Mulgoa, New South Wales

Mulgoa is a village, located in the local government area of the City of Penrith, in the region of western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mulgoa is located approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) west of the Sydney central business district.

For the NSW electoral district, see Electoral district of Mulgoa.

Mulgoa
Sydney, New South Wales
Population1,898 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density34.20/km2 (88.57/sq mi)
Postcode(s)2745
Area55.5 km2 (21.4 sq mi)
Location66 km (41 mi) west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)Penrith City Council
State electorate(s)Mulgoa
Federal Division(s)
Suburbs around Mulgoa:
Megalong Valley Regentville Glenmore Park
Megalong Valley Mulgoa Orchard Hills
Megalong Valley Wallacia Luddenham

Mulgoa covers an area of 5,530 hectares (13,700 acres), south of the Penrith suburbs of Regentville and Glenmore Park.

History

Aboriginal culture

Mulgoa takes its name from the Mulgoa people who were the indigenous inhabitants of the area and spoke the Dharug language. The name is believed to mean black swan. The Mulgoa weren't the only inhabitants of the area. They shared the Mulgoa Valley with the Gandangara people of the Southern Highlands, whose territory extended up into the Blue Mountains. They lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle governed by traditional laws, which had their origins in the Dreamtime. Their homes were bark huts called 'gunyahs'. They hunted kangaroos and emus for meat, and gathered yams, berries and other native plants.[2][3]

European settlement

Following the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney, there were a number of bloody battles between the British settlers and the local indigenous people in this area, however, it is believed that the Mulgoa people were generally peaceful and most of the clashes were with the Gandangara. The first government land grants in the area were made in 1810 to Edward Cox, the four-year-old son of Captain William Cox, who constructed a famous road across the Blue Mountains in 1814. William Cox built The Cottage on the land in about 1811. Fernhill, a much grander residence with associated gardens, now heritage-listed, was completed in the 1840s, although the proposed second-storey was never added.[4] Not far away dwelt Cox's friend Sir John Jamison, who erected the colony's finest mansion, Regentville House, in 1824, on an eminence overlooking the Nepean River. In 1821, three large land grants were made on the Nepean at Mulgoa to the Norton family: James Norton, the founder of Sydney's first law firm and his father and brother, Nathaniel.[5][6]

The centre of Mulgoa's spiritual life in the colonial era was St Thomas' Anglican Church, which dates from 1838. It was the first public building in the Mulgoa Valley and was constructed out of sandstone and cedar on paddocks donated by the Cox family, with Sir John Jamison serving as one of its patrons. The Reverend Thomas Cooper Makinson was St Thomas' inaugural rector. Attached to the church was Mulgoa's first school which operated until 1871–72, when the Mulgoa Provisional School replaced it.[7][8]

In 1893, Mulgoa's population was sufficiently large to be granted the status of a municipality. Its area extended beyond the current suburb boundaries. In 1949, however, council rationalisations led to it merging with Penrith, St Marys and Castlereagh into a larger Penrith Municipality. These days, Mulgoa is still primarily a rural area.[2]

Mulgoa Post Office opened on 1 September 1863.[9]

Heritage listings

Mulgoa has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Transport

Mulgoa Road is the main road in the suburb, connecting with Penrith. Busways provides a bus bus route 795 which runs from Warragamba to Penrith along Mulgoa Road.[15]

The iconic Mulgoa speedhump is known amongst the locals for its inability to slow cars down.

Education

There is a government-run primary school, Mulgoa Public School,[16] and a privately run school, Nepean Christian School.[17]

Demographics

The recorded population of Mulgoa in the 2016 census was 1,898. The majority of residents are Australian born (79 per cent) with small minorities born in England (2.8 per cent), Germany (1.6 per cent), and Malta (1.5 per cent). The most common responses for religion were Catholic 36.7%, Anglican 24.7% and No Religion 14.1%. There are a large number of couples with children (52 per cent) and most houses are owned outright (42.6 per cent) or being paid off (41.9 per cent). The number of renters (12.9 per cent) was substantially less than the national average of 30.9 per cent. The median household income ($2,217 per week) was higher than the national average ($1,438).[18]

Notable residents
  • Edward Cox, a son of William Cox, and politician; and his son, Edward King Cox, also a politician.[4]
  • Captain William Cox (1764–1837), Mulgoa pioneer, military officer, landowner and road-builder.[4]
  • Robert Dulhunty (1803–1853), landowner, police magistrate, alderman and founder of the Dubbo district in central-western New South Wales.[19]
  • Sir John Jamison Kt, MD (1776–1844), landowner, physician and Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales.[20]
  • The Reverend Thomas Cooper Makinson (1809–1893), Mulgoa's first resident Anglican clergyman and schoolmaster, who later converted to Catholicism.[21]
  • Emmanuel Margolin, entrepreneur and former operator of El Caballo Blanco, which contained Sydney's largest private zoo.[22][23]
  • Senator The Honourable Marise Payne.[24]
  • David Stove (1927-1994), philosopher.

Governance

At a local government level, Mulgoa 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 Pat Sheehy. At the state level, it is part of the Electoral district of Mulgoa, represented by Tanya Davies, of the Liberal Party. Federally, it is part of the Division of Lindsay, and represented by Liberal Party Melissa McIntosh.

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References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Mulgoa (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  2. "Penrith Local Suburb Profiles – Mulgoa". Penrith City Council. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
  3. "Dharug Aboriginal History". Christopher Tobin. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2007.
  4. "Fernhill". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  5. "Norton, James (1795–1862)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  6. "An old family". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954). New South Wales: National Library of Australia. 21 March 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  7. Walsh, Stephanie; Robsinson, Peter (1989). St Thomas' Church, Mulgoa, 1838–1988: A Parish History. Sydney.
  8. "St. Thomas Anglican Church". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  9. "Post Office List". Premier Postal History. Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  10. "Fairlight Homestead & Barn". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00262. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  11. "Fernhill". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00054. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  12. "Glenmore". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00074. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  13. "St. Thomas Anglican Church". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00426. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  14. "Cox's Cottage". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00171. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  15. "Busways route 795". Transport for NSW.
  16. "Mulgoa Public School". Primary schools. NSW Education.
  17. "Nepean Christian School".
  18. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Mulgoa (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  19. Dulhunty, Beryl (1966). "Dulhunty, Robert Venour (1802–1853)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. 1. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 27 November 2017 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  20. Walsh, G. P. (1967). "Jamison, Sir John (1776–1844)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. 2. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 27 November 2017 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  21. Daly, R. A. (1967). "Makinson, Thomas Cooper (1809–1893)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. 2. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 27 November 2017 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  22. "Margolin Properties On Market". Camden Accommodation. 21 May 1990. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012.
  23. "Zoo Owner Fights With Neighbours Over Access". Alligators.com.au. Originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 February 1999.
  24. "Biography". Marise Payne.

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