Emu Heights

Location: Where is Emu Heights?

Emu Heights, New South Wales, Australia is located on the western side of the Nepean River, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. It is bounded by the suburb of Emu Heights, the Blue Mountains Local Government Area and the Nepean River. The historic Old Bathurst Road which cuts through the suburb is used as a convenient road by those living in the lower Blue Mountains. Emu Heights rises above Emu Plains to overlook the Nepean Valley and the surrounding Penrith suburbs across the river. Emu Heights is on the Blue Mountains Escarpment which creates a unique blend of housing and natural beauty away from the busy flow of the city.

33 46′ S 150 39′ E

 
Postcode: 2750 Population: 3318 (2006 Census) Distance from Sydney: 58 km
Land Area: 3.44 km2 or 344 ha Density: 9.65 people per hectare (2006 Census) Emu Heights NSW on Google Maps

Schools

Historical profile

Origin of the place name – Emu Heights

The name Emu Heights was formally assigned in early 1976. Prior to this time it was known locally as The Estate and was a neighbourhood of Emu Plains. Originally the area consisted of orchards and dairy farms but these gradually disappeared as the farms were sold and redeveloped. Residential development in the area, the topography, and the already growing usage of the name before 1976, all contributed to the name’s official assignation.

Historical Timeline

178926 JuneCaptain Watkin Tench set out to explore western-most parts of the colony
179026 AugustTench & Dawes explored the Nepean river and ‘saw three cassowaries’ – a precursor to naming Emu Plain
180612 SeptemberProclamation by William Bligh to prohibit crossing of the Nepean River
18088 JulyRebel Governor, Major Johnston, issued a land grant at Emu Plains to his son
181911 SeptemberProclamation to set up a convict Agricultural Establishment with Richard Fitzgerald as Superintendent.
1831George Innes, a free settler from Bathurst obtained 400 acres near McCann’s Island and named it Emu Heights
183220 MayVillage of Emu was laid out by the Government Surveyor
1930s Emu Heights estate sold and subdivided as the Nepean Rver Estate
1972Emu Heights Primary School opened
1976The name Emu Heights formally assigned to the neighbourhood
1996Aboriginal paintings discovered in a cave near Emu Heights

Bibliography

For photos and more information on Emu heights, search Penrith City Library’s catalogue using an All Resources search.

Historical

  • Fairfax Sun Penrith Edition 10 December 1996, p. 4.
  • Fairfax Sun Penrith Edition 22 April 1997, p. 10.
  • Murray, Robert and White, Kate Dharug & Dungaree: The History of Penrith and St.Marys to 1860. Penrith City Council, Penrith, 1988.
  • Penrith District Star, 2 December 1981, p. 9.
  • Penrith City Library, Local Studies Vertical Files: Emu Plains/ Emu Heights.
  • Nepean District Historical Society, From Castlereagh to Claremont Meadows: Historical Places of Penrith City Council, Penrith,1997.
  • Parr, Lorna, A History of the Nepean and District Street Names, Nepean District Historical Society, Penrith, 1990.
  • Parr, Lorna, Penrith Calendar, Nepean District Historical Society, 1987.
  • Stacker, Lorraine, Chained to the Soil on the Plains of Emu: A History of the Emu Plains Government Agricultural Establishment 1819-1832, Penrith, 2000.
  • Stacker, Lorraine Pictorial history: Penrith & St Marys, Kingsclear Books, 2002.
  • Stevenson, Colin R., Place Names and their Origins within the City of Penrith, Penrith City Council, Penrith, 1985.