NSWRail & telegraph
Blacktown
A railway stop took its name from a road, and the road from an 1820s school.
1860Railway reaches Blacktown Road
WHAT STARTED IT
The Great Western Railway opened to the Blacktown Road in July 1860, giving the district a station on the line west from Parramatta. The road led to the Native Institution, a school for Aboriginal children moved to the area in 1823, which had given the place the name Black Town.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
A town grew around the station, and in 1886 the Blacktown Township estate was auctioned in lots ‘right at the Blacktown Station’. The Shire of Blacktown was formed in 1906, and the town stayed separate from Sydney until suburban development reached it in the mid-twentieth century.
TURNING POINTS
1860After a contractor’s dispute delays the planned 2 July opening, trains begin running to the Blacktown Road on 3 July.
1862The railway timetable shows the station simply as Blacktown.
1886Blacktown Township lots beside the station are auctioned on the ground.
1906The Shire of Blacktown is formed.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A major commercial and transport centre of Western Sydney, with about 51,000 residents. It is the administrative heart of Blacktown City, the most populous local government area in New South Wales.