Chatswood

Chatswood is a major business and residential district in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 10 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district.

Chatswood is a major business and residential district in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 10 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Willoughby.

The Cammeraygal people inhabited the area for at least 35,000 to 50,000 years prior to European arrival.

Chatswood was named after Charlotte Harnett, wife of then Mayor of Willoughby and a pioneer of the district, Richard Harnett, and the original "wooded" nature of the area. The moniker derives from her nickname "Chattie" and was shortened from Chattie's Wood to Chatswood.Residential settlement of Chatswood began in 1876 and grew with the installation of the North Shore railway line in 1890 and also increased with the opening of the Harbour Bridge in 1932.Chatswood Post Office opened on 1 August 1879, closed in 1886 and reopened in 1887.By 1900, Chatswood was easily accessible by public transport. In 1903 the Council Chambers moved from Mowbray Road to Victoria Ave.

At this time Chatswood's history contained orchards and dairy farms on the west side of the train station as well as factories, such as Dairy Farmers Inc and Three Threes Pickle Factory on what was then Gordon Road (now the Pacific Hwy).

Chatswood was declared a town centre in 1983 and a city in 1989.