| City of Blacktown New South Wales |
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| Population: | 307,816 (2010) (5th) | ||||||||||||
| • Density: | 1282.6/km² (3,321.9/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 240 km² (92.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Mayor: | Alan Pendleton | ||||||||||||
| Council Seat: | Blacktown | ||||||||||||
| Region: | Metropolitan Sydney | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Blacktown, Mount Druitt, Riverstone, Londonderry, Smithfield, Toongabbie | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Chifley, Greenway, McMahon | ||||||||||||
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The City of Blacktown is a Local Government Area in the heart of Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately 35 km from Sydney CBD. It is bounded by the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Penrith, Parramatta, Fairfield, Holroyd, Hawkesbury and The Hills Shire. It occupies an area of 246.9 square kilometres. It is the most populous (271,709 - 2006) Local Government Area in New South Wales.
Blacktown was originally named for an Aboriginal settlement in the area. Today, Blacktown continues to be home to a large Aboriginal population, the largest of any suburb or township in New South Wales.
A school for Aborigines was moved in 1823 from Parramatta to the site where Richmond Road meets Rooty Hill Road North. The road from Prospect to Richmond became known as the Black Town Road. In 1860 the Railway Department gave the name of Black Town Road Station to the railway station at the junction of the railway and the Black Town Road, with the name shortening to Blacktown by 1862.
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Suburbs in the City of Blacktown are:
Acacia Gardens - Arndell Park - Bidwill - Blackett - Blacktown - Colebee - Dean Park - Dharruk - Doonside - Eastern Creek - Emerton - Glendenning - Glenwood - Hassall Grove - Hebersham - Huntingwood - Kellyville Ridge - Kings Langley - Kings Park - Lalor Park - Lethbridge Park - Marayong - Marsden Park - Minchinbury - Mount Druitt - Oakhurst - Parklea - Plumpton - Prospect - Quakers Hill - Riverstone - Ropes Crossing - Rouse Hill - Rooty Hill - Schofields - Seven Hills - Shalvey - Shanes Park - Stanhope Gardens - The Ponds - Toongabbie - Tregear - Vineyard - Whalan - Willmot - Woodcroft
At a Federal level, the City of Blacktown encompasses all or parts of the following districts:
| Division | Member | Party affiliation | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chifley | Ed Husic | Labor | 2010 |
| Greenway | Michelle Rowland | Labor | 2010 |
| Parramatta | Julie Owens | Labor | 2004 |
| McMahon | Chris Bowen | Labor | 2010 |
SMD
The City of Blacktown is within the state of New South Wales. As such it is represented in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council.
In the Legislative Assembly, the City of Blacktown encompasses all or parts of the following electorates:
| Division | Member | Party affiliation | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blacktown | John Robertson | Labor | 2011 |
| Londonderry | Bart Bassett | Liberal | 2011 |
| Mount Druitt | Richard Amery | Labor | 1991 |
| Riverstone | Kevin Conolly | Liberal | 2011 |
| Toongabbie | Nathan Rees | Labor | 2007 |
The Electoral District of Wentworthville which previously covered part of the city was dissolved during a redistribution prior to the 2007 election.
Blacktown City Council is composed of fifteen councillors elected proportionally. The city is divided into five wards, each electing three councillors. The mayor is not directly elected.[1] The current makeup of the council is as follows:[1]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 8 | |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 5 | |
| Independents | 2 | |
| Total | 15 | |
The current council, elected in 2008, is:[1]
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Ward | Alan Pendleton | Labor | Mayor | |
| Nick Tyrrell | Liberal | |||
| Allan Green | Independent | |||
| Second Ward | Leo Kelly | Labor | ||
| Len Robinson | Liberal | |||
| Julie Griffiths | Labor | |||
| Third Ward | Kathie Collins | Labor | ||
| Jess Diaz | Liberal | |||
| Russ Dickens | Independent | |||
| Fourth Ward | Stephen Bali | Labor | ||
| George Bilic | Liberal | |||
| Edmond Atalla | Labor | |||
| Fifth Ward | Charlie Lowles | Labor | ||
| Tony Bleasdale | Labor | |||
| Jacqueline Donaldson | Liberal | |||
| Ward | Suburbs |
| First | *Vineyard, Riverstone, Schofields, Colebee, Dean Park, *Parklea, Acacia Gardens, Stanhope Gardens, Quakers Hill, *Marsden Park, *Rouse Hill, Kellyville Ridge, The Ponds |
| Second | * *Blacktown, *Marayong, Kings Langley, Kings Park, Glenwood, Lalor Park, *Seven Hills |
| Third | *Doonside, *Blacktown, *Arndell Park, *Huntingwood, *Prospect, *Seven Hills, *Toongabbie |
| Fourth | *Tregear, *Hebersham, Whalan, *Doonside, *Blacktown, *Prospect, Eastern Creek, Minchinbury, Rooty Hill, Mount Druitt, *Plumpton, *Glendenning, *Huntingwood, *Arndell Park |
| Fifth | *Marsden Park, Shanes Park, Willmot, Shalvey, Bidwill, Hassall Grove, Lethbridge Park, *Tregear, Blackett, Emerton, Dharruk, *Hebersham, Oakhurst, *Plumpton, *Glendenning |
As of the 2007 social plan, the council has been divided into three regions
North (Glenwood, Stanhope Gardens, Kellyville Ridge, Rouse Hill, The Ponds, Riverstone, Schofields, Parklea, Marsden Park, Shanes Park, Colebee, Quakers Hill, Acacia Gardens, Vineyard)
East (Blacktown, Seven Hills, Lalor Park, Toongabbie, Arndell Park, Kings Langley, Marayong, Kings Park, Huntingwood, Prospect, Doonside)
West (Plumpton, Willmot, Mount Druitt, Rooty Hill, Oakhurst, Tregear, Emerton, Dharruk, Hebersham, Glendenning, Dean Park, Whalan, Minchinbury, Bidwill, Blackett, Lethbridge Park
These regions will be used for social planning in the future.
