Cumberland County, New South Wales

Cumberland
New South Wales
Cumberland; New South Wales
	Location in New South Wales
Established	4 June 1788
	Lands administrative divisions around Cumberland:

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Cumberland County is a county in the State of New South Wales, Australia. Most of the Sydney metropolitan area is located within the County of Cumberland.

The County of Cumberland stretches from Broken Bay to the north, the Hawkesbury River to the north-west, the Nepean River to the west, the Cataract River to the south-west and the northern suburbs of Wollongong to the south. It includes the area of the Cumberland Plain.

History

The name Cumberland was conferred by Governor Arthur Phillip in honour of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn at a gathering to celebrate the birthday of his brother, George III, on 4 June 1788.^[1] The county has been marked on maps since the start of the colony, as shown along the key on a 1789 map describing Port Jackson as being within the county of Cumberland. In the nineteenth century, parts of the county were in the South and North Riding electoral districts from 1856 to 1859, which were replaced by Central Cumberland. There was also the Cumberland Boroughs electoral district.

Politics

The State of New South Wales is divided up into 141 counties, for the purposes of surveying and the registration of land titles. Few Australian counties have ever had any government or administrative function. However, the County of Cumberland did have a county government, the Cumberland County Council, from 1945 to 1964. Its responsibilities were primarily limited to town planning on the metropolitan scale. The Cumberland County Council was not elected by the people, but rather was elected by councillors of the various local governments within the county. The council consisted of 10 councillors each elected to a single constituency: No. 1 (Sydney), No. 2 (Marrickville, Canterbury), No. 3 (Randwick, Botany, Woollahra, Waverley), No. 4 (Rockdale, Hurstville, Kogarah, Sutherland), No. 5 (Strathfield, Ashfield, Burwood, Leichhardt, Drummoyne, Concord), No. 6 (Auburn, Bankstown, Holroyd, Parramatta), No. 7 (Mosman, Manly, North Sydney, Warringah), No. 8 (Hunter's Hill, Hornsby, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Ryde), No. 9 (Blacktown, Penrith, Baulkham Hills, Windsor) and No. 10 (Fairfield, Camden, Liverpool, Campbelltown, and parts of Wollondilly and Wollongong).^[2]

In 1948 the Council published the County of Cumberland planning scheme, a framework for accommodating expected postwar growth in the Sydney Basin. The objectives of the County Council were often in conflict with the aims of many State Government departments. For instance, the County Council's plans called for a green belt to encircle metropolitan Sydney, while the NSW Housing Commission wished to use much of this land to build new low-density public housing estates in areas such as Blacktown and Liverpool. As a result, the Cumberland County Council was dissolved in 1964.

Its metropolitan planning functions were taken over by a new body, the State Planning Authority, which has since been superseded by a succession of state government planning departments.^[3] As of 2019^[update], the planning department is the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.

Chairmen

Years	Name	Council	Notes
1945–1951	John Percival Tate	Ryde	^[4]
1951–1958	Ronald Stark Luke	Mosman	^[5]^[6]
1958–1960	Leslie Arthur Scutts	Marrickville
1960–1961	Sydney John Webb	Holroyd
1961–1962	Tom Foster	Sydney	^[7]
1962–1963	Sydney John Webb	Holroyd	^[8]
1963–1964	Samuel Peters	Randwick

Sub-divisions

Hundreds

There were thirteen hundreds in Cumberland County, which were published in a government gazette on 27 May 1835, but repealed on 21 January 1888. Unlike South Australia, the hundreds were never adopted anywhere else in New South Wales. The hundreds:

Bringelly
Campbelltown
Dundas
Evan
Hardinge
Liverpool
Packenham
Parramatta
Richmond
Southend
Hundred of Sydney
Windsor
Woronora (shown as Heathcote on some maps)

Parishes

In 1835, Cumberland County was subdivided into 57 parishes.^[9] Previously, the subdivisions of the area since the beginning of the colony were called districts. Many of the parishes founded in 1835 kept the name of the district. Others were named after Anglican churches in the same area. This included three of the four small parishes in the Sydney city area: The Parish of St Philip, which is named after St Philip's Church; the Parish of St James, which is named after St James Church, and is still the name of the region today; and finally the Parish of St Andrew which is named after St Andrew's Cathedral. However, the Parish of St Lawrence gave its name to the church, rather than the other way around.^[10] Further out of the city, the parishes of St John, St Luke, St Peter and St Matthew, in the Parramatta, Liverpool, Campbelltown and Windsor areas respectively, have Anglican churches which bear the same saints names; St John's in Parramatta (opened 1803); St.Luke's in Liverpool (building began 1818); St.Peter's in Campbelltown (opened 1823, the third oldest Anglican church in Australia); and St. Matthew's in Windsor (consecrated in 1822)

A full list of parishes found within this county; the LGAs which the parish is mostly in (most parish boundaries do not match LGA boundaries exactly), and mapping coordinates to the approximate centre of each location is as follows:

