Hornsby, New South Wales

The name Hornsby is derived from convict-turned-constable Samuel Henry Horne, who took part in the apprehension of bushrangers Dalton and MacNamara on 22 June 1830. In return he was granted land which he named Hornsby Place. The suburb of Hornsby was established on the traditional lands of the Darug and Kurringgai people. There are more than 200 known Aboriginal sites in the Hornsby Shire.^[2]

The first European settler in the area was Thomas Higgins, who received a grant of land in Old Mans Valley. A railway station named "Hornsby Junction" opened on 17 September 1886 to the north of the town of Hornsby, which had developed on the site of Horne's grant. It formed the junction of the Northern Line and the North Shore Line which were yet to be completed at that time.^[3] Hornsby station was one stop further south on the Northern Line. Due to confusion by commuters alighting at the incorrect station expecting to transfer to a connecting train, the old Hornsby station was renamed Normanhurst on 17 November 1898^[4] after prominent local activist and engineer Norman Selfe, while the Hornsby Junction station assumed the current name of Hornsby.

The first Hornsby Post Office opened on 1 August 1864, and was renamed South Hornsby on 1 May 1900, the same day Hornsby Junction office near the railway station (open since 1887) was renamed Hornsby. The latter office remains open; the South Hornsby office was renamed Normanhurst in 1905.^[5]

Residential growth in the area was left to private developers, who acquired land both east and west of the railway station. Realizing that working class housing tended to be close to railway stations, the developers aimed at providing the middle classes with quality housing further from the station, in areas with views. One of the first purchasers of land in the area was Annie Roberts, wife of Oscar Garibaldi Roberts, who became one of the first councilors in the Hornsby Shire. Having acquired a property in Rosemead Road, the Roberts family built Mount Errington, a spectacular, two-storey mansion in the Arts and Crafts style, now heritage-listed.^[6] The Roberts family later acquired twelve blocks of land, which were then sub-divided into twenty-three blocks and offered for sale as the Roberts Mount Errington Sub-division. The area proceeded to grow as a prestige housing estate, featuring a number of houses in the Federation style. One of them was Birklands, a heritage-listed, Federation house built in 1902 in Dural Street. The house was originally built for Louis Spier Roberts and his wife Elizabeth, and stayed with the Roberts family until 1938.^[7]

The Hornsby Shire Council was established in 1906. In 1961, The Westfield Group built a shopping mall at Hornsby, making it one of the first suburbs in Sydney with a modern-style shopping centre. A competing shopping centre, Northgate, opened in 1979 but was eventually bought by Westfield. In late 1999, the two sites were amalgamated when the original Westfield was demolished and Northgate was renovated to create the new Westfield Hornsby which opened in November 2001.

Transport

Hornsby Railway Station

Hornsby is 25 kilometres (16 mi) by train and about 24 kilometres (15 mi) by road from the Sydney central business district. Hornsby railway station is the junction of the North Shore and Northern & Western Lines of the Sydney Trains network. There are frequent railway services to the central business district via Macquarie Park or via Gordon. Intercity and Express trains also stop here on the way to the Central Coast, Newcastle and further north.

Bus services operate from Hornsby Station Interchange. Services are operated by both Transdev NSW & Hillsbus to local residential areas such as Hornsby, Westleigh, Normanhurst, Thornleigh, Wahroonga and Turramurra. Services also operate to Macquarie Park, Macquarie University, Castle Hill and the Metrobus M60 to Parramatta via Cherrybrook, Castle Hill & Baulkham Hills

The Pacific Highway, which passes through Hornsby, was formerly the main road link between Sydney and north-eastern Australia. The completion of the Pacific Motorway (F3), which has its southern end at the neighbouring suburb of Wahroonga, means that the heavy traffic now bypasses the already busy Hornsby town area.^[8]

Commercial areas

Hornsby Shire Council Chambers

Hornsby remains a busy commercial centre, just as it was a century ago. Over the years, the town centre has developed distinct characteristics on either side of the railway line.

The western side consists of a traditional high street shopping village along the Old Pacific Highway. A short section of the highway north of the shops still has several antique lamp posts preserved. On the eastern side of the highway from south to north are the police station, the court house^[9] and the historic Hornsby Shire Council chamber (built in two stages in 1915 and 1930). On the western side is Hornsby Park with the new Hornsby Aquatic Centre complex and also Hornsby TAFE.^[10] A large war memorial and the adjacent RSL Club is located at the southern end of the shops.

The eastern side is dominated by Westfield Hornsby, a shopping centre, which features two department stores a Myer & David Jones, an Event Cinemas multiplex, 335 stores, a food court and several restaurants. The intersection of Florence Street and Hunter Street became a pedestrian mall in the early 1990s. At the centre of the pedestrian mall is a large water clock sculpture, designed by Victor Cusack. The public library is also located in this area.

The north-western side of the suburb is occupied by various industries and the northern end of Hornsby features a major railway workshop.

Residential areas

Residential areas, consisting of low-to-medium density housing, are located on both sides of the railway line. Many of residential areas on the western side of the train line enjoy bushy surrounds and close proximity to Regional and National Parks, as well as the beautiful Lisgar Gardens.

In recent years, high-rise apartments have been constructed adjacent to the train line as part of the NSW state planning policies to allow medium to high density development along transport corridors.

Schools

Hornsby is home to a number of schools, including primary schools Hornsby North Public School, Hornsby South Public School, Hornsby Heights Public School and Clarke Road Special School and the secondary schools Barker College and Hornsby Girls' High School, which is a selective school. There is also a TAFE College at the north-western side of Hornsby.

