* Location
St Marys is a suburb in western Sydney, in the Outer Sydney Region, in the state of New South Wales Australia. It is 45 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith, with a minor north part in City of Blacktown.
St Marys sits between South Creek which forms the western boundary and Ropes Creek, its northern eastern boundary.
* History
The township of St Marys was first known as South Creek. The Bennett coach and wagon works manufactured horse-drawn wagons to meet the growing demand for transport in Sydney.
The suburb is named after the parish church of St Mary Magdalene, built between 1837 and 1840 and situated between the Great Western Highway and King Street. The church foundation stone was laid on November 22, 1837 by Bishop Broughton. It is one of the oldest churches in New South Wales that still has regular services. The church is heritage-listed. Internees in the church cemetery include the wife of Philip Gidley King, Governor of New South Wales, plus numerous members of the King family. The land was donated by King’s son and the bricks were made on his estate. King, Gidley and Lethbridge Streets were named after various members of the King family.
The site is believed to have been chosen by the mother of Phillip Parker King. The property had been acquired from John Oxley in 1828 by King, the original grant having been made in 1823. Other land grants in the area included those to Anna Josepha King in 1807 (Dunheved), Samuel Marsden (Mamre – previously in the St Marys Suburb), and Mary Putland (Frogmore).
The area was first called South Creek because European settlement was originally centred along the banks of the creek. The land grants became working holdings because of the permanent water supply. The rich alluvial soil along the banks of the creek ensured an expanding agricultural community and its location on what was then called the Great Western Road, later renamed to the Great Western Highway, meant that it became a convenient staging post.
The name St Marys was first used when the St Mary’s Post Office was opened on 1 October 1840. The township formed part of a grant to Mary Putland (later married Sir Maurice O’Connell), the daughter of Governor William Bligh (former master of the HMS Bounty, during the famous mutiny in 1789). Closer settlement of the area was made possible when in 1842 part of the O’Connell Estate was subdivided. St Marys has a long and rich industrial and agricultural history, including tanneries and munitions formerly operated by Australian Defence Industries.
St Marys is now the home of the South Creek Vietnam Vets Association (Cnr Hall St and Mamre Rd) and the St Marys & District Historical Society Inc (Old Council Chambers 29 Swanston Street).
* St Marys Timeline by Penrith City Council
Places of Interest
