Quakers Hill
What is now known as Quakers Hill consisted in the 1800s of four major land grants: 2,000 acres to Major West (1814); 400 acres to William Henry Allcock (1815); 695 acres to Joseph Pye (1816) and the estate of Robert Campbell.
The railway line was extended from Blacktown to Richmond in 1863, passing through the Pye property. A siding (Douglas' siding) allowed for the loading of timber from the Douglas family's sawmill. This siding later became the site of Quakers Hill Station.
The area began to be subdivided in the early 1900s, and with subdivision came the churches (1910) and the public school (1912). Most of the land was subdivided into 5-acre lots, and small market gardens and later poultry farms were in abundance. In the 1920s, grocery stores and butcher shops opened, and a thriving commercial centre was established.
During World War II, the Government resumed much of Pye's property for an aerodrome, which was firstly used by the British Navy Air Arm, then after the war as an Australian Navy Training Base (HMAS Nirimba). This base closed and the area was turned over to the Education Department, with The Nirimba Education Precinct opening in 1995. It consists of both public and private secondary schools, and campuses of both Western Sydney Institute of TAFE and the University of Western Sydney.
The area is now largely residential, although pockets of small-scale farming and poultry farms can still be found in the district.
Statistics: Population
2001 Census 22,998
1976 Census 3,296
1933 Census 510