Castle Hill is a suburb in the northwest of Sydney in Australia, about 30 kilometres north-west of the central business district. It is the seat of Baulkham Hills Shire (it also overlaps in jurisdiction with Hornsby Shire).

History

It is believed that the first European visitors to the district were Governor Phillip and a party of 21 from Parramatta who reached the Hills in April 1791. Their aim was to find new country for settlement and farming to feed the struggling Sydney colony.

Governor King began a government farm there on July 8 1801, referring to it as Castle Hill on 1 March 1802. The majority of the convicts who worked the farm were Irish, many having been transported for agitation against British rule. In 1804, the convicts rebelled in the Castle Hill Rebellion (also known as the 'Battle of Vinegar Hill'), overpowering their guards and marching on towards Parramatta. However, they were vastly outgunned and outnumbered by British troops, who massacred about twenty of them and then hanged several others.

In later years the area became filled with market gardens and especially orchards which supplied Sydney with fresh produce. However, as Sydney has expanded, the orchards have disappeared and been replaced with a sprawl of suburban dwellings, retail and commercial establishments and light industry. However, Baulkham Hills Shire Council commemorates the shire's former status as an orange-growing area with the Orange Blossom Festival each year.

In the past Castle Hill was serviced by a rail line to Parramatta, to take the rural area's produce to the city. However, it was removed in the 1950s, due to competition with trucks and cars. This is now widely viewed as a mistake, and the NSW State Government has promised to construct a new subway line there from Epping. However, this must wait until the Parramatta Rail Link is completed, and the railway line is unlikely to be built until 2010-2015.

Although a precise explanation on why Castle Hill is named so may never be known, there are some possible suggestions.

• Some believe it have been named because of the fine views from the hills in the district.
• The first free settler in Castle Hill was Frenchman, Baron Verincourt de Clambe , who received a grant of 200 acres in 1802. It has been suggested that de Clambe's house " The Hermitage" was commonly called 'The Castle' by locals, because of the Baron's noble status.

Geography

Commercial area

Castle Hill's commercial area centres around a section of the Old Northern Road at the suburb's eastern side. Its southern side is an older, traditional shopping strip, with the modest-sized Castle Mall shopping centre. Its northern side is dominated by the large Castle Towers shopping centre, with two department stores as well as two cinema multiplexes. A new library and community centre has just been opened next to Castle Towers.

Industrial area

Castle Hill also has a light industrial area at the suburb's western side. It is linked with the commercial area by Showground Road. The Baulkham hills Shire Council chamber, the Hills Centre performing arts complex, and the Castle Hill Showground all situate next to the industrial area.

Residential areas

The largest residential area in Castle Hill is located at the two sides of Showground Road, sandwiched between the commercial and the industrial area. Smaller residential areas are located at the east of the commercial area, as well as the suburb's north-east (part of Hornsby Shire, separated by Old Northern Road and Castle Hill Road). These consist almost entirely of free-standing houses, many of which are project homes dubbed "McMansions". Several government and private schools, as well as an RSL Club, are located within these areas.

One of the many clubs that meets at the RSL on a regular basis is The Hills District Toastmasters Club (http://www.hdtc.org.au/), where Visitors are always warmly welcomed.

The club meets every second Tuesday 7.00pm for a 7.20pm start. The meeting dates for 2005 are: 18-Jan-05, 1-Feb-05, 15-Feb-05, 1-Mar-05, 15-Mar-05, 29-Mar-05, 12-Apr-05, 26-Apr-05, 10-May-05, 24-May-05, 7-Jun-05, 21-Jun-05, 5-Jul-05, 19-Jul-05, 2-Aug-05, 16-Aug-05, 30-Aug-05, 13-Sep-05, 27-Sep-05, 11-Oct-05, 25-Oct-05, 8-Nov-05, 22-Nov-05, 6-Dec-05

The venue details are: Castle Hill RSL Club, Castle Street, Castle Hill

Religion

Castle Hill and its surrounding areas are sometimes dubbed the "Bible Belt" of Sydney, owing to the considerable influence of evangelical Christianity in the region. The gigantic Hillsong Church, although not within Castle Hill itself, is located nearby; many more churches of various denominations are also active within Castle Hill. Such is the influence of the churches in the area that Christian music albums can be found alongside mainstream chart singles at the local independent records store.