1.
St George (Sydney)
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St George Area is an unofficial name applied to a group of southern suburbs in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area includes all the suburbs in the government area of Georges River Council. The eastern boundary of the district is Lady Robinson Beach on Botany Bay, the first inhabitants of the St George area were Australian Aborigines. At the time of the arrival of the First Fleet, the Eora tribe inhabited land from Port Jackson to Botany Bay, there is evidence to suggest that these people belonged to the Gweagal, Bidjigal and Cadigal clans. James Cook sailed the HMS Endeavour into Botany Bay in 1770 for his first landing on the continent of Australia, the ridge between the Cooks River and Georges River was covered in a dense forest which first attracted timber cutters to the area. Wood gatherers, bark collectors, sawyers and charcoal burners moved into the area to work the forests of Simeon Lord, by the 1840s, Major Mitchell was building the Illawarra Road on the ridge through ‘Lord’s Bush’, which required enormous amounts of trees and bush to be cleared. Irishman Michael Gannon was innkeeper at Cooks River in the 1840s and he acquired land in the area, part of which became known as ‘Gannons Forest’ which later was the centre of Hurstville. By 1851 it was estimated that 50 to 100 carts of timber, St George Parish was one of the original parishes within Cumberland County. There were eight other parishes named after saints, but St George, a map of the parish revealed that the land was cut into areas ranging from 30 to 500 acres and a few large land grants of 2,000 acres. The regional identity was reinforced by the creation in 1949 of a federal electorate, the Division was abolished in 1993. The areas identity is maintained mostly through the St George Illawarra Dragons who play in the National Rugby League, the St George area is a culturally diverse region. Major centres feature a number of Asian migrants and their families. In terms of sport, the area is known as the home of the St George Illawarra Dragons, the biggest commercial areas in the St George area are located at Hurstville, Kogarah and Rockdale. Hurstville is the largest central business district in southern Sydney and features a shopping centre called Westfield Hurstville. Additionally Rockdale features another large shopping centre, Rockdale Plaza, the St. George Area very well serviced by public transport. The Illawarra Line, South Coast Line and Airport Line have frequent services to the city via Wolli Creek, the population of the St George area is 216,895
2.
Botany Bay
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Botany Bay, an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia,13 km south of the Sydney central business district. The total catchment area of the bay is approximately 55 km2, despite its relative shallowness, the bay serves as greater metropolitan Sydneys main cargo seaport, located at Port Botany, with facilities managed by Sydney Ports Corporation. Two runways of Sydney Airport extend into the bay, Botany Bay National Park is located on the northern and southern headlands of the bay. The area surrounding the bay is generally managed by Roads and Maritime Services, the land adjacent to Botany Bay was settled for many thousands of years by the Tharawal and Eora Aboriginal peoples and their associated clans. On 29 April 1770, Botany Bay was the site of James Cooks first landing of HMS Endeavour on the mass of Australia. Later the British planned Botany Bay as the site for a penal colony, out of these plans came the first European habitation of Australia at Sydney Cove. Archaeological evidence from the shores of Botany Bay has yielded evidence of Aboriginal settlement dating back 5,000 years, the Aboriginal people of Sydney were known as the Eora with sub-groups derived from the languages they spoke. The people living between the Cooks River and the Georges River were the Bidjigal clan, on the shores of the bay were the Gweagal clan. An artefact collected on Cooks first voyage in Botany Bay is the bark shield left behind by a member of a local Aboriginal tribe. This very rare object is now in the British Museums collection and was the subject of a programme in the BBC radio series A History of the World in 100 Objects. Lieutenant James Cook first landed at Kurnell, on the banks of Botany Bay, on Sunday 29 April 1770. Cooks landing marked the beginning of Britains interest in Australia and in the colonisation of this new ‘southern continent’. Initially the name Sting Ray Harbour was used by Cook and other journal keepers on his expedition and that name was also recorded on an Admiralty chart. Cooks log for 6 May 1770 records The great quantity of these sort of found in this place occasioned my giving it the name of Stingrays Harbour. Eighteen years later, in 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip sailed the armed tender HMS Supply into the bay on 18 January, two days later the remaining ships of the First Fleet arrived to found the planned penal colony. However, the land was ruled unsuitable for settlement as there was insufficient fresh water. Phillip decided instead to move to the excellent natural harbour of Port Jackson to the north, on the morning of 24 January the French exploratory expedition of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse was seen outside Botany Bay. On 26 January, the Supply left the bay to move up to Port Jackson, on the afternoon of 26 January, the remaining ships of First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove
3.
