Homebush, New South Wales

The first name of settlement at what is today called Homebush was "Liberty Plains". This was a group of grants given to the Colony's first free settlers, who came on the ship "Bellona", in 1793.[2] Most of the original settlers soon departed for agriculturally more attractive places, like the Hawkesbury. One of them, Edward Powell, later returned and established there the Half Way House Inn, on Parramatta Road just west of the creek that now bears his name.[3] The Parish of Liberty Plains remains one of the 57 parishes of Cumberland County, New South Wales (the parish is a cadastral unit for use on land titles). That parish covers the suburb of Homebush West, but not the suburb of Homebush, which is instead in the Parish of Concord.

Later, when the Great Western Railway line came through there, with a station just behind Powell's Inn, the name Homebush was borrowed from the nearest large estate, that of the Colony's then assistant surgeon, D'Arcy Wentworth. It is commonly thought that this property and house with the name of "Homebush" was established and named by D'Arcy Wentworth. Historian Michael Jones who had been commissioned by Stathfield Council to write the history of that municipality wrote: "Wentworth is popularly credited with having called the area after his 'home in the bush', although Homebush is also a place in Kent".[4] However, according to local historian David Patrick [5] it was not D'Arcy Wentworth who named Homebush but an earlier grantee on the land – that being the military figure Thomas Laycock. It would appear that after Laycock became mentally ill, following his direct involvement in suppressing the Castle Hill convict rebellion, D'Arcy Wentworth became his doctor. It has been reputed that D'Arcy Wentworth either bought the Laycock Homebush Farm from Laycock or, more fancifully, won the property in an unfair game of cards from the ailing Laycock. Wentworth retained Thomas Laycock's name of the property and added to its extent. Laycock had been granted 40 hectares in 1794 and increased this to 318 hectares (790 acres) by 1803 and named it "Home Bush". A notice that Laycock placed in the newspapers about his property "Home Bush" is from before when Wentworth acquired the land from him. Later on, Wentworth acquired more land there himself and the estate had grown to 400 hectares (990 acres) by 1811. However, most of Wentworth's Homebush Estate (later a race course and paddocks) is located in present day Olympic Park and Homebush West, not the suburb of Homebush.

Powell's grant, enlarged in his lifetime, passed eventually to his son-in-law James Underwood in 1823. It was from the "Underwood Estate" that the "Village of Homebush", located south of the railway and west of Powell's Creek, was subdivided in 1878 for residential development, with a small village "high street" forming on Rochester Street adjacent to the railway station. The Village of Homebush became part of Strathfield Municipality in 1885.

The part of the Underwood and Wentworth estates located north of the railway remained unincorporated and underdeveloped for many years, and when "Homebush Municipality" was established over this area (Homebush North) in 1906, there were only 90 houses and 548 residents in the municipality. The incorporation of Homebush North and the development of primary and secondary industry nearby led to rapid development in that area. In 1925, the opening of the Homebush Theatre (later a cinema, now disused) on Parramatta Road spurred development of a commercial area along that road, but this area fell into decline in the late 20th century.

Homebush has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Great Southern and Western railway: Homebush railway station[6]

Billesdon
Burlington Road

Dunkeld
Meredith Street

Ingera
Abbotsford Road

Warwick
Abbotsford Road

The Village of Homebush estate was a section of the Underwood Estate located to the south of the railway, today split between the suburbs of Homebush and Strathfield. The land had boundaries of The Crescent, Homebush, Beresford, Coventry and Bridge Roads, was subdivided in 1878. Within the estate, Broughton, Abbotsford and Burlington Roads and Rochester and Meredith Streets were also gazetted. In the December of that year, 381 house blocks were auctioned. By the end of the century many large houses and substantial villas had been built. In the 20th century house construction continued and most blocks had been built on by the end of the 1920s.[7]

Strathfield Council, as proclaimed in 1885, included the southern part of Homebush, south of the railway. The part of the modern suburb north of the railway remained unincorporated until Homebush Municipality was established in 1906. Homebush Municipality operated until 1947, when it was amalgamated with Strathfield Municipality.

Homebush railway station is serviced by all stations services on the Inner West & Leppington Line of the Sydney Trains network. Parramatta Road and the M4 Western Motorway are the main arterial roads passing through the suburb.

Homebush has a small row of shops along Rochester Street, opposite Homebush Public School. These shops extend to The Crescent, opposite Homebush railway station. Many more shops sprang up along Parramatta Road in the past. However these are mostly now shut or abandoned-looking in common with other parts of Parramatta Road. At least for the time being car sales yards continue to flourish along Parramatta Road but this main artery through Homebush has now been re-zoned high density by Strathfield Council, such that highrise can be expected to appear all along it in future.

Homebush Boys High School

Homebush Public School

• Homebush Public School, a government primary school, was established in 1885 on its present site between The Crescent, Rochester Street and Burlington Road. Brick buildings were originally built facing The Crescent in 1897 and Burlington Road in 1916.
• Homebush Boys High School was founded in 1936 and is a comprehensive public high school for boys. Formerly a selective high school until the 1970s, Homebush Boys was regarded as one of the academically best-performing comprehensive schools, and has, in the past, been ranked above selective schools on the Higher School Certificate results.[19] The school has an enrolment of approximately 1200 students and the students and staff are from diverse backgrounds and many of them live outside the area.

At the 2016 census, there were 7,007 residents in Homebush. 30.5% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were India 16.4%, China 10.5%, South Korea 8.9%, Sri Lanka 5.4% and Nepal 3.4%. 26.6% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 10.7%, Korean 10.2%, Tamil 9.8%, Cantonese 5.3% and Hindi 4.2%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 24.3%, Hinduism 23.4% and Catholic 18.4%.[1]

The following were either born or have lived at some time in the suburb of Homebush:

• Thomas Keneally, author of Homebush Boy: A Memoir (1995)
• Fenella Kernebone, arts presenter
• Rosa Angela Kirkcaldie, hospital matron and army nurse [20]
• James Lang, politician
• Evan Mander-Jones, director of education [21]
• Phyllis Mander-Jones, librarian
• Warren Rodwell, former soldier, university teacher, hostage survivor [22] & songwriter [23]
• D'Arcy Wentworth, surgeon

• 
  Davey Square memorial
• 
  Shops, The Crescent
• 
  Former Homebush Post Office, The Crescent
• 
  Horse and Jockey Hotel, Parramatta Road
• 
  Former cinema, Parramatta Road