Agnes Banks: Historic Rural Village in Outer Western Sydney

The suburb of Agnes Banks is located in the Penrith City Council local government area in Outer Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Before European settlement, the area of Agnes Bank was occupied by the Dharug Aboriginal people and whilst there are no Aboriginal sites recorded for Agnes Banks, there are several in the surrounding area. Castlereagh and Windsor Downs Nature Reserves, for example, have a number of open Aboriginal campsites with surface scatters of stone and isolated artefacts of chert stone tools and flakes. (more info)

One of the first Dharug people to have contact with the British occurred in 1797 at Yarramundi Lagoon, which is a body of water which lies parallel to the Nepean River at Agnes Banks. This Lagoon is named after Yellomundee, who was a tribal leader in this region. On this particular day, Governor John Hunter saw a Dharug man spear a platypus.  Interestingly, Yellomundee’s daughter, Maria, who was born about 1808 near the Lagoon, became the first student at Governor Macquarie’s Parramatta Native Institution in 1814. And, according to reports, Maria learnt to read and write rather well. She also became the first Aboriginal person to marry a European and they had ten children together.

The area which would become Agnes bank was originally granted to John Howell, who received 200 acres. In 1804, Governor King granted Andrew Thompson (1773 –1810), a former convict who had arrived in the colony in 1792, the land that had belonged to Howell, with an additional 78 acres. The land, which was situated on the banks of the Nepean River, was named Agnes Banks by Thompson, after his mother Agnes Hilson. Thompson then rented the fertile land out to others who were engaged in agriculture. Andrew Thompson, it should be mentioned, was regarded as a notable person at nearby Windsor, where he was an entrepreneur; later he was appointed Chief Constable and then a Magistrate by Governor Macquarie. Thompson became known as the “Father of Windsor” and the first public square in Australia was named after him. But that is another story.

Yarramundi Lagoon, Agnes Banks

Andrew Thompson died in 1810 at Windsor and his land at Agnes Banks was sold to John Campbell, in 1815. Campbell commissioned two farmhouses to be built on the land by Thomas Howell, a local builder. Then, Ronald Barr purchased a part of the Agnes Banks property and named the house there “Osborne”.

Osborne homestead viewed from the garden, Agnes Banks, New South Wales, ca. 1970 [picture] / Wes Stacey. No Government Copyright Ownership

Bill's horse trough, Agnes Banks

In 1803, James Badgery also received a land grant at Agnes Banks, adjoining Andrew Thompson's farm and Charles Palmer was granted 100 acres near Yarramundi Lagoon. The grant initially comprised 100 acres (40 ha) of land in the area of Yarramundi Lagoon and then an additional 39 acres (16 ha) was granted the following year. Badgery established a successful farm at Agnes Banks which he called, Swilly Farm. He received no government assistance and managed to endure the 1806 flood with little financial loss. However, Badgery did lease out part of this farm in 1806 to the First Fleet couple, Anthony and Elizabeth Rope. Anthony and Elizabeth are buried in the Castlereagh Anglican Cemetery. A novel called, In For The Long Haul, is written about the couple. See below.

Robert Williams and his wife Charlotte (Eather), who had been baptised by Rev Samuel Marsden, bought the land at Angus Banks in 1838. Charlotte's daughter Mary Ann from her first marriage to Joseph Windsor married William Freeman in 1833 and they also lived on the Agnes Banks property, which was subdivided. Robert Eather Williams, the son of Robert and Charlotte Williams, murdered his brother-in-law at Agnes Banks on February 22, 1881.

MURDER BY A MADMAN AT
AGNES BANKS.
(HAWKESBURY CHRONICLE )

A horrible murder was committed at Agnes
Banks, on Tuesday, the 22nd ult, by Robert
Wiiliams, brother-in-law of the victim, William
Freeman, an old man with a large family, and
much respected in the district. It appears that
the murdered man was husking corn in the
granary at his residence at Agnes Bank. which
the murderer used as his bedroom. On Tuesday
morning some altercation is supposed to have
taken place between deceased and Williams, Mrs
Freeman, wife of the murdered man, and sister of
Robert Williams, hearing a noise up in the
grainary, went out to ascertain the cause, when she
saw her husband lying with his head against a
heap of unshucked corn. Blood was flowing from
his head profusely. She saw Robert Williams
walk away from where her husband was lying who.
was then in a dying state, and never spoke. A
son of the deceased went to Richmond to inform the
police Dr Jockel was soon in attendance, but
life was then extinct. On receipt of information
Senior-constable McNeely and constable Miles
started for the scene of the murder. They found
Williams lying on the roadside about a mile from
the granary where the affair took place,