Cooks River
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The Cooks River, a semi-mature tide dominated drowned valley estuary, is a tributary of Botany Bay, located in south-eastern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The course of the 23 kilometres long urban waterway has been altered to various developments along its shore. It serves as part of a system for the 100 square kilometres of its watershed. The tidal sections support significant areas of mangroves, bird, and fish life, the river begins at Graf Park, Yagoona, then flows in a roughly north-easterly direction to Chullora. It reaches its northernmost point at Strathfield, where it leads into an open canal, no more than one metre wide. It then heads towards the south-east, where Cooks River runs through Strathfield Golf Course, the concrete lining has been partly removed. Here the plants have returned and have created an environment where the water is filtered and runs clean, one section here is called the Chain of Ponds. At Belfield it joins with the Cox Creek Channel and flows in an easterly direction, the canal widens and deepens as it picks up stormwater from surrounding suburbs, such as Campsie and becomes influenced by tidal action. At Canterbury, it is joined by Cup and Saucer Creek, industrial areas line the Cooks River at Canterbury. In the past, factories discharged their waste directly into the water, the valley becomes more pronounced as the river reaches Tempe, where it is joined by Wolli Creek and the Alexandra Canal. The Princes Highway crosses the Cooks River and links Tempe to the suburb of Wolli Creek, also here is the low-lying Fatima Island, which is submerged at high tide. The course of the final south-flowing section of river is entirely artificial, Cooks River connects with Botany Bay at Kyeemagh. Many of the lower lying areas have been filled and are parks, in spite of this the river and adjacent lands are being recognised for their beauty, history, amenity, environmental value, if not also for potential for improvements. The walkway and cycleway beside much of the river is part of the path connecting Sydney Olympic Park with Botany Bay, the river also has a number of community-based organisations which assist its maintenance, in particular The Cooks River Valley Association. The CRVA grew from The Cooks River Improvement League, founded in 1925, the League recommended cleaning up the river by developing a canal system and removing of the footings of Tempe Dam, proposal which had been made originally by engineer H B Henson, in 1896. In 2010 the Cup and Saucer Wetlands were built in Canterbury to create an environment for the native wildlife. Selected areas of the Cooks River which is lined with concrete will be replaced in 2013 and 2014 with a natural bank with sand stone rocks. The Cooks River has a catchment area of 100 square kilometres, within the areas of Sydney enclosed by urban environments
4.
