NSWPlanned settlement
Campbelltown
A Macquarie town for the farms of the south-west.
1820Macquarie marks out the township
WHAT STARTED IT
Governor Macquarie formed the district of Airds for small settlers in 1810, but its farms had no church or school close by. On 1 December 1820 he marked out Campbell-Town on land reserved for a township, naming it after his wife’s maiden name as 50 or 60 settlers cheered.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Settlers could not take up town land until 1831, but the railway in 1858 made Campbelltown a railhead and brought new subdivisions. Rust destroyed the wheat crops in the 1860s and 1870s and dairying took over, before 1970s state planning made the town a growth centre for south-western Sydney.
TURNING POINTS
1820Governor Macquarie marks out the township on 1 December.
1826Farmer Frederick Fisher is murdered; George Worrall hangs for it in 1827, and the case inspires the Fisher’s Ghost legend.
1831The first settlers take possession of town land in October.
1858Campbelltown railway station opens on 4 May.
1882Campbelltown Council is established.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
The commercial centre of the Macarthur region, with Queen Street, once High Street, as its main street. The Festival of Fisher’s Ghost is held each year from late October into November.