History of Castle Hill

Shires of Baulkham Hills and Hornsby Location: 31 kilometres north-west of Sydney at the junction of Old Northern Road and Showground Road

Castle Hill is a picturesque suburb possibly named because of the fine views from the hilly areas in the district. It was first seen by Governor Phillip on one of his trips of exploration in 1791. Governor King wrote in 1802 that "Great progress has been made in clearing land at Castle Hill. " In 1803 the convicts there were working "Sunrise till 8 a.m, 9 a.m. till 3 p.m. Saturdays, Sunrise till 8 a. m. "

Two French prisoners of war were liberated from prison ships at Portsmouth and sent to Castle Hill in 1810 to start a wine industry, but the vines were diseased and the venture failed. A free settler followed, a Frenchman, Verincourt De Clambe, who received a 200 acre grant in 1802. He called his property The Hermitage, and here he planted vines and other crops. In a postscript to a letter accompanying a gift of some "very good carrottes seed", he wrote: "in this moment the thunder fall on my table did extinguish my light and broke my chimney piece. Thank God it is not my heade." He died six months later, in 1804, and was buried at Castle Hill in a bricked-in-grave.

Governor King established a government farm at Castle Hill in 1801. Over 300 convicts were employed there, and, by March 1804, 700 acres had been cleared and a number of stone buildings erected. The farm was closed by Governor Macquarie in 1811 because it was too expensive to maintain. The barn on the property was repaired and converted to an asylum for convict lunatics. In 1828 the land was transferred to the Church and Schools Estate.

The suburb gives its name to the Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804, an uprising of about 200, mostly Irish, convicts from the government farm who hoped to take control of the colony (another 100 convicts lost their way and did not join the main body). The revolt culminated in the Battle of Vinegar Hill (see Rouse Hill). It was doomed to fall, since the undisciplined rabble, most of whom were drunk and armed with only makeshift weapons, were no match for the regular troops of the New South Wales Corps. The rebels were arrested and disarmed, their ringleaders were hanged, and others of the group were given heavy sentences of flogging.

An official post office opened in the district in January 1869, and the public school took in its first pupils in July 1880. Today the suburb has a modem high school, in Castle Street, which caters for students in Castle Hill and nearby areas. Castle Hill is the headquarters of the Baulkham Hills Shire Council. One of Castle Hill's greatest assets is the modem showground and hall, on the south side of Showground Road and Gilbert Road. As well as being a popular place for community activities, it is the venue for many of the larger sections of the yearly Castle Hill Eisteddfod. The productions of the Castle Hill Players, an amateur drama group with professional ability, attract visitors from many other suburbs of Sydney as well as a good number of Castle Hill residents, who enjoy live theatre.

Many residents of Castle Hill own horses, and there are numbers of horse studs and riding schools in the area. The equine events at the Castle Hill Show, which precedes Sydney's Royal Easter Show, give an indication of riding expertise and showmanship. The Castle Hill Shows began in 1886. 

Reference: The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled & Edited by Frances Pollon, published by Angus & Robertson Publishers 1988