Homebush, Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Notes:
Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. The Homebush area was initially called Liberty Plains. The historic railway station named after the suburb was for a time the early terminus of the Great Western Line. Nearby, Homebush Bay (early known as The Flats) is a major inlet on the southern side of the Parramatta River northwest of Homebush. Homebush Bay was also the name of a separate, official suburb in former Auburn Council, most of which is now the suburb of Olympic Park, located to the northwest of Homebush and north of the separate suburb of Homebush West (also known as Flemington).



History

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. 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". 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.[citation needed] 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.

Birth

Matches 1 to 2 of 2

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Birth		Person ID
1	Gregory, Bernice "Eunice" Wren	25 Nov 1914	Homebush, Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	I16331
2	Gregory, Jean Millicent	10 Sep 1912	Homebush, Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	I16390

Occupation

Matches 1 to 1 of 1

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Occupation		Person ID
1	Gregory, John Laban	4 May 1912	Homebush, Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	I16330

Residence

Matches 1 to 1 of 1

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Residence		Person ID
1	Gregory, John Laban	4 May 1912	Homebush, Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia	I16330