Galston, New South Wales

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Galston is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb was named in 1866 by early settlers after the town of Galston in Scotland. It is famous for the Galston Gorge, found at the bottom of Galston Road,a winding road with several hairpin bends, between Galston and Hornsby Heights, and also for the historical Waddell Cottage (situated next to Galston High School) which is the former family home of one of the original orchard growers in the area.

1 Local attractions
2 Celebrations
3 Housing
4 Industry
5 External links

[edit] Local attractions

Local attractions include the historic 55 hectare Fagan Park, named after another early farming family, the last of whom , Bruce Fagan, specified in his will that the land be granted to Hornsby Shire Council and be developed into parkland. The original homestead, Netherby Cottage, has been converted into a museum overlooking over 15 acres of parkland. The park is popular with picnickers on public holidays such as Mother's Day and Anzac Day.

History Cottage, owned by Hornsby Council and located next to Hayes Park ( Galston Recreation Reserve), is the home of the Dural Historical Society. The Buddhist Golden Wheel Temple on Galston Road is a modern building with magnificent gardens tended by members of the temple community. The gardens which feature flowering peach trees are open to the public in early September each year.

Swane's Nursery in Galston Road is a regular stop for tour groups from all over Sydney. Until recently this nursery with its ornamental gardens and magnificent rose displays was owned by the local Swane family. The Galston Branch Library is situated in the deconsecrated Anglican Church opposite the shopping village on Galston Road.

[edit] Celebrations

Galston hosts the annual Galston Country Music Festival which is held on a Sunday in early September. Past performers at the festival include Troy Cassar-Daley, the popular group Bella, and Donna Boyd. Unfortunatley in 2006 the festival was rained out and had to be transferred to The Galston Club.

Every year Galston also hosts the Scarecrow festival where families and friends gather to create the best scarecrow. The Galston Garden Club holds an Open Gardens Weekend each October where several local gardens are open to public view.

[edit] Housing

There is a variety of housing available in Galston. There are a number of recently built modern brick townhouses and home units close in to the shopping village and several hundred modern brick dwellings in subdivisions near the village. Dwellings on the many 5 acre lots in the suburb range from older simple fibro and timber cottages to substantial, luxurious brick and tile residences.

[edit] Industry

There is no heavy industry in Galston. Many small businesses are run from homes in the area. Agriculture is a significant industry with a number of orchards growing citrus, persimmons, strawberries and stone fruit. Some properties grow hydroponic produce. Chickens are raised on several properties with Summertime Chickens being one of the largest businesses in the area. There are numerous small specialist and larger retail plant nurseries in the Galston area.