Windsor, New South Wales

Windsor is a historic town north-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is in the Hawkesbury local government area. The town sits on the Hawkesbury River, enveloped by farmland and Australian bush. Many of the oldest surviving European buildings in Australia are located at Windsor. It is 46 kilometres (29 mi) north-west of metropolitan Sydney, on the fringes of urban sprawl.

Windsor New South Wales
Historic Home in Windsor
George Street Mall
Population	1,891 (2016 census)[1]
Established	1791
Postcode(s)	2756
Location	46 km (29 mi) north-west of Sydney CBD 32.4 km (20 mi) north-west of Parramatta CBD
LGA(s)	City of Hawkesbury
State electorate(s)	Hawkesbury
Federal Division(s)	Macquarie
Suburbs around Windsor: Cornwallis Cornwallis and Freemans Reach Pitt Town and Wilberforce Clarendon Windsor Pitt Town Bottoms South Windsor Mulgrave McGraths Hill

Demographics

The Sanctum at Sunny Brae

St Matthew's church

At the 2016 census, Windsor had a reported population of 1,891 people, with a median age of 42. The most common ancestries in Windsor were English (30.9%), Australian (28.9%), Irish (10.3%), Scottish (7.5%), and German (2.8%). Most people from Windsor were born in Australia (78.8%), followed by England (3.3%), and New Zealand (1.5%).[1]

The most common religious group in Windsor was Christianity (65.8%), 25.2% being Catholic and 23.0% Anglican. The second largest group was No Religion (28.9%).[1]

The most common occupations in Windsor included Professionals (15.9%), Technicians and Trades Workers (15.1%), Clerical and Administrative Workers (13.6%), Managers (12.8%), and Labourers (11.0%). The median weekly household income was A$1,422.[1]

Geography

Windsor's proximity to the Hawkesbury River has resulted in numerous disastrous floods. A horseshoe on the outside wall of the Macquarie Arms pub marks the level the flood peaked at in 1867. During the 1867 flood, beaches along the Hawkesbury River to Barrenjoey were littered with the debris from the town.

History

The Windsor area was originally inhabited by the Dharuk (also Darug) nation of indigenous aboriginal peoples.

Windsor is the third-oldest place of British settlement on the Australian continent. Settlement at the location was first established circa 1791, near the head of navigation on the Hawkesbury River (known as Deerubbin in Dharuk). European settlers utilised the fertile river flats for agriculture. The area was originally called Green Hills, but renamed Windsor (after Windsor in England). The town was officially proclaimed in a Government and General Order issued from Government House, Sydney, dated 15 December 1810. Governor Lachlan Macquarie "marked out the district of Green Hills", which he "... called Windsor", after Windsor-on-the-Thames.

While in Windsor, Governor Macquarie ordered the main institutions of organised settlement to be erected, including a church, school-house, gaol and "commodious inn" (Macquarie Arms Hotel). Of these new buildings, the most outstanding was Francis Greenway's St Matthew's Anglican Church. Governor Macquarie himself chose the site for the church. Samuel Marsden, principal chaplain of the colony, consecrated the church on 8 December 1822.[2]

Windsor was chosen during settlement because of its agricultural potential and accessible location. In 1813 a report was given to Governor Macquarie from Earl Bathurst detailing a proposed invasion of the Hawkesbury River by France.[3] This planned invasion that did not eventuate targeted the Windsor granary in order to cut off supply to Sydney, demonstrating the relative importance of this new settlement on a global scale. Windsor is 56 kilometres (35 mi) north-west of Sydney, and easily accessible by coastal shipping from Sydney along the Hawkesbury River. It was known as the "bread basket", ensuring the survival of the starving colony. The extensive agriculture caused major silting in the Hawkesbury River; by the 1890s the Hawkesbury River had become so blocked with silt, ships could not travel up to Windsor from the coast. By then, a railway (in 1864) and road (in 1814) had been built to compensate.

On 1 January 1803, Daniel Egan was born in Windsor. He went on to become Mayor of Sydney in 1853.

