Living in Hornsby
Hornsby is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, located 25 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Hornsby Shire.
History
The name Hornsby is derived from Convict-turned-Constable Samuel Henry Horne, who took part in the apprehension of bushrangers Dalton and MacNamara on June 22, 1830. In return he was granted land which he named Hornsby Place. More recently, in 1961, The Westfield Group built a shopping mall at Hornsby, making it one of the first suburbs in Sydney with a modern-style shopping centre. A competing shopping centre, Northgate, opened in 1979 but was eventually bought by Westfield. In late 1999, the two sites were amalgamated to create the new Westfield Hornsby which now serves as one of the largest shopping malls in the area with a vast and diverse selection of shops.
Transport Links
Hornsby has excellent transport links, with Hornsby railway station being a junction of the Northern Line and the North Shore line of the City Rail network. Frequent rail services take you to the CBD on the Northern Line, or via North Sydney on the North Shore Line. The area is also well serviced by local buses and a close proximity to the Pacific Highway allows for excellent transport links to other areas in Greater Sydney.
Shopping and Recreation
The aforementioned Westfield Hornsby provides an excellent selection of supermarkets, department and fashion stores, banks and a large cinema. In the west of the suburb there is a smaller, more traditional shopping strip located along the Old Pacific Highway, near the Hornsby RSL. Here you will also find Hornsby Park and swimming pool, and the surrounding bushland provides plenty of space for getting out and about.
Schools and Institutions
Hornsby is a family friendly suburb with an excellent range of pre-school, primary and secondary schools available. These include Hornsby Children’s Early Learning Centre, Montessori Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Pre-School, Hornsby North Public, Hornsby South Public, Hornsby Heights Public, Clarke Road Special School, Hornsby Girls High, Loretto Normanhurst, Barker College and Knox Grammar. The area also has excellent transport links to nearby TAFE and Macquarie University facilities.
