Richmond

Postcode: 2753

Richmond is a town near Sydney, Australia located on the alluvial Hawkesbury River flats at the foot of the Blue Mountains. It is in the City of Hawkesbury Local Government Area. It is 19 metres above sea-level and a latitude 33° 35' 54" South and longitude 150°45' 04" east. It is 53 km in a direct line, and about 65 km by road from Sydney. It is adjacent to Windsor.

The Darug people were the native people to the area in 1788. The area was originally explored by British settlers in 1789 and was known by the colonialists as Richmond Hill. This name was given by Governor Phillip, in honour of Charles Lennox, the third Duke of Richmond who was Master General of Ordnance in the Pitt administration. The local area was the third area to have European settlement in Australia after Sydney and Parramatta. The first 22 settlers came to the area was settled in 1794. They came to farm a total of 30 acres (121,000 m²) in modern day Pitt Town Bottoms to help overcome the desperate need for good farming land and food in the new colony. By 1799 this region was producing about half the grain produced in the colony.

The Battle of Richmond Hill took place in May or June 1795 between the Darug people and the European settlers. It is perhaps the first time that the colonial authorities sent in the troopers and expressly stated their intent to 'destroy' the whole local Aboriginal population of an area.

Around 1811 Macquarie established five Macquarie Towns in the area. They are Windsor, Richmond, Castlereagh, Wilberforce and Pitt Town. One of the early settlers, James Blackman, built Bowman Cottage from brick nog, a common construction technique in the colony, using money borrowed from William Cox. The house was constructed between the years 1815 and 1818. James was unable to pay his debts and was forced to sell the property to George Bowman. The building was restored by the NSW Public Works Department.

The expansion of the Sydney suburban area has almost reached Richmond and it is now considered to be an outer suburb of Sydney. Bells Line of Road which leads into, over and across the Blue Mountains, finishing in Lithgow, starts in Richmond. Richmond railway station is the terminus of the Richmond branch of the Western Line of the CityRail network.

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