City of Hawkesbury facts for kids

Quick facts for kids City of Hawkesbury New South Wales
Location in Outer Metropolitan Sydney
Established	1 January 1981
Area	2,776 km2 (1,071.8 sq mi)
Mayor	Sarah McMahon (Liberal)
Region	Greater Western Sydney
State electorate(s)	Hawkesbury Londonderry Riverstone Upper Hunter
Federal Division(s)	Macquarie Greenway Hunter
Website	City of Hawkesbury
LGAs around City of Hawkesbury: Mid-Western Singleton Cessnock, Central Coast Lithgow City of Hawkesbury Hills Blue Mountains Penrith Blacktown

The City of Hawkesbury is a local government area in New South Wales, Australia. It's located on the northern edge of the Greater Sydney area. This means it's about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north-west of the main part of Sydney.

The area gets its name from the Hawkesbury River, which flows through it. Some of the main towns you'll find here are Windsor, Richmond, and Pitt Town. The current mayor of the City of Hawkesbury is Sarah McMahon. She is a member of the Liberal Party.

A Look Back: History of Hawkesbury

The first people to live in the Hawkesbury area were the Darug tribe of Aboriginals. They called the river Derrubbin. This river was very important to them for food and travel. The Darug people fished for fish, eels, and mussels. They also used bark canoes to travel on the river.

Europeans first settled here in 1794. They needed more land to grow food for the growing population in the penal colony at Sydney. In April 1794, Lieutenant Governor Francis Grose planned the first 22 farms along the Hawkesbury River.

By 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie set up five special towns in the area. These are known as the Macquarie Towns: Windsor, Richmond, Castlereagh, Wilberforce, and Pitt Town. Many old buildings from the early 1800s are still standing today. For example, Ebenezer has Australia's oldest church and school building that is still around.

Over time, different local councils were formed and then joined together. The Windsor District Council started in 1843. Later, the Borough Council of Windsor and the Richmond Borough Council were created. These two councils joined in 1949 to become the Municipality of Windsor. Then, in 1981, the Windsor Municipal Council and the Colo Shire Council combined to form the Hawkesbury Shire Council. Finally, on July 1, 1989, Hawkesbury officially became a City.

When it was first created in 1981, Hawkesbury was mostly rural, meaning it had lots of farms and open land. But as Sydney grew, the southern part of Hawkesbury changed. It became more like suburbs where people live and then travel to work in Sydney. The northern part of the area still has farms and national parkland.

Who Lives in Hawkesbury? Demographics

The City of Hawkesbury is home to many people. In 2021, about 67,207 people lived here. Slightly more than half were female (50.2%), and just under half were male (49.8%).

About 4.8% of the people living in Hawkesbury are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This is a bit higher than the average for all of Australia. The average age of people in Hawkesbury is 39 years old. About 19.1% of the population are children aged 0 to 14 years. People aged 65 and over make up 16.6% of the population.

Most people in Hawkesbury have ancestry from Australia or England. In 2021, about 80.8% of residents identified with these ancestries. Many people in Hawkesbury also identify as having a Catholic (26.0%) or Anglican (19.3%) religious affiliation.

How Hawkesbury is Governed: The Council

The Hawkesbury City Council is made up of twelve councillors. These councillors are chosen by the community in an election. They are elected for a four-year term. The mayor is then chosen by the councillors themselves at their first meeting. The most recent election was held on December 4, 2021.

The council has members from different political groups:

A chart showing the makeup of the Hawkesbury City Council by party.

The current mayor is Sarah McMahon. She was elected by the councillors on August 23, 2022.