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The Liverpool Chamber of Commerce & Industry Inc, would like to thank The City of Liverpool Lioness Club and it's President Ruth Grimson for allowing us to reproduce their 200 Facts about Liverpool. Input by all their members. Thank you.

 
201 things to know about Liverpool
Liverpool was founded in 1810 on 7th November by Governor Lachlan Macquarie as his first "new town" to help save the colony from famine.
The City of Liverpool is 35 kilometres south west of Sydney.
The three main Aboriginal tribes in the Liverpool area at the time were Daruk, Tharawal and Gandangara.
Lurnea and Bringelly are Aboriginal names.
Six of the seven cattle brought out with the first fleet were found by a convict in the Cowpasture Road region. The six had increased to 60 and Governor Hunter visited the site in 1795 and named it Cow Pasture Plains.
In 1804 Captain Eber Bunker (whaler) was given a land grant.
In 1804 Captain Eber Bunker (whaler) was given a land grant.
In 1805 Thomas Moore (boat builder) was granted 300 hectares.
The first recorded floods on the Georges River occurred in 1809.
The leader of the Wicklow Irish Rebellion, Michael Dwyer was given a 100 acre land grant south of Cabramatta Creek in 1809. This was known as Margrave Park but ultimately became Warwick Farm.
Collingwood House was built in 1810 by Captain Bunker, the leader of the colony's first whaling expedition.
Liverpool's first cemetery opened in 1811 and closed in 1821 because of the wet ground.
Thomas Tyrell was buried in what is now Apex Park on 19th May, 1811.
Military Barracks were commenced in 1811.
Liverpool's first school was built in 1811 and stood on the site now occupied by Liverpool Senior Citizens Centre, in Bigge Street.
William Lawson, explorer, was Commander of the forces at Liverpool in 1812
In April 1813 a contract was signed to build a road to Liverpool from Ashfield at a cost of 130 pounds per mile.
Explorer, William Wentworth, lived in Greendale with his parents.
The road from Sydney to Liverpool was completed in 1814.
In November 1814 Liverpool was the 4th largest town on the mainland, population 832
First recorded wedding was in 1816.
St. Luke's Church was designed by Francis Greenway in 1817 and completed in 1824
The first map to name Liverpool's Macquarie Street is dated 1819 and came from the pen of the emancipist surveyor, James Meehan.
Robert Cartwright was the chaplain at St. Luke's in 1820 and was buried, in what is now known as Pioneer's Memorial Park, in 1856.
St. Luke's Church is the oldest Anglican Church still in use in Australia.
During the construction of St. Luke's a convict hanged himself in the unfinished tower.
Richard Guise was the first recorded burial in St. Luke's cemetery in 1821.
Bigge Park was marked out as a town square when the town was founded in 1810.
The first hospital, also designed by Francis Greenway, was started in 1822 and completed in 1830.
This building became an Old Mens' Home and Asylum as well as a hospital until 1960
Bushranger "Jack Donhoe" roamed from Windsor to Liverpool.
The courts of Liverpool were conducted near the circular tower in the hospital until the court house was built.
Richard Brooks, commander of the Brigs Rose, Spring and Alexander purchased land at Denham Court.
Trooper Muggleston shot and killed bushranger "Jack Donohoe" on 1st September, 1830
Jack Donohoe was the Robin Hood of early days, robbing the rich and giving to the poor Irish settlers.
The famous song "The Wild Colonial Boy" tells of the exploits of Jack Donohoe.
John Verge was commissioned to design and build a two storied house for Richard Brooks at Denham Court and completed in 1832.
Work started on St. Marys the Virgin Catholic Church, Denham Court in 1833.
Lansdowne Bridge, David Lennox's masterpiece, was opened by Governor Bourke (some of Liverpool's 1,000 convicts worked on it) in 1836 after wooden bridges were washed away.
Liverpool Weir was built in 1836 by Lennox and his "iron gang" convicts for 100 pounds.
A wooden wharf (quay) was built on the Georges River and boats up to 50 tons could load and unload there.
St. Mary the Virgin Chapel (previously known as Brooks Memorial Chapel) was consecrated in 1836.
The weir marks the halfway point of the Georges River.
The top half of the Georges River is fresh water and the bottom salt.
