2%). The most common religious affiliation is Anglican (34%), almost double the national average, followed by Catholic
(32%), those with no religion (9.2%), Presbyterian (3.8%) and Jehovah's Witnesses (2.2%). The median income ($535 per week) was slightly higher than the national average ($466).
, represented by Labor's
Diane Beamer
. Federally, it is part of the Division of Lindsay
, represented by Labor's
David Bradbury
.
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...
, 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...
. Regentville is located 56 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 Penrith
City of Penrith
The City of Penrith is a Local Government Area in Sydney, located about west of Sydney's central business district.- History :The Municipality of Penrith was incorporated on 12 May 1871 under the Municipalities Act 1858. On 3 March 1890, St Marys was separately incorporated, and on 26 July 1893...
, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney is a term used to describe the western region of the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. The University of Western Sydney defines Greater Western Sydney as comprising 14 local government areas...
region. It is located on the eastern bank of the Nepean River
Nepean River
The Nepean River is a river in the coastal region of New South Wales, Australia.The headwaters of the Nepean River rise near Robertson, about 100 kilometres south of Sydney and about 15 kilometres from the coast. The river flows north in an unpopulated water catchment area into Nepean Dam, which...
, just south of Jamisontown
Jamisontown, New South Wales
Jamisontown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Jamisontown is located 56 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region...
.
Aboriginal culture
Prior to European settlement, what is now Regentville was home to the Mulgoa people who spoke the Darug language. They lived a hunter-gathererHunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
lifestyle governed by traditional laws, which had their origins in the Dreamtime
Dreamtime
In the animist framework of Australian Aboriginal mythology, The Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed The Creation.-The Dreaming of the Aboriginal times:...
. Their homes were bark huts called 'gunyahs'. They hunted kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s and emu
Emu
The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...
s for meat, and gathered yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
s, berries and other native plants.
European settlement
Following the arrival of the First FleetFirst Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
in 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...
, the indigenous people were forced off their land which was then granted to British settlers by the colonial administration. The first land grant in this area was to the Irish-born Surgeon-General of New South Wales, Thomas Jamison
Thomas Jamison
Thomas Jamison was a prominent surgeon, government official, mercantile trader and land owner of Sydney, Australia. Jamison was also a member of the First Fleet expedition of 11 ships which founded the Australian colony of New South Wales in 1788...
, who had arrived in 1788 aboard the Sirius
Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek: Seirios . The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris...
. After Thomas' death in London in 1811, the land (at what is now Jamisontown) was taken up by his son, John, also a surgeon, who had served under Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, and was knighted for his medical services to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
by the Prince Regent
Prince Regent
A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, later King George IV, in 1813.
Sir John Jamison
John Jamison
Sir John Jamison was an important Australian physician, pastoralist, banker, politician, constitutional reformer and public figure....
arrived in 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...
in 1814 and progressively established himself during the ensuing two decades as one of the colony's biggest and wealthiest land owners. In 1823-24, he built a magnificent Georgian-style, sandstone mansion on a rise overlooking the Nepean River. He named the mansion Regentville House in honour of the Prince Regent. Sir John held so many lavish balls, banquets and other social activities at the mansion that he became known as the "hospitable knight of Regentville". He later erected a multi-storey tweed
Tweed (cloth)
Tweed is a rough, unfinished woolen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is made in either plain or twill weave and may have a check or herringbone pattern...
mill on his extensive estate and established a dairy, a thoroughbred horse stud, ornamental gardens, a cemetery, and a school for the children of his work force. Other parts of the estate were given over to an orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
, a terraced vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
, and grazing paddocks for sheep and cattle.
Sir John died at Regentville House in 1844, aged 68, having lost much of his fortune in a severe economic downturn then afflicting the colony. He is buried in St Stephen's churchyard, Penrith. The Regentville estate passed to his children but the land was gradually sold off in chunks, following an acrimonious inheritance dispute. Regentville House was later turned into an asylum and then leased out as a hotel. Sadly, however, it burned down in suspicious circumstances in 1868. Today, only the house's cellars and drains survive, along with some meagre sections of its masonry walls. Sir John's tweed mill has disappeared, too, but the overgrown terracing of the estate's vineyard can still be discerned.
The area around the site of Regentville House has remained largely rural, if hemmed in somewhat by the modern residential suburbs of Jamisontown and Glenmore Park. It has been the subject of archaeological excavations undertaken by the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
and images of the house are extant in various public and private collections.
Transport
The Northern Road is the main road in the suburb, connecting with both Penrith and the M4 Western MotorwayM4 Western Motorway
The M4 Western Motorway,, is a motorway in central Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
which in turns provides quick connection to greater Sydney and the Blue Mountains. The nearest railway station is at Penrith
Penrith railway station, Sydney
Penrith railway station is a railway station on the CityRail network in New South Wales, Australia. Located in the Sydney suburb of Penrith, the station serves as a major interchange between Western line, Blue Mountains line trains. Western-bound CountryLink XPT and Xplorer services also stop here...
on the Western Line of the Cityrail
CityRail
CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...
network. Westbus provides three bus services in the area with the 799 connecting the majority of Regentville with both Glenmore Park
Glenmore Park, New South Wales
Glenmore Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Glenmore Park is located 59 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.Glenmore Park is south of...
and Penrith, while Route 797 and Route 795 travels along Mulgoa Road towards Glenmore Park and Warragamba/Wallacia respectively.
Education
The only school in the suburb is Regentville Public School. The nearest high school is located in Glenmore ParkGlenmore Park, New South Wales
Glenmore Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Glenmore Park is located 59 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.Glenmore Park is south of...
.
Demographics
The recorded population of Regentville in the 2006 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
was just 714. The majority of residents are Australian born (81%) with small minorities born 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...
(4%) and 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...
(2%). The most common religious affiliation is Anglican (34%), almost double the national average, followed by Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
(32%), those with no religion (9.2%), Presbyterian (3.8%) and Jehovah's Witnesses (2.2%). The median income ($535 per week) was slightly higher than the national average ($466).
Governance
At a local government level, Regentville is part of the south ward of Penrith City Council, represented by Jim Aitken, Mark Davies, Karen McKeown, Susan Page and Gary Rumble. The current mayor is Jim Aitken. At the state governmental level, it is part of the Electoral district of MulgoaElectoral district of Mulgoa
Mulgoa is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is currently represented by Tanya Davies of the Liberal Party of Australia.-Members for Mulgoa:-Election results:...
, represented by Labor's
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
Diane Beamer
Diane Beamer
Diane Beamer is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1995–2011 representing the electorates of Badgerys Creek and Mulgoa for the Australian Labor Party.-Early life and background:Beamer joined Labor in 1975...
. Federally, it is part of the Division of Lindsay
Division of Lindsay
The Division of Lindsay is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, and is centred around Penrith. It also includes the suburbs of Castlereagh, Mulgoa and Werrington....
, represented by Labor's
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
David Bradbury
David Bradbury
David John Bradbury is an Australian politician. He is an Australian Labor Party Member of the House of Representatives representing the Division of Lindsay, New South Wales. Bradbury was elected at the 2007 federal election.Bradbury has lived in Western Sydney all his life, and was educated at...
.