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Richmond is a town near Sydney, Australia located on the alluvial Hawkesbury River flats at the foot of the Blue Mountains. It is in the City of Hawkesbury Local Government Area. It is 19 metres above sea-level and a latitude 33° 35' 54" South and longitude 150°45' 04" east. It is 53 km in a direct line, and about 65 km by road from Sydney. It is adjacent to Windsor.
The Darug people were the local people in 1788. The area was originally explored in 1789 and was known by the colonialists as Richmond Hill. This name was given by Governor Phillip, in honour of Charles Lennox, the third Duke of Richmond who was Master General of Ordnance in the Pitt administration. The local area is the third area to have European settlement in Australia after Sydney and Parramatta. The first 22 settlers came to the area was settled in 1794. They came to farm a total of 30 acres (121,000 mē) in modern day Pitt Town Bottoms to help overcome the desperate need for good farming land and food in the new colony. By 1799 this region was producing about half the grain produced in the colony. Richmond is one of the five towns in the upper Hawkesbury Valley that Governor Macquarie founded in 1810 to help feed his undernourished, fledgling colony (the other towns are Windsor, Castlereagh, Wilberforce and Pitt Town). This peaceful, scenic town plays host to the big Richmond RAAF base - the oldest in Australia - and the renowned Richmond Estate Winery. Richmond, which hosts the Hawkesbury racecourse, is close to the foothills of the Blue Mountains which can be accessed through Kurrajong Heights and the apple town of Bilpin. The Blue Mountains National Park, just a short drive away, is one of Australia's great natural wonders - a place of extraordinary geographical beauty which has been highly and, generally speaking, tastefully developed to cater for the plethora of tourists who visit each year. The 216,000ha park is the fourth largest National Park in New South Wales. The Battle of Richmond Hill in May or June 1795 between the Darug people and the settlers. It is perhaps the first time where the colonial authorities sent in the troopers and expressly stated their intent to 'destroy' the whole local Aboriginal population of an area. Richmond was first settled by Europeans in 1794 and quickly became the granary for the colony. Five years later the area was providing Sydney with half its grain requirements. The problem was that the Hawkesbury River flooded regularly. Thus, when Macquarie established the five Macquarie towns in the Hawkesbury Valley - Windsor, Richmond, Castlereagh, Wilberforce and Pitt Town - in 1810, he specifically located the township on a ridge above the Hawkesbury River which, when it had flooded in 1809, had devastated the farms in the area. Macquarie then exhorted all the settlers in the area to 'move to these places of safety and security' and it was on this basis that the town of Richmond began to grow. Around 1811 Macquarie established five Macquarie Towns in the area. They are Windsor, Richmond, Castlereagh, Wilberforce and Pitt Town. One of the early settlers, James Blackman1, built Bowman Cottage from brick nog, a common construction technique in the colony, using money borrowed from William Cox. The house was constructed between the years 1815 and 1818. James was unble to pay his debts and was forced to sell the property to George Bowman. The building was restored by the NSW Public Works Department. The expansion of the Sydney suburban area has almost reached Richmond and it is now considered to be an outer suburb of Sydney. Bells Line of Road which leads into, over and across the Blue Mountains, finishing in Lithgow, starts in Richmond. Richmond railway station is the terminus of the Richmond branch of the Western Line of the CityRail network. RAAF Base Richmond is a Royal Australian Air Force base at Richmond which was established in 1923. The air base is currently the home to the RAAF's transport squadrons. During the Vietnam war Logistic support and medical evacuations were supplied by the Hercules from RAAF Richmond. Richmond Town is served by Brisbane Domestic Airport. Tourist Information Richmond Tourist Information Centre Bowman Cottage 370 Windsor St Richmond NSW 2753 Telephone: (02) 4578 3056 Richmond New South Wales Hotels Accommodation - Hotels in Richmond New South Wales Australia Book Richmond New South Wales hotels online with SimplyRichmond.com. All reservations at Richmond New South Wales hotels are confirmed instantly with the best online prices guaranteed by hotels in Richmond New South Wales. We are pleased to offer you accommodation in Richmond New South Wales ranging from luxurious 5 star Richmond New South Wales Hotels to small boutique style hotels and guesthouses. SimplyRichmond.com - offering the best hotel rates in Richmond New South Wales, best hotel value, no fees.
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