Nepean Times Penrith, NSW : 1882 - 1962), Thursday 9 December 1948, 

The Riverine Herald (Echuca, Vic. : Moama, NSW : 1869 - 1954; 1998 - 1999) Tue 8 Mar 1881

John Williams purchased the Tyreel property; part of the original Anges Bank property, at Agnes Banks in 1879 and built a house in 1880, planting a magnolia tree which lived for many years. The property was named after a cattle property owned by Williams in Moree. The Tyreel farm was used for an orchard, dairying, lucerne and other crops. Later, a cattle farm and horse stud.

The late Victorian farmhouse named Chestnut was built at Agnes Banks around 1880 in Flemish bond brickwork.

In 1910, about 1000 people lived in the Agnes Banks area and there were about 200 houses. In the 1940s, a man named Tex Morton operated The Dude Ranch, which featured entertainment and a guest house.  

Another historic building in the Agnes Banks area is called Bronte. The property which was originally called Nelson Farm on a hundred acres of land granted to Thomas Pitt in 1802. However, the property was amalgamated with land granted to the mother of Thomas, Mary Pitt and renamed Bronte. The Pitt family had connections with Lord Nelson and had at one stage named two of their farms, Nelson and Trafalgar. (see here)

The first application for a government school in the Agnes Banks area was made in 1874. It was named Yarramundi School until it closed in 1908. The school reopened as Agnes Banks Public School in 1923, but finally closed in 1970. The building is now privately owned.

Only three chimneys still survive from the simple cottage belonging to Charles Palmer, the schoolmaster, which was built on 100 acres of land granted by Governor King, in 1803.

Charles Palmer's house around the year 2000

Remains of Charles Palmer, the schoolmaster's house, Agnes Bank, 2016

There were once several churches at Agnes Banks. The Anglican Church was transported to the Richmond Campus of the University of Western Sydney in 1991. The church that was built on land donated by Henry Farlow, to be used by any Christian denomination, was demolished in the 1970s. Henry Farlow established Farlow’s Butchery in South Windsor in about 1893 and he lived on the Crowley estate at Agnes Bank. Some of the street names in Agnes banks are in memory of various early settlers to the area. Earlier settlers in the area include: Ison, Eaton, Baldwin, Town, Moses, Quinn, Gough, Eather, Wood, Ezzy, Hough, Onus, Phipps, Huxley, Griffiths, Timmins, Devlin and Clough.

254 Yarramundi Lane, Agnes Banks. Circa 1860

354 Castlereagh Road, Agnes Banks

Tyreel, Agnes Banks

The General Darling Inn, now private residence, Agnes Banks, circa 1820?

The General Darling Inn was built about 1820 at Agnes Banks and the first licensee was Robert Aull in 1830 until June 1839, when John Wheeler took over the hotel.

Historic Drives and Museums

Abbotsford: A Poetic History from the Wangal People to Nineteenth Century Mansions

Abbotsford is a suburb located in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, which prior to British settlement was inhabited by the Wangal people of the Eora nation. This Aboriginal group called the area around Abbotsford, Bigi Bigi. It is thought, that the leader of the Kissing Point Clan, named Bidgee Bidgee, back in the early 1800s, might be buried somewhere in Abbotsford.

By the time that Surgeon John Harris was given a 1,500-acre land grant in 1806, which included the area, which would become the suburb of Abbotsford, the area had been subject to seven earlier land grants, that had reverted to the crown. Governor King's grant to Surgeon Harris encompassed the present-day suburbs of Abbotsford, Drummoyne, Chiswick & Five Dock and became known as Five Dock Farm, named after the five rocky inlets, in the nearby bay.

Bennelong belonged to the Wangal people clan

Five Dock farm was covered with bushland when convict gangs began clearing the land to build a road in 1828, following the plans of Surveyor-General Sir Thomas Mitchel, which joined Abbotsford with Parramatta Road. Years later, in the 1890s, the tram service came to Abbotsford.