Georges River
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The Georges River, formerly known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately 96 kilometres in a north and then easterly direction to its mouth at Botany Bay, the Georges River is the main tributary of Botany Bay, with the Cooks River being a secondary tributary. The land adjacent to the Georges River was occupied for thousands of years by the Tharawal. They used the river as an important source of food and a place for trade, major tributaries include OHares Creek, Bunbury Curran Creek, Cabramatta Creek, Prospect Creek, Salt Pan Creek and the Woronora River. The Georges River is popular for activities such as water skiing and swimming. The banks of the river along the lower reaches are marked by large inlets and indentations overlooked by steep ridges and scarps. The Georges River features some artificial lakes in the suburb of Chipping Norton and these lakes, known as the Chipping Norton Lakes, are the result of sand mining and quarrying operations in the twentieth century. The Lakes are now a popular watersports and recreational facility for the residents of the suburbs of Sydney. Liverpool Weir now forms the uppermost tidal limit and presence of water on the Georges River. Georges River National Park adjoins the upper reaches of the Georges River, from Appin to Glenfield, a large corridor has been protected as part of the Georges River Regional Open Space Corridor. Council reserves allow for access to natural sections of the river at Simmos Beach, Ingleburn Reserve, Keith Longhurst Reserve, Botany Bay Community River Health Monitoring Program is a community-based initiative to monitor ecosystem health catchment. Www. georgesriver. org. au Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Georges River was named in honour of King George III, by Governor Arthur Phillip. The river was first explored by Bass and Flinders in 1795 on their first voyage on the Tom Thumb after their arrival in New South Wales, the exploration led to the establishment of Bankstown. A dam was constructed by David Lennox using convict labour at Liverpool in 1836, in February 2007, Liverpool and Campbelltown City Council were awarded a $2 million grant from the NSW Environmental Trust under their Urban Sustainability Initiative. Bridges over the Georges River include from east to west, Captain Cook Bridge, for cars, pedestrians, Tom Uglys Bridge, for cars, pedestrians and cyclists. Old Como railway bridge, now for pedestrians and cyclists, Como railway bridge on the Illawarra line, connecting Oatley to Como, for trains. Alfords Point Bridge, for cars, pedestrians and cyclists, East Hills rail bridge at East Hills, for trains. Voyager Point footbridge, for pedestrians and cyclists, m5 South Western Motorway Georges River East Bridge Milperra Bridge, for cars, pedestrians and cyclists
5.
Indigenous Australians
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Indigenous Australians are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia, descended from groups that existed in Australia and surrounding islands prior to European colonisation. In present-day Australia these groups are divided into local communities. At the time of initial European settlement, over 250 languages were spoken, it is estimated that 120 to 145 of these remain in use. Aboriginal people today mostly speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English, a population collapse following European settlement, and a smallpox epidemic spreading three years after the arrival of Europeans may have caused a massive and early depopulation. Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag have been among the flags of Australia. The word aboriginal has been in the English language since at least the 16th century, to mean, first or earliest known and it comes from the Latin word aborigines, derived from ab and origo. The word was used in Australia to describe its indigenous peoples as early as 1789 and it soon became capitalised and employed as the common name to refer to all Indigenous Australians. Strictly speaking, Aborigine is the noun and Aboriginal the adjectival form, however, use of either Aborigine or Aboriginal to refer to individuals has acquired negative connotations in some sectors of the community, and it is generally regarded as insensitive and even offensive. The more acceptable and correct expression is Aboriginal Australians or Aboriginal people, the term Indigenous Australians, which also includes Torres Strait Islander peoples, has found increasing acceptance, particularly since the 1980s. The broad term Aboriginal Australians includes many groups that often identify under names from local Indigenous languages. Anindilyakwa on Groote Eylandt off Arnhem Land, Palawah in Tasmania and these larger groups may be further subdivided, for example, Anangu recognises localised subdivisions such as Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra, Luritja and Antikirinya. It is estimated that prior to the arrival of British settlers, the Torres Strait Islanders possess a heritage and cultural history distinct from Aboriginal traditions. The eastern Torres Strait Islanders in particular are related to the Papuan peoples of New Guinea, accordingly, they are not generally included under the designation Aboriginal Australians. This has been another factor in the promotion of the inclusive term Indigenous Australians. Six percent of Indigenous Australians identify themselves fully as Torres Strait Islanders, a further 4% of Indigenous Australians identify themselves as having both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal heritage. The Torres Strait Islands comprise over 100 islands which were annexed by Queensland in 1879, eddie Mabo was from Mer or Murray Island in the Torres Strait, which the famous Mabo decision of 1992 involved. The term blacks has been used to refer to Indigenous Australians since European settlement, while originally related to skin colour, the term is used today to indicate Aboriginal heritage or culture in general and refers to people of any skin pigmentation. In the 1970s, many Aboriginal activists, such as Gary Foley, proudly embraced the term black, the book included interviews with several members of the Aboriginal community including Robert Jabanungga reflecting on contemporary Aboriginal culture
6.
