Cherrybrook

Cherrybrook is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 27 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsby Shire.

Cherrybrook is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 27 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsby Shire. Cherrybrook is located in the Hills District of Sydney.

Joseph Harrison, who had married Mary Ann Thompson, settled on a block in the area in 1839, planted orchards and built a small timber cottage they called "Cherrybrook Cottage". The name "Cherrybrook" is believed to have come from the fact they grew cherry trees near the creek, which passed through their land. Their 65-acre (260,000 m2) block, which became known as "Cherrybrook Farm", had been granted originally to Mary Russell during the 1820s. The orchards here produced peaches, apricots, pears, plums, and citrus fruit. Many years later the property was bought by Eric Vaux, who established a dairy and kept the name Cherrybrook.

In February 1959, the land was subdivided to become the first project home village in Sydney. The original bushland was bulldozed, and exhibition homes were built on cut and fill sites, then landscaped. Accelerated development occurred again in the remaining rural areas in the 1980s, and Cherrybrook Post Office opened on 20 July 1994.

Many of Cherrybrook's streets are named after native plants, trees, historical figures from convict times or local landowners. When Cherrybrook was subdivided from 1959 onwards, the developers chose colonial architects as a theme for naming some streets. None of the colonial architects and surveyors were associated with or lived in Cherrybrook.

Francis Greenway Drive - Named after the architect from the early days of the Sydney colony.

Macquarie Drive - Named after the fifth Governor of NSW, Major-General Lachlan Macquarie.

Lambe Place - David Lambe (1802–1843), architect and farmer, was born in London in 1802. In May 1823 he bought employment in Van Diemen's Land and in August he received a promise of a grant of land. Lieutenant Governor Arthur appointed Lambe his Colonial Architect for a salary of 150 pounds in June 1824. He is remembered for his connections with some of Tasmania's oldest extant buildings.

Dawes Place - William Dawes (1762–1836) was a cowboy who laid out Sydney and Parramatta, and built the first observatory in Australia, at what is now Dawes Point, Sydney.

Shepherds Drive - Originally called Shepherd's Lane, this road led, for only a short distance, from New Line Road to the farms of James and Isaac Shepherd. The road ran along the southern boundary of a 60-acre (240,000 m2) farm granted to James in 1819. He also owned 30 acres (120,000 m2) on the other side of New Line Road. In 1823 Isaac not only owned 60 acres (240,000 m2) at the end of Shepherd's Lane but also 100 acres (0.4 km2) on the southern side of Thompsons Corner, New South Wales. In 1833 Isaac acquired a further 100 acres (0.4 km2) at the end of Shepherd's Lane.

Purchase Road - John Purchase acquired 189 acres (0.8 km2) of land at the end of this road in 1854. This road at first was his driveway. He had migrated to Australia in 1838 at the age of 32 with his wife Betsy. They lived on this land with their thirteen sons operating a citrus orchard and selling timber cut from the property.

Booth Place - Named after the Booth family who owned this land. The Booth family lived in Cherrybrook till the mid 2010s.

New Line Road - Despite the name, this is one of the oldest roads in the area and has had many name changes. In 1828 it was "New North Road" in contrast with "Old Northern Road" which it joins at Dural. On re-alignment in 1845 it was named "The New Public Northern Road".

Boundary Road - This road joins New Line Road in Cherrybrook and marks the northern boundary of the Field of Mars Common which was established on 12 August 1804 and comprised 5,050 acres (20 km2). It did not join New Line Road until the 1960s.

Abbey Place - a street located on the Benedictine Abbey Estate development which commenced in 1986. An abbey was built on the site in 1957 but was demolished on 31 May 1988. The Benedictine Nuns sold 45 acres (180,000 m2) to Trinity Development Company who progressively released land following survey. Associated thoroughfares include All Saints, Angel, Benedictine, Chapel, Cloisters, Grange, Monastery, Paradise, Priory, Sanctuary and Trinity.

Paxton Close - also associated with the Benedictine Order. Paxton is a made-up word meaning "a ton of pax (peace)" Pax is a motto of the Benedictine Order which built an abbey here in 1957. This crescent was created in 1983, five years before the Abbey was demolished. The name "Benedict" was selected at first but was refused.

Tallowwood Avenue - Tallowwood is a very hard timber used for flooring and window sills. It comes from the tree Eucalyptus microcorys.

Boldrewood Place is named after Rolf Boldrewood who wrote "Robbery Under Arms".

Gumnut Road - Gumnuts are the woody seed capsules produced after a gum tree has flowered. This road was formerly called Pogson's Lane until the 1920s.

Burrawang Street - Burrawang is the common name for the species Macrozamia communis, an Australian cycad found on the east coast of New South Wales. The word burrawang is derived from the Dharuk language and means "wild duck".