In 1836, Surgeon Harris sold the Five Dock Farm to Samuel Lyons, a Sydney auctioneer and Lyons subdivided the land into 30 and 60 acre lots, in the following year.

Sir Arthur Renwick, a Scottish born philanthropist and politician, bought land and built a magnificent Victorian mansion in the area, which was constructed from 1877–1878 and cost £11,000 to build, at 2 Abbotsford Cove Drive. He called the house, which is a wonderful example of Boom Style architecture, Abbotsford; naming it after the home of Sir Walter Scott, the famous author, back in Scotland. Montrose, Rokeby and Marmion Roads in Abbotsford are also named after works by Sir Walter Scott.

Abbotsford House, Abbotsford, New South Wales

Interestingly, Sir Arthur Renwick, who was a member of parliament for 21 years, was involved in the push for the introduction of an old-age pension in New South Wales and he established The Old Age Pension League in 1895, which ran a successful publicity campaign. In those days, there was no social security system in Australia and charities like The Benevolent Society provided care for the poor, destitute people and orphaned children. Working at the Asylum in George Street, Sydney (now the Central Station site), Dr Renwick saw up close the problems of poverty and suffering. (see here)

Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 26 May 1902

Dr Renwick had reputedly made his fortune, but then he had lost much of it on mining investments, and so, he was forced to sell his Abbotsford house, which was sold by auction in 1905 and the land subdivided. Peter McIntosh purchased the property in 1906, then in the following year, he sold it to Albert Edward Grace, one of the founders of Grace Bros. 

Abbotsford was becoming more suburban and with this change, the Abbotsford Swimming Baths opened in 1908. Then in 1917, Abbotsford house was sold to Nestlé, which was called the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, at that time. The former home of Dr Renwick became offices and the company began work on becoming the "largest chocolate factory in the Southern Hemisphere". The Nestlé Abbotsford factory closed on 18 December 1991.

Schoolgirl physical education champions at the Nestle Factory, Abbotsford, NSW, circa 1930s / Sam Hood. SLNSW 

Abbotsford Baths, Parramatta River. 1900-1927; Sydney & Ashfield : Broadhurst Post Card Publisher

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The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954)  Sun 4 Nov 1928 

Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Saturday 12 March 1927

Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), Saturday 30 December 1916

A park at Abbotsford, called Quarantine Reserve, was once the site of an animal quarantine station, which fittingly, sat at Hen and Chicken Bay. The quarantine station moved from the current Taronga Zoo site to the Hexham Estate, where an Italianate Victorian house called Hexham (formerly Emmaville, by the Bell family, and then, Blanchlands) had stood. Lewy Pattison of Soul Pattison chemist shop fame bought the house. But in 1982, the house was damaged by fire and had to be demolished. The quarantine station is also closed and now. However, you can visit the park and explore some of the remaining buildings. (read more)

The Quarantine Reserve

Henry Lawson, one of Australia's greatest bush poets, died on 2nd September 1922 at Abbotsford. The son of a Norwegian father who had come to Australia for the gold rush, the Australian Lawson family changed the family named from Larsen to Lawson. Having suffered an ear infection while still a child, Lawson was completely deaf by the age of 14, divorced acrimoniously, he also had trouble making enough money to survive and spent time in Darlinghurst Gaol and psychiatric institutions.

Photographic portrait of Australian bush poet Henry Lawson

Lawson met Mrs Isabel Byers in 1903, who had been separated from her husband for many years. Mrs Byers was also a poet and the pair began a 20-year friendship. Mrs Byers nursed Lawson through his alcoholism and mental illnesses and it was at her home at Abbotsford that the great man died.

Scone Advocate (NSW : 1887 - 1954), Friday 8 September 1922

Abbotsford certainly has had an interesting history as a place of the Wangal people, as farmland and a place of convict labour. Interesting people have lived here, who have contributed hugely to the Australian life. Useful buildings have been built at Abbotsford and it still is an interesting place to visit and to live.