Sydney
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Sydney /ˈsɪdni/ is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australias east coast, the metropolis surrounds the worlds largest natural harbour, residents of Sydney are known as Sydneysiders. The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years, the first British settlers, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived in 1788 to found Sydney as a penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Since convict transportation ended in the century, the city has transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural. As at June 2016 Sydneys estimated population was 5,005,358, in the 2011 census,34 percent of the population reported having been born overseas, representing many different nationalities and making Sydney one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Sydney and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home and it is classified as an Alpha+ World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has a market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing. Its gross regional product was $337 billion in 2013, the largest in Australia, there is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as one of Asia Pacifics leading financial hubs. Its natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, man-made attractions such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are also well known to international visitors. The first people to inhabit the now known as Sydney were indigenous Australians having migrated from northern Australia. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity first started to occur in the Sydney area from around 30,735 years ago, the earliest British settlers called them Eora people. Eora is the term the indigenous used to explain their origins upon first contact with the British. Its literal meaning is from this place, prior to the arrival of the British there were 4,000 to 8,000 native people in Sydney from as many as 29 different clans. Sydney Cove from Port Jackson to Petersham was inhabited by the Cadigal clan, the principal language groups were Darug, Guringai, and Dharawal. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells. Development has destroyed much of the citys history including that of the first inhabitants, there continues to be examples of rock art and engravings located in the protected Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The first meeting between the people and the British occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula. He noted in his journal that they were confused and somewhat hostile towards the foreign visitors, Cook was on a mission of exploration and was not commissioned to start a settlement
7.
New South Wales
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New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south and it has a coast line with the Tasman Sea on its east side. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state, New South Wales state capital is Sydney, which is also Australias most populous city. In March 2014, the population of New South Wales was 7.5 million. Just under two-thirds of the population,4.67 million. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen, the Colony of New South Wales was founded as a penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised a more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825, in addition, the colony also included the island territories of New Zealand, Van Diemens Land, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, most of the area was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became New Zealand. However, the Swan River Colony has never administered as part of New South Wales. Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island has become a federal Territory, as have the now known as the Australian Capital Territory. The prior inhabitants of New South Wales were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, before European settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region. The Wodi Wodi people are the custodians of the Illawarra region of South Sydney. The Bundjalung people are the custodians of parts of the northern coastal areas. The European discovery of New South Wales was made by Captain James Cook during his 1770 survey along the eastern coast of the Dutch-named continent of New Holland. In his original journal covering the survey, in triplicate to satisfy Admiralty Orders, Cook first named the land New Wales, however, in the copy held by the Admiralty, he revised the wording to New South Wales. After years of chaos and anarchy after the overthrow of Governor William Bligh, macquaries legacy is still evident today. During the 19th century, large areas were separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria. Responsible government was granted to the New South Wales colony in 1855, following the Treaty of Waitangi, William Hobson declared British sovereignty over New Zealand in 1840
8.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
9.
