Windsor, New South Wales

Windsor is a historic town north-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.  It is in the Hawkesbury local government area.  The town sits on the Hawkesbury River, enveloped by farmland and Australian bush.  Many of the oldest surviving European buildings in Australia are located at Windsor.  It is  north-west of metropolitan Sydney, on the fringes of urban sprawl. 

Demographics

At the , Windsor had a reported population of 1,891 people, with a median age of 42.  The most common ancestries in Windsor were English (30.9%), Australian (28.9%), Irish (10.3%), Scottish (7.5%), and German (2.8%).  Most people from Windsor were born in Australia (78.8%), followed by England (3.3%), and New Zealand (1.5%). 

The most common religious group in Windsor was Christianity (65.8%), 25.2% being Catholic and 23.0% Anglican.  The second largest group was No Religion (28.9%). 

The most common occupations in Windsor included Professionals (15.9%), Technicians and Trades Workers (15.1%), Clerical and Administrative Workers (13.6%), Managers (12.8%), and Labourers (11.0%).  The median weekly household income was . 

Geography
Windsor's proximity to the Hawkesbury River has resulted in numerous disastrous floods.  A horseshoe on the outside wall of the Macquarie Arms pub marks the level the flood peaked at in 1867.  During the 1867 flood, beaches along the Hawkesbury River to Barrenjoey were littered with the debris from the town. 

History
The Windsor area was originally inhabited by the Dharuk (also Darug) nation of indigenous aboriginal peoples. 

Windsor is the third-oldest place of British settlement on the Australian continent.  Settlement at the location was first established circa 1791, near the head of navigation on the Hawkesbury River (known as Deerubbin in Dharuk).  European settlers utilised the fertile river flats for agriculture.  The area was originally called Green Hills, but renamed Windsor (after Windsor in England).  The town was officially proclaimed in a Government and General Order issued from Government House, Sydney, dated 15 December 1810.  Governor Lachlan Macquarie "marked out the district of Green Hills", which he "... called Windsor", after Windsor-on-the-Thames. 

While in Windsor, Governor Macquarie ordered the main institutions of organised settlement to be erected, including a church, school-house, gaol and "commodious inn" (Macquarie Arms Hotel).  Of these new buildings, the most outstanding was Francis Greenway's St Matthew's Anglican Church.  Governor Macquarie himself chose the site for the church.  Samuel Marsden, principal chaplain of the colony, consecrated the church on 8 December 1822. 

Windsor was chosen during settlement because of its agricultural potential and accessible location.  In 1813 a report was given to Governor Macquarie from Earl Bathurst detailing a proposed invasion of the Hawkesbury River by France.  This planned invasion that did not eventuate targeted the Windsor granary in order to cut off supply to Sydney, demonstrating the relative importance of this new settlement on a global scale.  Windsor is  north-west of Sydney, and easily accessible by coastal shipping from Sydney along the Hawkesbury River.  It was known as the "bread basket", ensuring the survival of the starving colony.  The extensive agriculture caused major silting in the Hawkesbury River; by the 1890s the Hawkesbury River had become so blocked with silt, ships could not travel up to Windsor from the coast.  By then, a railway (in 1864) and road (in 1814) had been built to compensate.  

On 1 January 1803, Daniel Egan was born in Windsor.  He went on to become Mayor of Sydney in 1853. 

Heritage listings 
Windsor has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
 Blacktown-Richmond railway: Windsor railway station
 32-34 Bridge Street: Windsor Police Station Stables
 Claremont Crescent: Claremont Cottage
 Court and Pitt Streets: Windsor Court House
 29 Fitzgerald Street: Mackenzie House
 41 George Street: Government Cottage Archaeological Site
 126 George Street: Loder House
 226 George Street: Simmons Hardware Store
 350 George Street: Reverend Turner Cottage
 361 George Street: McQuade Park
 23-27 Johnston Street: Johnston Street terraces

 Macquarie Street: Windsor Uniting Church and Hall
 49 Macquarie Street: Windsor Methodist Parsonage
 Moses Street: St Matthew's Anglican Church
 25, 28, 29, 31-33, 35 North Street: North Street residences
 37-39 North Street: Court House Hotel
 Palmer Street: Peninsula House and Tebbutt's Observatory
 Thompson Square: Macquarie Arms Hotel
 Thompson Square: Thompson Square Conservation Area
 5 Thompson Square: 5 Thompson Square

Media
The studios of local community radio station, Hawkesbury Radio, are located in Windsor. 

Pitt Town, which is  north west of Windsor, was a filming location for the Channel 7 television series A Country Practice.  It was the set of the fictional town of Wandin Valley.  Pitt Town hosted a doctor's clinic.  Windsor High School at Mulgrave was also used as the fictional Burrigan High School in the series

Transport
Urban sprawl of metropolitan Sydney has almost reached Windsor.  The town is now regarded as an outer suburb which has retained its appeal as a small country town.  Growth in the Hawkesbury area has created an increased need for public transport and roads.  Most people from Windsor traveled to work by car in 2016 (68.9%).  Only 9.0% of people used public transport. 

Windsor railway station opened 1 December 1864.  It is on the Richmond branch of the T1 North Shore, Northern & Western Line and T5 Cumberland Line of the Sydney Trains network. 

Located in the town centre is the Windsor Bridge which was constructed in 1874.  It is the oldest existing crossing of the Hawkesbury River.  There was a proposal in 2013 by the Government of New South Wales to demolish the existing bridge and replace it with a safer bridge.  It was suggested by the political activist group Community Action for Windsor Bridge (CAWB) that a bypass is a better option to preserve history, ensure safety, and better manage the congestion of Windsor Road.  Nevertheless, construction of the new bridge is underway and has continued despite the protests. 

Windsor is also connected to Parramatta via the  Windsor Road cycleway, with much of its route via the North-West T-way. 

Gallery

See also
 Dillwynia Women's Correctional Centre
 John Morony Correctional Centre
 Windsor Wolves
 Richmond, New South Wales

References

External links 

Windsor - Sydney.com

Category:Suburbs of Sydney
Category:Towns in New South Wales
Category:City of Hawkesbury
Category:1810 establishments in Australia
Category:Hawkesbury River
Category:Populated places established in 1810
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