The foundations for the original "All Saints Church" were laid in 1840.
The district of Liverpool was incorporated in 1842. Samuel Moore was the warden and there were six councillors.
In the 1840's Paul Edmund de Strzelecki passed through Liverpool on his expedition to the Alps.
Severe bush fires blazed in the area in 1845.
The stocks, in Bigge Park, were used until the 1840s then became a place of amusement for the local children who enjoyed playing prisoner.
St. Marks Church, Greendale was built in 1848-49 and designed by Edmund Blacket.
St. Marks Church stands on the land granted to Ellis Bent in 1811.
The District Council of Liverpool was formed in January, 1848.
Holy Innocent's Church, Rossmore was designed by Edmund Blacket and completed in 1850.
An obelisk was placed on the corner of George & Moore Streets to record the mileage from Sydney. The Liverpool obelisk is now in Discovery Park, Liverpool.
The second oldest Court House was established around 1855 and was in us until 1972.
There was to be a cricket match between Liverpool Cricket Association and eleven railwaymen after the first sod of soil was turned for the railway line. There was a dispute and the match cancelled.
Liverpool Railway Station opened in 1856.
The Liverpool Abattoirs were completed in December 1856 after the closure of Glebe Island Abattoirs.
The bell shaped letterbox outside the technical college was brought to Liverpool in 1856
Spanish dollars were discovered under the floor boards of the gallery in St. Luke's in which convicts sat apart, probably gambling.
The fine old homestead Bernera was built by Adam Macpherson in 1856.
A Telegraph link with Sydney was set up at Liverpool Railway Station.
"The Flying Pieman" (William Francis King) became well known for his remarkable athletic skills in the mid 1800's.
William Francis King was known to race the mail coach from Windsor to Sydney, on foot and won by seven minutes.
William sold pies to passengers as they boarded the river-boat leaving Sydney then he would run overland so that he could sell them more pies on departure in Liverpool.
The first telegraph message in New South Wales was from Sydney to Liverpool on 30th December, 1857.
The Liverpool Public School commenced in 1863 on its present site.
Collingwood Paper Mill started production in 1868.
Richard Sadleir was Liverpool's first Mayor in 1872.
Liverpool was proclaimed a municipality on 27th June, 1872.
William Francis King (The Flying Pieman) died in Liverpool Asylum in 1874.
In 1879 Martin Christiansen started a Brickyard at Liverpool.
Collingwood Wool Scouring and Fellmongering split from the Paper Mill in the late 1870's.
The Homestead at Chipping Norton was built in 1880.
The winner of the Melbourne Cup in 1880, Grand Flaneur, was trained at Chipping Norton.
Liverpool's first Post Office was built on the corner of Macquarie and Moore Streets and opened in 1880.
The property for the first Post Office was purchased for 200 pounds.
A railway goods shed was built in 1881.
In 1881 there were 211 dwellings, 119 of brick or stone and the rest of timber.
The Town Clerk, Clarence Meyrick Browne, was paid 3 pound per week in 1882.
Rosebank Cottage was designed by Varney Parkes (son of Sir Henry Parkes) in 1883 and later became Queens College, an exclusive school for girls.
The last member of the Georges River Tribe, "Black Tommy", died in 1884 in a stable near St. Luke's Church.
Edward James Ashcroft was Mayor from 1884-1885
The first school in the Badgery's Creek area was opened in 1885 and was called Exeter Farm School.
William Smith was Mayor in 1886 - Nathaniel Bull was Mayor in 1887 & 1888.
In 1889 there was a record made of early aboriginal paintings in local caves which are still there today.
The first race meeting at Warwick Farm was held in 1889.
The General Cemetery in Flowerdale Road was dedicated in 1889.
Thomas Whitford Taylor was Mayor in 1889.
The gas-works was opened by the Council in July, 1890 in Speed Street.
1890 -1893 -1894 were the years Charles Ambrose Scrivener was Mayor.
In the 1890's grapes sold for 1/2d (half penny) a pound.
Glenfield Farm was named after Glenfield in Leicester, England.
Glenfield Farm was part of a grant to Dr. Throsby.
Robert Clyde was Mayor in 1891 & 1892.
Cabramatta and Canley Vale separated from Liverpool & formed their own Council 1890's.
