Historical Sydney Suburbs: 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.