Wentworthville is a suburb located 27 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Colloquially known as ‘Wenty’, the suburb is split between the local government areas of the City of Parramatta and the Cumberland Council.
History
Wentworthville was named after the prominent Wentworth family. In 1810, a land grant of 2000 acres (8 km²) was given to D’Arcy Wentworth, the father of famed Australian explorer, barrister, and politician William Wentworth.
William Fullagar, another pioneer in the area and whom the Fullagar Road was named after, established the Star Inn on the corner of Ettalong Road. He also opened a cattle saleyards which became one of the main ones for the colony.
A land boom drew people to Wentworthville in the mid-1800s. Consequently, land was subdivided for housing and small farms. Wentworth’s holdings were subdivided to approximately 600 lots. In 1883, Wentworthville got its own public railway station which was originally called T. R. Smith’s Platform. It was renamed Wentworthville two years after.
The northern part of Wentworthville became the suburb of Constitution Hill when boundaries were redrawn in 2007.
Demographics
From the 2016 census, the most common ancestries in Wentworthville were Indian 26.0%, English 9.7%, Australian 9.4%, Chinese 7.1% and Lebanese 3.8%.
35.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were India 26.5%, Sri Lanka 7.8%, China 4.4%, Philippines 2.0% and Lebanon 1.7%. 30.1% of people exclusively spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included South Asian languages such as Tamil, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, and Telugu.
As expected of the demographic, the most common response for religion was Hinduism at 34.9%. It was followed by Catholic 18.9% and No Religion 11.6%.
Education
Wentworthville has a number of educational institutions. These include Wentworthville Public School, Our Lady of Mt Carmel Primary School, Darcy Road Public School, and Westmead Christian Grammar School.
Transportation
Wentworthville station is found on the North Shore & Western Line of the Sydney Trains network connecting west to Penrith and Richmond. Most trains continue to North Sydney, Chatswood, Hornsby and Berowra after passing through the city. The station is also serviced by the Cumberland Line linking Richmond to Leppington. Reaching the Sydney CBD typically takes approximately 35 minutes.
East of Old Prospect Road, the Liverpool-Parramatta T-way runs along the southern boundary. On the other hand, the North -West T-way will go just along the northern tip along Mons Road. Transit Systems Sydney runs route 818 from Westmead Hospital to Merrylands.
Hillsbus also services several routes including:
- 700 from Blacktown to Parramatta via Wentworthville through the southern border of the suburb
- 705 from Blacktown to Parramatta via Wentworthville railway station
- 711 from Blacktown to Parramatta via the non-shop side of Wentworthville station
- 708 from Parramatta to Constitution Hill via Wentworthville railway station.
Through the southern side run the M4 Western Motorway and the parallel Great Western Highway. The Cumberland Highway runs through the western side of the suburb.
Commerce
Wentworthville has two shopping precincts. The larger, older precinct sits on the Cumberland Council side of Wentworthville railway station. A Supa IGA dominated Wentworthville Mall Shopping Centre until late 2017 when it closed.
The newer commercial centre is conveniently situated on the Great Western Highway. Woolworths takes a huge chunk of the market in the area. It initially operated in the main shopping precinct but new premises were obtained at their present location in the late 1980s. An Aldi sits on the other side of the highway which is part of South Wentworthville.
Factory outlets sold their products directly to the public in Wentworthville. For example, Bonds in Dunmore Street sold items coming from their factory directly to the masses.
Recreation
Wentworthville has a library which is part of the Cumberland Council library service. Enthusiasts benefit from the Wentworthville Swimming Pool which operates near the railway station. Wentworthville also hosts the Wentworthville Magpies, a local rugby club that plays in both the Jim Beam Cup and the NSW Cup.