In 1894 a fifteen foot wide timber bridge was built across the Georges River.
Alfred Cloke was Mayor in 1895.
From 1895 to 1903 was "The 1902 Drought" followed by floods in July 1904.
Ingleburn Municipal Council separated from Liverpool in 1896.
Frederick Chapman was Mayor in 1896 - 1902 - 1903.
George Albert Tillet was Mayor in 1897.
Liverpool Herald 26/11/1898 - "Is there any necessity that the shops should be open till 8pm?   Surely we have here a waste of gas, time, labour and human tissue. Where is the chance of domestic enjoyment and intellectual culture?"
James H. Moreshead was Mayor in 1898 - 1899 -1900.
In January 1900 Council set up a rat collection depot and by August had received 543 rats.
Easter Encampments were held in Liverpool for part-time soldiers in 1906.
Liverpool's area was increased when the Parish of Holsworthy was added.
The Liverpool Town Hall had a telephone connected.
J.H.Atkinson established the abattoir and wool washery on the banks of the Georges River in 1910.
Lord Kitchner visited Liverpool in 1910 and selected Holsworthy as a natural Army Encampment.
In 1910 Henry Bull started Challenge Woollen Mills making modern flannel and blankets.
Kitchner House was originally called Arpafelle and was built by the army in 1912 for visits of Lord Kitchner.
883 acres of land acquired for Holsworthy Camp in 1912.
In 1913 a further 16,868 acres were resumed for Holsworthy Camp.
Aliens (namely Germans) were held at Hammondville during World War I (1914- 1918).
After drunken soldiers from Liverpool Barracks rioted in 1916, 6 o'clock closing was introduced in hotels.
The famous coursing dog (greyhound) 'Achieved' won the Waterloo Cup about 1916.
A Boer War memorial was erected in the middle of Macquarie Street, near Scott Street
The 110 targets of the Anzac Rifle Rage were completed by August 1916.
At Clinches Pond at the beginning of the century, a milkman and his horse were believed to disappear in the pond.
A railway line was built on concrete pylons leading from Liverpool to Holsworthy Army Camp in 1917.
This railway line was built by the German P.O.W.'s.
After the First World War in 1918 returned soldiers were given farming land at Chipping Norton, Moorebank and Hillview (now Lurnea).
The Warwick Farm Race Club sold the racecourse to the Australian Jockey Club in 1922 for 75,000 pounds.
The first Liverpool District Ambulance Station was established in 1923 in Macquarie Street.
There were many sports clubs including; swimming, tennis, football, cricket and bicycling. The Bicycling Club produced a competitor for the 1924 Olympics.
In 1924 a School of Arts building was built and in 1939 had 2,500 books in its library.
Dwyers land at Hargrave Park became the site of an airfield for light planes in 1925.
Electricity was first connected in Liverpool on 25th September, 1925 when 91 street lights were lit.
The Australian Gas Light Company took over the gas-works from local Council in 1927
In 1928 the first female staff member was appointed at Council.
On 16th August 1929 the Australian Aero Club purchased 210 acres for a cost of 21,500 pounds. It was called Hargrave Air Park on 7th July, 1930.
During the Great Depression of the 1930's Reverend Canon Hammond founded Hammondville to help destitute families find homes.
In the 1930's midwife Nurse Healy opened a small hospital in Christie Street, Liverpool.
Some of the best tobacco in Australia was grown in 1931/32 at Hoxton Park.
Tobacco leaves from these crops grew to lengths of 28 inches and were used to make cigars.
In the 1930's rabbits were called "underground mutton".
Hammondville Primary School opened in October 1933 with 91 students.
Prior to joining the Police Force in 1934 Fred Longbottom earned 1 penny a pound for hand picking peas.
Towards the end of the 1930's the Hotel Mainsbridge was built in Macquarie Street at a cost of 14,000 pounds.
By 1938 there were some 18 dealers in pre-loved goods in Liverpool.
St. Anne's Church, Hammondville was built in 1940.
US pilot Lieutenant George C Cantello was killed when his plane crashed at Hammondville after responding to an alarm when a mini sub surfaced at Newcastle 1942
Hammondville Younger Set held a ball on 24th July, 1945 - tickets cost 4 shillings.
Five acres of land in Chipping Norton was purchased for 300 pounds in 1945.
