Gregory Hills

Before white settlement this was the land of the Tharawal and Gundungurra peoples. Located between Camden Valley Way and St Gregory's College, the new suburb of Gregory Hills is part of the South West Growth Area. It is built on land which was formerly St Gregory's College farm. This land was given to the Marist Brothers by Thomas Donovan in the 1920s for the development of a boys school to teach young men the skills to have careers on the land.

Gregory Hills includes more than 280 hectares of rolling hills and undulating land with views across the district and beyond to the Blue Mountains. Nearly 300 families have bought blocks in the suburb in the last year and 2,400 homes are planned. Gregory Hills will feature its own primary school, shopping centre and an extensive network of parks linked by bike paths and walkways. Gregory Hills Drive will join Badgally Rd giving access to Campbelltown railway station.
(Information provided by Camden Council Library Service, NSW Dept. Planning & Infrastructure & Dart West Developments.)

Camden

Camden is one of Australia's most historic towns, enclosed on three sides by a sweeping bend in the Nepean River on land originally home to the first inhabitants, the Dharawal people. Camden and its surrounds were originally known as The Cowpastures after missing cattle from the Sydney colony were eventually found in the area.

Agriculture was key to the prosperity of the district, with the Macarthur family establishing wool growing, dairying, wheat growing, vineyards and orchards on John Macarthur’s original 5,000 acre land grant, from 1806 onwards. The village of Camden was created following sales of land by the Macarthurs in 1841. The Macarthur family became synonymous with Camden, being responsible for the construction and establishment of landmarks such as Camden Park house, St John’s Church, Macarthur and Onslow Parks.

The Macarthur family’s agricultural enterprises also provided employment for immigrant workers, who came to the area under Governor Burke’s 1835 plan as tenant farmers. Many later obtained their own landholdings and established businesses in the area. Descendants of these families remain in Camden today.

Originally part of Nepean Shire, The Municipality of Camden was proclaimed in 1889. Camden township contains many historic buildings which were established during the 19th century to provide services such as the police, Court House, churches, schools, banks and School of Arts (now Library and Museum). The present day town reflects the layout of its earlier establishment in the 1840s, and some of the shopfronts and facades remain from the early decades of the 20th century.

Aside from agriculture, industries such as mining provided employment for the inhabitants. Mines situated in the outlying areas provided coal and silver ore, which was shipped by rail once the tramway was established in 1882. One of the locomotives, affectionately known as ‘Pansy’, travelled on the branch-line from Campbelltown, and in the 1940s had 24 weekday services which were a mixture of goods and passenger services. The line ceased operation in 1963 and was replaced by road transport when coal trucks were a familiar sight in Camden. Today there exists a mix of rural, retail, and light industrial activities in Camden, with many residents now employed outside the local area.

From a population of 242 in 1846 the Camden Local Government area has dramatically increased to include a population of 51,000 in 2006. This expansion follows the State Government’s Growth Centre Plan from the 1970’s and continues with current government plans for increased urbanisation and expansion. The geography of Camden township, with the surrounding flood plain, has allowed the township to retain much of its historic form, with development being concentrated in non-flood prone areas.
(Information provided by Camden Historical Society, Camden Council Library Service and Camden Council Community Profile)

Camden South

The area known as Camden South is established on land originally home to the Dharawal and Gundangarra people and acquired by the Macarthur family as part of their extensive land grant in the early 1800s. The area supported the farming of wheat, sheep and dairy cattle. An original house Murrandah is now known as Camden House Nursing Home.
The expansion in population in Camden in the 1960s and 1970s saw the establishment of two large housing areas to the east and west of the Hume Highway. These were known as Elizabeth Macarthur, honouring the contribution to the development of agriculture by Elizabeth, wife of John Macarthur, and Ponderosa. The new areas were originally collectively known as Benkennie but this later changed to Camden South.

The 3.4km Nepean Cycleway links Camden South to the township of Camden passing under the Camden bypass and along the Nepean River. The flat lands of Camden South are home to a number of sporting fields for local soccer and rugby clubs. Camden Valley Inn is a landmark on the old Hume Highway and a popular gathering place for local people.
(Information provided by Camden Historical Society, Camden Council Library Service and Camden Council Community Profile)

Oran Park

Oran Park is on the traditional land of the Dharawal people. The area has a rural character with open pastures and rolling hills. The area was originally made up of two principal land grants, one of 2,000 acres, Harrington Park, granted to William Campbell in 1815 and another to George Molle in 1817, Netherbyes, of 1600 acres. Oran Park appears on the pre-1827 map as part of Harrington Park. The Oran Park portion was sub-divided from the Harrrington Park estate in 1829 and acquired by Henry William Johnston in 1852. The Oran Park estate is representative of the layout of a country manor estate with views afforded to and from the manor over the landscape and to the important access points of the estate. The two-storey Georgian-style house was built in c.1857. The house was acquired by Thomas C Barker (of Maryland and Orielton), who sold it to Campbelltown grazier Edward Lomas Moore (of Badgally) in 1871. The property was later owned by Atwill George Kendrick and then the Moore family who sold the house and land to B Robbins and a Mr Smith operated a golf course with trotting facilities. It was sold in 1945 for £28,000, and in 1963, 361 acres was purchased by ER Smith and J Hyland, farmers. The homestead and stables were sold in 1969 by John and Peggy Cole and purchased by the Dawson-Damers, members of the English aristocracy. John ‘DD’ Dawson-Damer was an Old Etonian and car collector. He was a prominent motor racing identity and was killed in an accident in West Sussex in 2000. After her husband’s death his wife sold the house, with its historic gardens and 107 hectares of pasture, in 2006 for $19 million to Valad Property Group.

During World War II Narellan Army Camp was based at Oran Park. Part of the original estate is the location of the Oran Park Motor Racing Circuit. The main grand prix circuit is 2.6 km long with a mixture of slow, technical and fast sweeping corners as well as changes in elevation around the track. Apart from the main racing circuit there area has had a number of subsidiary activities including a two dirt circuits, two four wheel training venues, a skid pan and a go-kart circuit. The racing circuit has been used for a variety of motorsport including club motorkhanas, touring cars, sports sedans, production cars, open-wheelers, motocross and truck racing The track will close in 2010 to become a housing estate developed by
Leppington Pastoral Company (owned by the Perich family) in a joint-venture with Landcom with an estimated 11,500 dwellings and 33,00 people in Oran Park and Turner Road. Proposed suburbs include Raceway Hill and Gregory Hills. Oran Park Town opened for land sales on March 2010. Oran Park is part of the South West Growth Centre Area which is eventually planned to accommodate 295,000 people by 2031.
(Information provided by Camden Historical Society, Camden Council Library Service and Camden Council Community Profile)