Culture

Hornsby has long been associated with Ginger Meggs,^[11] a cartoon by Jimmy Bancks who grew up in Hornsby, which has appeared in Australian newspapers since 1921.

The local newspaper that serves the area is the Hornsby Advocate, owned by the Cumberland Newspaper Group.

Hornsby Aquatic Centre

Hornsby Aquatic Centre, which was built in 1962, had reached the end of its safe working life, and was closed on Friday 24 December 2010. It had featured a fifty-metre pool with 8 lanes and a small twelve-metre pool, also with 8 lanes. A new pool was built and opened on 11 August 2014.^[12]

Edgeworth David Gardens

Coringah, former home of Edgeworth David in Edgeworth David Gardens

The scientist and explorer Edgeworth David lived in Hornsby towards the end of his life. His house, known as Coringah, was located on a property at the corner of Burdett Street and Sherbrook Road, and included a large garden. This property had originally been obtained in 1901 by Edward Swain, who built the cottage that still stands. The property was purchased by Edward Lear in 1916 and then by Edgeworth David in 1920. David's wife continued to live there after his death in 1934.

After David's death, subsequent owners preserved the garden, until Hornsby Council acquired the property in 1999. It is now known as Edgeworth David Gardens and is open to the public. It is heritage-listed.^[13]

Lisgar Gardens

Fishponds in Lisgar Gardens

Lisgar Gardens are located in Lisgar Road, west of the Pacific Highway. The gardens were created by Max Cotton, who lived in Lisgar Road. In 1920, Cotton purchased land from his brother Leo and began developing the gardens for his own interest and satisfaction. With these gardens, Cotton could indulge his interest in horticulture and genetics. Aided by friends and family, he created extensive gardens and fishponds on the natural bushland that sloped down from Lisgar Road.

Cotton became friends with Professor Eben Gowrie Waterhouse -- owner of Eryldene in the suburb of Gordon -- and the two spent much time together, sharing an interest in camellias. By the mid-1960s, Cotton's health was failing after forty-five years of working on the gardens, and they were acquired by Hornsby Council. They were officially opened to the public on 21 September 1968. They are heritage-listed.^[14]

Ginger Meggs Park

Plaque in Ginger Meggs Park

This park is located in Valley Road and is named after Ginger Meggs, a comic-strip character created by the Australian cartoonist Jimmy Bancks. Bancks spent much time in the area around this park during his childhood, so Hornsby Council named it after his famous character Ginger Meggs. A nearby creek was named Jimmy Bancks Creek. The park was officially named Ginger Meggs Park during a formal naming ceremony by the Mayor of Hornsby, John Muirhead, on 26 July 1997.

Population

In the 2011 Census, there were 19,863 people in Hornsby (State Suburbs) of these 48.8% were male and 51.2% were female. The median age of people in Hornsby (State Suburbs) was 35 years. The most common ancestries in Hornsby (State Suburbs) were English 19.1%, Australian 17.6%, Chinese 13.8%, Irish 5.5%, Indian 5.0% and Pacific Islander 2.5%. The most common responses for religion in the Census were No Religion 25.0%, Catholic 20.6%, Anglican 13.9%, Hinduism 5.6% and Buddhism 4.5% .^[1]

Notable residents

Edgeworth David, leader of the first expedition to reach the South Magnetic Pole
Dan Parks, rugby union player
Bill Alley, cricketer
Jim Lees, former NSW police commissioner
Fred Stolle, tennis player
George Collingridge, writer and illustrator, also well known for research into the theory that the Portuguese discovered Australia in the 1600s. A small reserve in Hornsby is named after him, and his former home is currently the chapel of Hornsby Hospital.
Liz Burch, actress
J J Hilder, watercolourist
Peter Fowler, golfer
Patrick Power, former Senior Counsel in New South Wales, Australia
Danny Williams, rugby league player
Scott Gourley, rugby league player.
Robert Madgwick, teacher, soldier, academic and public servant, was the first vice-chancellor of the University of New England from 1954 until 1966, and chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission from 1967 until 1973.
Julian O'Neill, former rugby league fullback
Rich Thompson, professional American baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels
Ted White, cricketer
John Davies, archivist, writer
Ted Ball, professional golfer
Ian Keith Harris, composer
Simon Whitlock, Professional darts player competing on the PDC circuit
Ashton Irwin, drummer in pop-rock band 5 Seconds of Summer

Jimmy Bancks, creator of Ginger Meggs
William Henry "Billy" Cook, jockey
Bede Morris (1927-1988), immunologist^[15]

Landmarks and heritage

Hornsby Water Clock
Odeon Cinema, Pacific Highway
Hornsby Quarry (heritage-listed)^[16]
Hornsby Court House, Pacific Highway (heritage-listed)^[17]
Hornsby Shire Council Chambers, Pacific Highway (heritage-listed)^[18]
Hornsby RSL Club
Hornsby War Memorial, Pacific Highway (heritage-listed)^[19]
Brinawa, William Street (heritage-listed)^[20]
Mount Errington, Rosemead Road, spectacular mansion in the Arts and Crafts style, associated with the Roberts family (heritage-listed)^[21]
Birklands, Dural Street, Federation home associated with the Roberts family (heritage-listed)^[22]
Kuranda, Rosemead Road (heritage-listed)^[23]
Hookhams Corner is the junction between the Pacific Highway, Carrington Road, Galston Road (which goes to Galston) and Old Berowra Road. It is also the name of an unbounded locality encompassing the area, as well as the site of two large water storage tanks that supply the surrounding area. It is at 33°41′29″S 151°05′55″E / 33.691277°S 151.098747°E / -33.691277; 151.098747