In the above table the * symbol identifies that the suburb is in more than one ward.
After becoming a city in 1979, the city council resolved to investigate and if possible obtain a coat of arms.
The device features:
For a picture of the coat of arms see Council's website.
Over the last several decades, Blacktown's growth has been sustained and rapid, contributing to its present status as the most populous City in New South Wales, the third largest in Australia behind Brisbane City and the Gold Coast and the eighth fastest growing City in Australia.
Large scale urban development has contributed to Blacktown's continued population growth and to the development of new estate areas which has led to the establishment of 45 suburbs to date. Blacktown therefore encompasses a mix of older established areas and new developing areas.
Blacktown's diverse land use also continues to attract developers and retailers to the largest quantity of zoned and serviced industrial and commercial land throughout NSW.
Blacktown's Central Business District/City Centre provides residents with numerous shopping facilities and services and is the Commercial Centre for government departments and local business. This includes a court house, police station, shared State Government Office building, and the Westpoint shopping mall.
In addition to being large, Blacktown's population is culturally and linguistically diverse with over 50 Countries and 63 Languages represented within the community.
Blacktown City is youthful, with over half the population (117,179 persons or 50.5%) under 30 years of age. This age category increased by 4.4% between 1991-1996. But as it is youthful, it is also growing older, with a much higher increase in the 50 years and over population of 13.3% between 1991-1996.
The largest ethnic group is Filipino, which comes to 25% of Blacktown's population.
The City of Blacktown Council operates five libraries throughout the area, the central Max Webber Library located in the Blacktown CBD adjacent to Westpoint Shopping Centre. The other branches are at Lalor Park, Mount Druitt, Riverstone and Stanhope Gardens.
Access into and out of Blacktown is provided by the transport links including the Western railway line between Sydney, Penrith and Richmond; the Great Western Highway, Richmond Road; plus the M2, M4, and M7 Motorways. There are 1,019 km of local roads and 100 km of Regional roads within Blacktown.
The Blacktown railway station is an interconnecting station for the Countrylink services between Dubbo and the country terminal in the Sydney CBD.It is also a bus interchange utilised by Westbus and Busways transport operators providing connection to local suburbs not directly linked by rail.
These private bus companies offer interconnection services between many of the railway stations within the City of Blacktown and beyond, extending the reach of public transport along the main road corridors of the Great Western Highway, Prospect Highway, Richmond Road, Windsor Road and other major roads throughout the area.
Cycling is being increasingly catered for throughout the city. The council has a published map showing over 65 km of existing cycleway (including some cycleways on shared roads), however there are extensive biking and walking tracks which are not included on that map [2].
Blacktown City Council proposes that by December 2006 there will be 125 km of cycleways assisting in providing safe bicycle access throughout the city. This does not include recreational cycleways such as those in the various parks and gardens throughout the area.
Eastern Creek, Ropes Creek, South Creek, and Prospect Creek provide a natural buffer between areas of urban development.
A total of eight creeks and tributaries form part of the two major catchments of the area including the Nepean Hawkesbury Catchment and the Upper Parramatta River Catchment.
Some popular tourist attractions in Blacktown include Featherdale Wildlife Park and Wonderland Theme Park, before it was closed down in 2004. Westpoint Shopping Centre is also a popular place for local residents of Blacktown. One of its cinemas has the largest standard cinema screen in Australia.
Blacktown has one of the two remaining Drive-in Theatres in Sydney. Every Sunday morning the Blacktown Markets takes place on the grounds of the Drive-In.
A school for Aborigines was moved in 1823 from Parramatta to the now abandoned tower near the site where Richmond Road meets Rooty Hill Road North (this intersection is now in the suburbs of Hassall Grove, Glendenning and Quakers Hill [3]). The road from Prospect to Richmond became known as the Black Town Road. In 1860 the Railway Department gave the name of Black Town Road Station to the railway station at the junction of the railway and the Black Town Road, with the name shortening to Blacktown by 1862.
Today, the City of Blacktown continues to be home to a large Aboriginal population; the largest Aboriginal population of any metropolitan local government area. It has a large population of recent migrants to Australia. Blacktown is also the largest of any suburb or township in New South Wales.
It is the birthplace of actress Toni Collette.
Blacktown City Council has sister city relations with the following cities[2]:
Source: ABS Census 1996; ABS Regional Profile 1998; Westir Publications
The 2001 City of Blacktown Social Plan City of Blacktown Sister Cities
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