City of Blacktown

The City of Blacktown is situated approximately 35km from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the Cumberland Plain in the heart of Western Sydney. It is bounded by the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Penrith, Parramatta, Fairfield, Holroyd, Hawkesburyand The Hills Shire. It occupies an area of 246.9 square kilometres. It is the most populous (271,709 - 2006) Local Government Area in New South Wales.

Blacktown was originally named for an Aboriginal settlement in the area. Today, Blacktown continues to be home to a large Aboriginal population, the largest of any suburb or township in New South Wales.

A school for Aborigines was moved in 1823 from Parramatta to the site where Richmond Road meets Rooty Hill Road North. The road from Prospect to Richmond became known as the Black Town Road. In 1860 the Railway Department gave the name of Black Town Road Station to the railway station at the junction of the railway and the Black Town Road, with the name shortening to Blacktown by 1862.

Culture and Diversity

In addition to being large, Blacktown's population is culturally and linguistically diverse with over 50 Countries and 63 Languages represented within the community.

Blacktown City is youthful, with over half the population (117,179 persons or 50.5%) under 30 years of age. This age category increased by 4.4% between 1991-1996. But as it is youthful, it is also growing older, with a much higher increase in the 50 years and over population of 13.3% between 1991-1996.

The largest ethnic group is Filipino, which comes to 25% of Blacktown's population.

The City of Blacktown Council operate four libraries throughout the area, the central Max Webber Library located in the Blacktown CBD adjacent to Westpoint Shopping Centre. The other branches are at Lalor Park, Mt Druitt and Riverstone.

Tourist Attractions

Some popular tourist attractions in Blacktown include Featherdale Wildlife Park and Wonderland Theme Park, before it was closed down in 2004. Westpoint Shopping Centre is also a popular place for local residents. One of its cinemas has the largest standard cinema screen in Australia.

Blacktown has one of the two remaining Drive-in Theatres in Sydney.

(source: wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Blacktown