About Hills - Creating Hills Communities

About The Hills Shire

The Hills Shire, an easy 30-minute drive by M2 drive from the center of Sydney consists of 380 square kilometers of area from Baulkham Hills in the south to Wisemans Ferry in the north. It is one of the fastest growing local government areas in Sydney, with two thirds in the north being rural land used for farming and other agricultural industries. The Hills has a proud reputation as the ‘Garden Shire’ due to the bushland, reserves and well-maintained gardens of its residential areas. It is also rich in history with many historic buildings and sites providing a unique glimpse into the early settlement past of the Hills. The Hills provides a lot of places to go hiking in, have family BBQ’s at and to explore. Not only is there a lot of nature but it also offers a great array of places to shop, to dine in cafes and restaurants and entertainment.

Fagan Park, Galston

Wisemans Ferry near Hawksbury River

Suburbs in the local government area
Annangrove
Baulkham Hills (shared with City of Parramatta Council)
Beaumont Hills
Bella Vista
Box Hill
Castle Hill (shared with Hornsby Shire)
Cattai (shared with City of Hawkesbury)
Dural (shared with Hornsby Shire)
Galston (shared with Hornsby Shire)
Glenhaven (shared with Hornsby Shire)
Glenorie (shared with Hornsby Shire)
Kellyville
Kenthurst
Leets Vale (shared with City of Hawkesbury)
Lower Portland (shared with City of Hawkesbury)
Maraylya (shared with City of Hawkesbury)
Maroota (shared with Hornsby Shire)
Middle Dural (shared with Hornsby Shire)
Nelson
North Rocks (shared with City of Parramatta Council)
Rouse Hill (shared with City of Blacktown)
Sackville North
South Maroota
West Pennant Hills (shared with Hornsby Shire)
Winston Hills (shared with City of Parramatta Council)
Wisemans Ferry (shared with Central Coast Council, City of Hawkesbury and Hornsby Shire)

Student Resources – About The Hills Shire(PDF, 962KB)
https://www.thehills.nsw.gov.au/About-The-Sydney-Hills/History-of-The-Hills-Shire/The-Hills-Shire-Timeline

The Hills Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites such as the

• Pearce Family Cemetery : Baulkham Hills
• Bella Vista (homestead)
• Box Hill House
• Box Hill Inn
• Third Government Farm : Castle Hill
• St Paul’s Anglican Church, Castle Hill
• Cattai Estate
• Great Drain : Maroota South
• Hunting Lodge, Rouse Hill
• Royal Oak Inn, Rouse Hill

Hills Lifestyle

Want to live somewhere where you can have a quiet but still chic life with great cafes, entertainment areas and of course reliable public transport? An increase number of professionals, young couples and families are migrating into The Hills District due to the ongoing development in the district. The Hills Shire is home to top quality libraries and community centres, parks, halls and playgroups. You have access to quality education choices from childcare right through to further education. Some of the state’s top primary and secondary schools both public and private, call The Hills Shire home. The two local TAFE colleges provides a high level of further education, and buses run to Macquarie University and The University of Western Sydney. There are many great things to do including shopping with great eateries, water sports, horse riding, sports, nature and historic walks – and much more. It’s all here for you in The Hills, a place that puts community first.

Sydney Boutique Markets, Rouse Hill Town Centre

Great dinning & cafe culture in Hills, Wolfe & Co at Dural

Bella Vista Farm Park, Bella Vista

Hills Nature Landscape

Sick of city life and want some nature in your life? Right throughout The Hills District are some stunning walks that take you into a whole new world. Living in The Hills means that you get to experience walks all over the region and it’s right there in your backyard. There’s the Cattai Creek in Castle Hill to Lake Parramatta. Bidjigal Reserve to the Cumberland State Forest and so many more, inspiring walks in varying lengths and degrees of difficulty for anyone to go and explore.

Bidjigal Reserve, Baulkham Hills

Fred Caterson Reserve & Cattai Creek Walk

About North West Rail Link

The North West Rail Link (NWRL) is a proposed railway link/line which would connect Epping, The Hills Centre and Rouse Hill. In June 2015 it was renamed as the Sydney Metro Northwest to cover the original NWRL and the existing Epping to Chatswood line. The project which was originally proposed in November 1998 started construction in 2014 and expected to be finished by the first half of 2019.

The $8.3 billion project is Australia’s largest public transport infrastructure project and will be the first fully-automated rapid transit rail system in Australia. It will deliver eight new railway stations and 4,000 commuter car parking spaces to Sydney’s growing North West.

Single deck trains will operate every four minutes in the peak – or at least 15 trains an hour. Meaning customers won’t need a timetable – you’ll just turn up and go. They will have the highest levels of customer safety including constant CCTV monitoring and platform screen doors to improve safety on platforms. These screen doors, at the edge of the platform, stop objects falling on to the tracks and make getting on and off the train quicker. This means trains can operate much faster and safer.

Image source from Sydney Metro Northwest

Hills Future

The future for the Hills will include more pockets of urbanisation which will create options for those looking for apartment living, walkable communities and a café culture. There will be medium to high density living with family friendly apartments. There is the redevelopment project of Castle Tower, making it one of the largest shopping centers in Australia. With the opening of the Sydney Metro Northwest, The Hills District will become more accessible via public transport and thus opening doors to businesses and attracting a highly skilled population into the district. Plans are also being developed with lifestyle in mind. With sports playing a huge role in the Hills’ community, locals can expect a number of new fields and improved amenities to accomodate future growth. With the Sydney Metro Northwest nearing completion and plans for a better Hills Shire, an area with open spaces and a great city lifestyle within a community environment will be made. Everyone will be wanting to reside within The Hills District because of its amenities, transport links, job opportunities, or high standard of living.

Castle Tower redevelopment, Image source from QIC