George Street Windsor

An agricultural area in Windsor

Windsor Post Office

Heritage listings

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

Blacktown-Richmond railway: Windsor railway station[4] 32-34 Bridge Street: Windsor Police Station Stables[5] Claremont Crescent: Claremont Cottage[6] Court and Pitt Streets: Windsor Court House[7] 29 Fitzgerald Street: Mackenzie House[8] 41 George Street: Government Cottage Archaeological Site[9] 126 George Street: Loder House[10] 226 George Street: Simmons Hardware Store[11] 350 George Street: Reverend Turner Cottage[12] 361 George Street: McQuade Park[13] 23-27 Johnston Street: Johnston Street terraces[14]

Macquarie Street: Windsor Uniting Church and Hall[15] 49 Macquarie Street: Windsor Methodist Parsonage[16] Moses Street: St Matthew's Anglican Church[17] 25, 28, 29, 31-33, 35 North Street: North Street residences[18][19][20][21][22] 37-39 North Street: Court House Hotel[23] Palmer Street: Peninsula House and Tebbutt's Observatory[24] Thompson Square: Macquarie Arms Hotel[25] Thompson Square: Thompson Square Conservation Area[26] 5 Thompson Square: 5 Thompson Square[27]

Media

The studios of local community radio station, Hawkesbury Radio, are located in Windsor.

Pitt Town, which is 9.3 kilometres (5.8 mi) north west of Windsor, was a filming location for the Channel 7 television series A Country Practice. It was the set of the fictional town of Wandin Valley. Pitt Town hosted a doctor's clinic. Windsor High School at Mulgrave was also used as the fictional Burrigan High School in the series

Transport

Urban sprawl of metropolitan Sydney has almost reached Windsor. The town is now regarded as an outer suburb which has retained its appeal as a small country town. Growth in the Hawkesbury area has created an increased need for public transport and roads. Most people from Windsor traveled to work by car in 2016 (68.9%).[1] Only 9.0% of people used public transport.[1]

Windsor railway station opened 1 December 1864.[28] It is on the Richmond branch of the T1 North Shore & Western Line and T5 Cumberland Line of the Sydney Trains network.

Located in the town centre is the Windsor Bridge which was constructed in 1874. It is the oldest existing crossing of the Hawkesbury River.[29] There was a proposal in 2013 by the Government of New South Wales to demolish the existing bridge and replace it with a safer bridge. It was suggested by the political activist group Community Action for Windsor Bridge (CAWB) that a bypass is a better option to preserve history, ensure safety, and better manage the congestion of Windsor Road.[30] Nevertheless, construction of the new bridge is underway and has continued despite the protests. On 18 May 2020 the replacement bridge was opened to traffic within Windsor, NSW.[31]

Windsor is also connected to Parramatta via the 31-kilometre-long (19 mi) Windsor Road cycleway, with much of its route via the North-West T-way.[32]

Gallery

• 
  Historic Home in Windsor
• 
  St Matthew's Anglican Church, designed by Francis Greenway
• 
  Interior of St Matthew's Church
• 
  Hawkesbury River at Windsor
• 
  Poster Contest (Royal Australian Historical Society)

See also

• Dillwynia Women's Correctional Centre
• John Morony Correctional Centre
• Windsor Wolves
• Richmond, New South Wales

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Windsor (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
2. Baker, Helen (1967). Historic Buildings. Windsor and Richmond (1st ed.). The State Planning Authority of New South Wales.
3. "Reports of a possible French invasion off the Hawksbury". Hawkesbury Historical Society. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
4. "Windsor Railway Station Group and Former Goods Yard". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01287. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
5. "Stables at rear of Police Station". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
6. "Claremont Cottage". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00738. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
7. "Windsor Court House". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00804. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
8. "Mackenzie House". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00735. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
9. "Government Cottage Archaeological Site". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01843. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
10. "Loder House". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00003. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
11. "Simmons Hardware Store". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00667. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
12. "Rev. Peter Turner Cottage and Well". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00202. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
13. "McQuade Park". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01851. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
14. "Terrace Building". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00075. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
15. "Uniting Church and Hall". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00735. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
16. "Methodist Parsonage (former)". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00735. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
17. "St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Rectory, Stables & Cemetery". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00015. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
18. "House". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00150. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
19. "House". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00108. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
20. "Cottage". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00107. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
21. "House". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00142. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
22. "House". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00109. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
23. "Houses". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00110. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
24. "Peninsula House, Tebbutt's Observatory". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00028. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
25. "Macquarie Arms Hotel". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00041. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
26. "Thompson Square Conservation Area". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00126. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
27. "House & Outbuildings". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00005. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
28. Station Names. Date of opening, closing and/or change of name. Public Transport Commission of New South Wales. Administrative Branch (Archives Section) (3rd ed.). February 1979 [1965]. p. 37.CS1 maint: others (link)
29. Liz Foschia (4 December 2013). "NSW Premier's office accused of political interference in Windsor Bridge approval". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
30. CAWB. "An Alternative - CAWB". Community Action for Windsor Bridge. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
32. 83 Macquarie St, Parramatta NSW 2150 to 98 Macquarie St, Windsor NSW 2756 (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 18 December 2016.

External links

• Windsor - Sydney.com