Baulkham Hills, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Baulkham Hills
city = Sydney
state = NSW


caption =
lga = Baulkham Hills Shire
postcode = 2153
pop =
area =
est =
propval =
stategov = Baulkham Hills
fedgov = Mitchell
near-nw = Bella Vista
near-n = Kellyville
near-ne = Castle Hill
near-w = Seven Hills
near-e = West Pennant Hills
near-sw = Winston Hills
near-s = Northmead
near-se = North Rocks
dist1 = 31
dir1 = north-west
location1= Sydney CBD

Baulkham Hills is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Baulkham Hills is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Baulkham Hills Shire. Baulkham Hills is in Hills District of the Greater Western Sydney region. Baulkham Hills is colloquially known as 'Baulko'.

History

The land that is now called Baulkham Hills 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 best-known Aboriginal person from that time is Pemulwuy, a Bidjigal leader who led the resistance movement against the British forces, including sacking farms in Castle Hill, before his eventual capture and execution by the British militia. Fact|date=October 2008

The Bidjigal people are today commemorated by Bidjigal Reserve which straddles the suburbs of Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, North Rocks, and West Pennant Hills.

The first European settler in the Baulkham Hills Shire was William Joyce. In 1794, he was given a grant of 30 acres (121,000 m²) in what became Baulkham Hills. The name Baulkham Hills was given to the area by Andrew McDougall, a settler from Buckholm Hills, County of Roxburgh, Scotland. The name, which reminded McDougall of his homeland, was officially recognised in 1902. [ "The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8 ]

Transport

Baulkham Hills is primarily accessible by road. The intersection known as Baulkham Hills Junction is the intersection of several major roads: Seven Hills Road, Old Northern Road and Windsor Road. The fastest route from the Sydney CBD is via the M2 Hills Motorway, exiting at Windsor Road.

Baulkham Hills is serviced by the Westbus bus company, which provides services to the nearby commercial centres of Castle Hill, Parramatta and frequent services to the Sydney CBD.

There is no train station at Baulkham Hills; the nearest is Seven Hills railway station. In the past, there was a railway link called 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 traffic problems on Windsor Road and large financial losses. Land owned by the rail authority was sold to the Hills Bowling Club in the mid 1970s to build their two front bowling greens.

Commercial area

Baulkham Hills has a Stockland shopping centre, located on the intersection of Windsor Road and Old Northern Road. It features a Coles supermarket, a Woolworths supermarket, an Aldi supermarket and 70 specialty shops. A redevelopment was completed in 2008 to significantly expand the floor space of the centre. [ [http://www.stockland.com.au/Retail/NSW/Metro/StocklandBaulkhamHills/Information/ Stockland Baulkham Hills] ]

In the northern part of the suburb there is another shopping centre called Norwest Marketown, together with many other businesses. The Norwest Business Park located nearby, is partially in Baulkham Hills and mostly in Bella Vista.

Hospital

The Hills Private Hospital on Windsor Road (near the corner of Merindah Road) includes Emergency for private patients and has a very large Maternity Ward. The current hospital site will be redeveloped into a rehabilitation centre when the hospital's owners, Healthscope, move the operations to the Norwest Business Park, which is expected to be completed in 2009.

Parks and Reserves

Baulkham Hills features a number of parks and reserves, such as the Bidjigal Reserve (previously known as Excelsior Reserve), with native fauna such as koala, swamp wallaby, echidna, and eastern water dragon. Smaller reserves include the Sophia Doyle reserve and the Crestwood Reserve, which are habitat to brushtail and ringtail possums and a wide range of birds and lizards.

The Baulkham Hills Shire Bushland Conservation Committee is a voluntary committee of Council that assists with the management of the Shire's bushland.

Schools

* Matthew Pearce Public School
* Crestwood High School
* Crestwood Public School
* Baulkham Hills High School
* Model Farms High School
* Baulkham Hills North Public School
* Jasper Road Public School
* St. Michael's Catholic School
* [http://www.davingj.com.au Davin Griffiths-Jones School of Performing Arts]

Churches

Baulkham Hills belongs to the area known as the "bible belt" of Sydney. Indeed, it has some 13 churches of various Christian nominations. Notably, the headquarters of the Hillsong Church is also located in this suburb.

Culture

Baulkham Hills has a public library. It does not have a theatre or a movie theatre and currently does not have a single bookstore either; although these can be found in the adjacent suburb of Castle Hill.

Events

The annual Orange Blossom Festival is held in Baulkham Hills Shire each September.

The HYPE Festival is held every April during National Youth Week and again in September during the Orange Blossom festival and attracts large crowds of youths each year. It has featured high-profile Australian music acts such as Gerling and Something With Numbers. Fact|date=October 2008

ee also

* Bidjigal Reserve

References

External links

* [http://www.baulkhamhills.nsw.gov.au Baulkham Hills Shire Council] .
* [http://www.baulkhamhills.nsw.gov.au/A-Brief-History-of-the-Shire.html History of Baulkham Hills Shire] .
* [http://www.orangeblossom.com.au/ Orange Blossom Festival] .
* [http://www.hype.au.com/ HYPE Program] .