Castle Hill, New South Wales
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Castle Hill is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 30.1 kilometres north-west of the Sydney GPO, in the Hills District. Castle Hill is the centre of the local government area of the Hills Shire. The land that is now called Castle Hill was originally home to the Bidjigal people, who are believed to be a clan of the Dharuk people, who occupied all the land to the immediate west of Sydney. The Bidjigal people are commemorated by Bidjigal Reserve which straddles the suburbs of Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, North Rocks. The first European visitors to the district were led by Governor Phillip in April 1791 accompanied by an entourage, traveling from Parramatta reaching the hills following the Aboriginal trails, which today are overlaid by the Windsor and Old Northern Roads. As Governor he needed to find new country for settlement and farming land for crops so as to feed a struggling infant colony, Governor King began Government Farm 3 there on 8 July 1801, referring to it as Castle Hill on 1 March 1802. The majority of the convicts who worked the farm were Irish Catholics. The most notorious incident being the Battle of Vinegar Hill where around 39 were slaughtered and they were branded politicals and exiled for life, never to return. The first free settler in Castle Hill, a Frenchman Baron Verincourt de Clambe and it has been suggested that locals of the time commonly referred to de Clambes house as The Castle because of the Barons noble status. On Sunday night March 4,1804, the convicts rose up as one in what was to become known as the Castle Hill convict rebellion, leading to The Second Battle of Vinegar Hill. Overpowering their guards, they marched towards Parramatta, having torched a hut at the farm as a signal to convicts at the Hawkesbury. However, disciplined English troops, Red Coats, vastly outgunned and outnumbered them, about fifteen to twenty were killed in the first skirmish at the western gates of the Governors Domain at Parramatta, not far from Constitution Hill. The main group headed west, pursued by the Red Coats and by a citizen militia, opposite where the Rouse Hill Regional Town stands, although the exact location is lost to time, a twenty-minute skirmish happened where an unknown number were killed. Martial law was declared across the whole of the colony and was allowed to cloak the activities of the military, martial law continued in effect for seven days, throughout which muskets were heard by locals who wrote to King about the calamity. The government-controlled newspaper reported only 133 convicts were involved, but over 600 left Castle Hill in the hope of joining with another 1,100 from the Hawkesbury plains. The population of the colony at the time was around 5,000, thus the panic that beset the administration, nine were hanged, with three left hanging dead in gibbets for many months as a reminder for all. In later years the area filled with market gardens and orchards which supplied Sydney. As Sydney expanded, the disappeared and were replaced with a sprawl of suburban dwellings, retail and commercial establishments
10.
Wolli Creek
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Wolli Creek, an urban watercourse of the Cooks River catchment, is located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The creek is a channel between Kingsgrove Road, Kingsgrove and Bexley Road, Bexley North where it then enters the Wolli Creek Valley. The sub-catchment area of the creek is 22 square kilometres, whilst some of the park has been formed and management handed over from local government authorities to the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, including the 8. The diversity of habitat and strategic location of the Wolli Creek Valley are reflected in the range of bird species to be found adjacent to the creek. Approximately 175 species of birds have been recorded in the area between 1940 and 1999, several species of freshwater and saltwater fish can be found in the Wolli Creek in areas above and below the fish ladder. The fish ladder, or rock-ramp fishway was constructed to enable fish to bypass the weir at Henderson St, Turrella, the lower reaches - the tidal part - of Wolli Creek are home to a plant community known as saltmarsh, or coastal saltmarsh. The plant community includes various salinity-tolerant species such as Knobby Club-rush, Samphire, Sea Rush, Seablite, Streaked Arrowgrass, Wolli Creek Regional Park Cooks River catchment. NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, Wolli Creek Preservation Society Inc.1 June 2009. Turella Reserve to Gough Whitlam Park
11.
Baulkham Hills, New South Wales
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Baulkham Hills is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The land that is now called Baulkham Hills was originally home to the Bidjigal people, who are believed to be a clan of the Darug people, who occupied all the land to the immediate west of Sydney. The Bidjigal people are commemorated by Bidjigal Reserve which straddles the suburbs of Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, North Rocks. The first European settler in the Baulkham Hills Shire was William Joyce, in 1794 he was given a grant of 30 acres in what became Baulkham Hills. The name Baulkham Hills was given to the area by Andrew McDougall, the name, which reminded McDougall of his homeland, was officially recognised in 1802. Baulkham Hills Post Office opened on 1 April 1856, according to the 2011 census of Population, there were 33,945 residents in Baulkham Hills. 65. 5% of residents were born in Australia, the most common other countries of birth were China 4. 0%, India 3. 3% and England 3. 3%. 69. 4% of residents spoke only English at home, other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 4. 2%, Cantonese 3. 8% and Korean 2. 4%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were Catholic 30. 8%, Anglican 18. 8%, Baulkham Hills is primarily accessible by road. At the intersection known as Baulkham Hills Junction several major roads including, Seven Hills Road, Old Northern Road. The fastest route from the Sydney CBD is via the M2 Hills Motorway, Baulkham Hills is serviced by the Hillsbus bus company, which provides services to the nearby commercial centres of Castle Hill, Parramatta and frequent services to the Sydney CBD. Hillsbus provides services to the City via routes 610/610X, 614X, the 610/610X service can also be caught in the westbound direction, which services Kellyville and Rouse Hill. Services are also provided to St. Leonards, Milsons Point and North Sydney, 612X, in the westbound direction, provides a service to Kellyville Ridge and Stanhope Gardens. Route M61 services Baulkham Hills, providing a high service to Castle Hill. Route M60 provides a service to the areas around Parramatta, Pennant Hills. There is no station at Baulkham Hills. In the past, there was the Rogans Hill line, connecting the suburb to Parramatta, railway Street near Baulkham Hills Junction is a reminder of this. It was closed down in 1930 due to problems on Windsor Road
12.