Abbotsford Refreshment Saloon, circa 1900-1927

Parramatta River, Abbotsford, circa 1900-1927

"Chatham House" 380 Great North Road Abbotsford, built 1910

Abbotsford Public School. 348 Great North Road, Abbotsford, NSW, circa 1924

348 Great North Rd, Abbotsford, NSW

Abbotsford (foreground), Hen and Chicken Bay

Abbortsford from the water

Abbortsford wharf

Waterfront Homes Abbotsford Point, Alex Proimos

Aboriginal totems from the Museum of Sydney

Historical Walks

Aboriginal Rock Carvings at Gladesville

City of Canada Bay Museum

Sydney Bus Museum

Abbotsbury: From farms to Suburbs

The suburb of Abbotsbury is located 39 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district.
Prior to the arrival of the British, Abbotsbury was part of the lands on which the Cabrogal clan of the Dharug people lived as hunter-gatherers, with strong kinship ties.

Today, the Western Sydney Parklands, part of which can be found in the suburb of Abbortury are still important to the Cabrogal clan, as the hills in the area, were meeting places for their people.

Aboriginal boomerangs at the Museum of Sydney

Abbotsbury is named after the estate of Major Edward Abbott, who was born in Montreal, Canada and who joined the New South Wales Corps, arriving at Port Jackson in 1790. Major Abbotsbury was granted 1300 acres of land in what is now the suburb of Abbotsbury, in 1806. However, according to an 1839 newspaper article, "not a hut nor even a post or rail, was erected on it. The district was famed for the height of the hills and the goodness of the grass on them for sheep."

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842) Thu 15 Apr 1824 

William Browne, who was the son of an Irish Officer in the East India Company and "a Persian woman of high degree, the widow of a Persian Merchant prince", purchased the Abbotsbury property from Major Abbott for £1000. Known as "Merchant Browne", of the firm of Browne & Turner of Calcutta, Willaim Browne had arrived in Australia in 1816 and established a store in George Street, Sydney.

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842) Thu 4 Aug 1825

An article in the Sydney Gazette dated Thursday 7 April 1831, told of how 2000 acres of the Abbotsbury land estate would be divided into four allotments. In 1839, the land of Abbotsbury was up for sale as farmland, which was particularly recommended for growing wheat. However, while 400 acres of the Abbotsbury land had been planted with crops previously, the yield was not very successful, because of the lack of rain.

It is also mentioned in the newspaper how the neighbours of William Browne, at Abbotsbury, were Sir John Wylde and Captain Weston. Interestingly, Captain Weston's wife was a daughter of Colonel Johnston, of Annandale.

The newspaper article then talks about dams and water sources, saying, 

"There is a small one at Abbotsbury near the house,
which not only produces water of the best quality, but
in such abundance, that none of the proprietors of the
estate have hitherto found it necessary to dig a
well for domestic supply. We can speak personally
to the goodness of the water."

As to the house on the Abbotsbury farm:

"The cottage itself is plain, but suitable for a gentleman of rank
and property, the size form and localities of the
rooms being remarkably convenient."

The Abbotsbury farm had fruit trees planted on it, some by William Browne, with fruit which was "large a size as any in the neighbourhood of Parramatta". And notably: " The extent of arable
land on this estate will entitle the purchaser to twenty-seven convicts. A man of property ought
to expend a couple of hundred pounds in clearing."

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) Wed 19 Jun 1844 

Another farm located nearby still exists today and is open to visitors. Calmsley Hill City Farm was given to John Jamieson, a Scottish immigrant and Superintendent of Government Stock, in 1806. The land grant of 80 hectares was initially named Coulmesly Hill. In 1984, Fairfield City Council took over what was then called Fairfield City Farm, now known as Calmsley Hill City Farm, as a place where city dwellers can gain a farm experience.

Peacocks at Calmsley City Farm,

Abbotsbury parkland reserves are part of the Western Sydney Parklands, which stretch 27 kilometres from Quakers Hill to Leppington, through Blacktown, Fairfield and Liverpool. These parkland areas have important associations and historic importance for Aboriginal people and they are also important as sites where prominent early settlers, like Edward Abbott and William Browne, conducted agriculture. 

The entrance to the Western Sydney Parklands in Abbotsbury is the Plough and Harrow area, at the corner of Elizabeth Drive and Windsor Road.

Looking over a southern section of the parkland, from Calmsley Hill Farm in Abbotsbury

View from shopping centre, Abbotsbury

Plough and Harrow, Abbotsbury

View over Abbotsbury

Calmsley Hill City Farm