| Emu Plains Penrith, New South Wales, New South Wales |
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Emu Plains Railway Station |
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| Population: | 8000 (2006) | ||||||||||||
| Established: | circa 1814 | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 2750 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 7.92 km² (3.1 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Location: | 58 km (36 mi) west of Sydney CBD | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | City of Penrith | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Penrith | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Lindsay | ||||||||||||
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Emu Plains is a town, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Emu Plains is located 58 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.
Emu Plains is on the western side of the Nepean River, located at the foot of the Blue Mountains.
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Prior to European settlement, what is now Emu Plains was on the border of the Western Sydney-based Darug people and the Southern Highlands-based Gandangara people, whose land extended into the Blue Mountains. The local Darug people were known as the Mulgoa who lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle governed by traditional laws, which had their origins in the Dreamtime. They lived in huts made of bark called 'gunyahs', hunted kangaroos and emus for meat, and gathered yams, berries and other native plants.[1]
The first British explorers to visit the area surveyed Emu Plains in 1790 and named it Emu Island after emus they sighted on the land and in the mistaken belief that the land was actually on an island in the Nepean River. It was first referred to by its current name by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1814 when William Cox started building his road over the Blue Mountains from there. A government farm with convict labour was established in 1819. It closed down in 1832 with the establishment of the village of Emu Plains.[2]
The removal of river-stones from the Nepean River for concrete and road-base was begun by the Emu and Prospect Gravel and Road Metal Company in the 1880s. A railway siding, which was to be ultimately expanded into a short branch, was first laid in from the Main Western Line at Emu Plains in 1884. Railway operations, which included their own locomotives, continued until 1967, after when only a siding, shunted by Government trains, remained. All railway operations ceased in 1993.[3]
Emu Plains has a number of landmark buildings:
The main commercial centre is Centro Lennox, formerly Lennox Shopping Centre, named after David Lennox.
Emu Plains railway station is situated on the Western Line of the CityRail network. It is the last station on the suburban part of the line with Lapstone, the next station to the west, considered part of the Intercity network. While a long distance from Sydney city, there are many express services from Emu Plains to the city. Emu Plains is also serviced by the Blue Mountains Bus Company.
Emu Plains can easily be accessed from Penrith via the Great Western Highway. Access from further east is best obtained by the M4 Western Motorway. If travelling east from the Blue Mountains, access is best obtained by the Great Western Highway.
The local government primary school is Emu Plains Public School and the high school is Nepean High School. There is also a Catholic primary school, Our Lady of the Way, and high school, McCarthy Catholic College.
The recorded population of Emu Plains in the 2006 census was 7944. The age profile and most other statistics were similar to the Australian national averages. Most people were Australian born (79%) with the remainder generally from English-speaking countries such as England or New Zealand. There were more detached houses (75%) and fewer apartments (7%) than in the national statistics while the median income ($536 per week) was slightly higher than the national average ($466).[5]
Until 1963, Emu Plains was part of Blue Mountains City Council but was then transferred to Penrith City Council, where it is currently split between the North and South Wards. At the state level, it is part of the Electoral district of Penrith, represented by Liberal Stuart Ayres. Federally, it is part of the Division of Lindsay, represented by Labor's David Bradbury.