La Perouse, New South Wales
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La Perouse is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb of La Perouse is located about 14 kilometres southeast of the Sydney central business district, the La Perouse peninsula is the northern headland of Botany Bay. It is notable for its old military outpost at Bare Island, Congwong Bay Beach, Little Congwong Beach, and the beach at Frenchmans Bay provide protected swimming areas in Botany Bay. La Perouse is one of few Sydney suburbs with a French name, others being Sans Souci, Engadine, kurnell is located opposite, on the southern headland of Botany Bay. La Perouse was known as Gooriwal to the Muruora-dial people of the area, La Perouse was named after the French navigator Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, who landed on the northern shore of Botany Bay west of Bare Island on 26 January 1788. Captain Arthur Phillip and the first fleet of convicts had arrived in Botany Bay a few days earlier, Louis XVI of France had commissioned Lapérouse to explore the Pacific. In April 1770 James Cooks expedition had sailed onto the east coast of Australia whilst exploring the south Pacific searching for Terra Australis or ‘Land of the South’. Upon King Louis XVIs orders, Lapérouse departed Brest, France, in command of Astrolabe, La Perouse in Sydneys south is named after the leader of this French expedition. Lapérouse’s two ships sailed to New South Wales after 12 of his men had attacked and killed in the Navigator Islands. Astrolabe and Boussole arrived off Botany Bay on 24 January just six days after Captain Arthur Phillip had anchored just west of Bare Island, the British received Lapérouse courteously, and offered him any assistance he might need. The French were far better provisioned than the British were, and extended the same courtesy, the commander of the Fleet, Captain Phillip, ordered that two British naval vessels, HMS Sirius and Supply, meet the French. Lapérouse subsequently sent his journals and letters to Europe with the British ship, Receveur, injured in that skirmish, died at Botany Bay and was buried at Frenchmans Cove below the headland that is now called La Perouse, not far from the Lapérouse Museum. The place was marked by a tin plate but the local Aboriginal people quickly removed it, the British replaced it with another and tended the site. In 1824, the tree was inscribed by Victor-Charles Lottin, an ensign visiting with Louis Isidore Duperrey, the following year, Hyacinthe de Bougainville paid for the tombstone that is on the site today. It was designed by Government Architect George Cookney, the French stayed at Botany Bay for six weeks and built a stockade, observatory and a garden for fresh produce on what is now known as the La Perouse peninsula. After completing the building a longboat and obtaining wood and water, the French departed for New Caledonia, Santa Cruz, the Solomons, Lapérouse wrote in his journals that he expected to be back in France by December 1788, but the two ships vanished. The last official sighting of the French expedition was in March 1788 when British lookouts stationed at the South Head of Port Jackson saw the expedition sail from Botany Bay. Some of the mystery was solved in 1826 when items associated with the French ships were found on an island in the Santa Cruz group, more recently two major expeditions have been mounted to explore the sites in Vanikoro