In 1946 Wally Ingham was raising poultry as well as 300 pigs on 50 acres on Kurrajong Road, Casula.
In 1947 David Jones Pty Ltd moved their swimwear and knitwear production to Hargrave Park.
A 1948 Wolseley car sold for 65 pounds full price.
Nepean Shire Council ceased to exist and part of its area came to Liverpool.
The Children's Library was opened on 19th October, 1956.
In the 1950's the Housing Commission moved into the Hillview area and the name changed to Lurnea.
John Edmondson was raised in Liverpool and was the first Australian to receive a Victoria Cross Medal in World War II.
John Edmondson was raised in Liverpool and was the first Australian to receive a Victoria Cross Medal in World War II.
Rossmore is one of the oldest agricultural districts in New South Wales.
Rossmore was once called Cabramatta but this name was later transferred to an area now in Fairfield's boundaries.
During restoration work on St. Luke's Church a musket ball was found in the face of the clock.
Also in 1940/50's a mesh swimming pool was at Milperra.
Because of electricity shortage after World War II Casula Powerhouse was built in 1953
You could purchase a ticket to the Regal Theatre for 6 pence in 1954.
An ice cream could be purchased for 2 pence.
Leppington Vegetable Growers' Cooperative was set up in 1955.
The Haerse family of Chipping Norton consigned 699 cases of peaches and 373 cases of grapes to the Sydney Market.
Liverpool District Hospital opened in 1958.
Freedom of Entry to the City of Liverpool was given to the Army in 1959.
Liverpool was declared a city on 9th November 1960.
Miss Judith Phillis was crowned the Liverpool Sesqui Queen in 1960.
In 1960 New South Wales Housing Commission purchased 100 acres of farmland and bush at Green Valley.
Prospect County Council took over the distribution of electricity on 1st January, 1960 from Liverpool Council.
At a local wedding reception in January, 1961 catering cost 7/6 per head for a good 3 course meal.
The original Liverpool Hospital was handed over to the Liverpool Tafe in 1961.
In December 1962 Mrs Annie Collins became first woman on Liverpool Council.
The new All Saints Catholic Church was built in 1964.
A pair of trousers sold for 7 guineas full price or lay-bye at 7 shillings per week in 1965.
In 1966 Green Valley had one of the highest proportions of children in the Southern Hemisphere.
Decimal currency came to Liverpool in 1966.
The winged Bull situated in the grounds of St. Luke's Church was commissioned for 150 years celebrations in 1969.
Mr W Borland was appointed the first Park Ranger on 21st January, 1969.
In 1972 Collingwood House was restored at the cost of $72,148.
The new Court House in George Street was opened in 1972.
The Michael Wenden Swimming Pool was also opened in 1972.
The Power Station was decommissioned in 1976 and purchased by Liverpool City Council for $75,000.
On 31st March, 1976 Liverpool City Council was dismissed.
In 1978, $3,237 was spent on the formation of netball courts at Beale Park.
An average size home in 1979 could be built for around $30,000.
Sides of beef cost $1.99 a kilo in 1980.
Boral Bricks produce 60 million bricks annually.
Tooths KB cost $10.19 for 2 dozen.
Miss Helen Nettle was crowned Miss Liverpool 1981.
1st April, 1984 saw the first sod turned for the building of Lighthorse Park by Liverpool Lions Club.
During restoration of the Old Court House a well was uncovered which had a tunnel down to the river.
The new Council Chambers, opened in 1987, was built on land once owned by Robert Lock and his Darug wife Maria.
Flood waters disrupted traffic in May, 1988 and people evacuated in many areas.
Liverpool Regional Museum was built in 1988 as a Bicentennial Project and opened in 1989
Lighthorse Park was Official Opened on the 8th November, 1988.
Macquarie Mall opened on 1 December, 1994.
A statue of Governor Lachlan Macquarie was unveiled on 5th Oct. 1995.
The City of Liverpool is 305 square kilometres.
There are 39 suburbs in the City of Liverpool.
There are 147 different languages spoken by Liverpool residents.
The population at the last census in 2006 was 164,603.
If all residents of Liverpool united in harmony today we would find Governor Macquarie's words true and that is Liverpool is "FIT FOR THE PURPOSE".
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