Parish	LGA	Hundred (former)	Coordinates
Alexandria	Municipality of Woollahra	Sydney	33°50′54″S 151°17′04″E / 33.84833°S 151.28444°E / -33.84833; 151.28444 (Alexandria Parish)
Appin	Wollondilly Shire	Campbelltown	34°11′54″S 150°45′04″E / 34.19833°S 150.75111°E / -34.19833; 150.75111 (Appin Parish)
Bankstown	City of Canterbury-Bankstown	Liverpool	33°55′54″S 150°59′04″E / 33.93167°S 150.98444°E / -33.93167; 150.98444 (Bankstown Parish)
Berowra	Hornsby Shire	Dundas	33°33′54″S 151°05′04″E / 33.56500°S 151.08444°E / -33.56500; 151.08444 (Berowra Parish)
Botany	Bayside Council	Sydney	33°56′54″S 151°14′04″E / 33.94833°S 151.23444°E / -33.94833; 151.23444 (Botany Parish)
Bringelly	City of Penrith	Bringelly	33°53′54″S 150°41′04″E / 33.89833°S 150.68444°E / -33.89833; 150.68444 (Bringelly Parish)
Broken Bay	Northern Beaches Council	Packenham	33°38′54″S 151°13′04″E / 33.64833°S 151.21778°E / -33.64833; 151.21778 (Broken Bay Parish)
Bulgo	City of Wollongong	Heathcote	34°09′54″S 151°03′04″E / 34.16500°S 151.05111°E / -34.16500; 151.05111 (Bulgo Parish)
Cabramatta	City of Liverpool	Bringelly	33°54′54″S 150°49′04″E / 33.91500°S 150.81778°E / -33.91500; 150.81778 (Cabramatta Parish)
Castle Hill	The Hills Shire	Parramatta	33°44′54″S 150°41′04″E / 33.74833°S 150.68444°E / -33.74833; 150.68444 (Castle Hill Parish)
Castlereagh	City of Penrith	Richmond	33°40′54″S 150°42′04″E / 33.68167°S 150.70111°E / -33.68167; 150.70111 (Castlereagh Parish)
Claremont	City of Penrith	Evan	33°48′54″S 150°43′04″E / 33.81500°S 150.71778°E / -33.81500; 150.71778 (Claremont Parish)
Concord	Canada Bay, Strathfield and Burwood	Sydney	33°51′54″S 151°06′04″E / 33.86500°S 151.10111°E / -33.86500; 151.10111 (Concord Parish)
Cook	Camden Council	Bringelly	33°57′54″S 150°42′04″E / 33.96500°S 150.70111°E / -33.96500; 150.70111 (Cook Parish)
Cornelia	The Hills Shire	Hardinge	32°59′54″S 150°00′04″E / 32.99833°S 150.00111°E / -32.99833; 150.00111 (Cornelia Parish)
Cowan	Hornsby Shire	Dundas	33°36′54″S 151°08′04″E / 33.61500°S 151.13444°E / -33.61500; 151.13444 (Cowan Parish)
Eckersley	City of Campbelltown	Southend	34°04′54″S 150°55′04″E / 34.08167°S 150.91778°E / -34.08167; 150.91778 (Eckersley Parish)
Field of Mars	City of Parramatta	Parramatta	33°46′54″S 151°03′04″E / 33.78167°S 151.05111°E / -33.78167; 151.05111 (Field of Mars Parish)
Frederick	Hornsby Shire	Hardinge	33°27′54″S 151°02′34″E / 33.46500°S 151.04278°E / -33.46500; 151.04278 (Frederick Parish)
Gidley	City of Blacktown	Windsor	33°40′54″S 150°52′04″E / 33.68167°S 150.86778°E / -33.68167; 150.86778 (Gidley Parish)
Gordon	Ku-ring-gai Council	Packenham	33°12′54″S 151°09′04″E / 33.21500°S 151.15111°E / -33.21500; 151.15111 (Gordon Parish)
Ham Common	City of Hawkesbury	Richmond	33°35′54″S 150°45′04″E / 33.59833°S 150.75111°E / -33.59833; 150.75111 (Ham Common Parish)
Heathcote	Sutherland Shire	Heathcote	34°05′54″S 150°59′04″E / 34.09833°S 150.98444°E / -34.09833; 150.98444 (Heathcote Parish)
Holsworthy	City of Liverpool	Liverpool	33°56′54″S 150°57′04″E / 33.94833°S 150.95111°E / -33.94833; 150.95111 (Holsworthy Parish)
Hunters Hill	Ryde, Hunter's Hill	Parramatta	33°47′54″S 151°06′04″E / 33.79833°S 151.10111°E / -33.79833; 151.10111 (Hunters Hill Parish)
Liberty Plains	Cumberland, Canterbury-Bankstown	Parramatta	33°51′54″S 151°02′04″E / 33.86500°S 151.03444°E / -33.86500; 151.03444 (Liberty Plains Parish)
Londonderry	City of Penrith	Richmond	33°40′54″S 150°45′04″E / 33.68167°S 150.75111°E / -33.68167; 150.75111 (Londonderry Parish)
Manly Cove	Northern Beaches Council	Packenham	33°46′54″S 151°16′04″E / 33.78167°S 151.26778°E / -33.78167; 151.26778 (Manly Cove Parish)
Maroota	The Hills Shire	Hardinge	33°29′54″S 151°00′04″E / 33.49833°S 151.00111°E / -33.49833; 151.00111 (Maroota Parish)
Marramarra	Hornsby Shire	Dundas	33°29′54″S 151°17′04″E / 33.49833°S 151.28444°E / -33.49833; 151.28444 (Marramarra Parish)
Melville	City of Fairfield	Evan	33°51′16″S 150°49′20″E / 33.85444°S 150.82222°E / -33.85444; 150.82222 (Melville Parish)
Menangle	City of Campbelltown	Campbelltown	34°06′54″S 150°47′04″E / 34.11500°S 150.78444°E / -34.11500; 150.78444 (Menangle Parish)
Minto	City of Campbelltown	Liverpool	33°57′54″S 150°51′04″E / 33.96500°S 150.85111°E / -33.96500; 150.85111 (Minto Parish)
Mulgoa	City of Penrith	Evan	33°48′54″S 150°40′04″E / 33.81500°S 150.66778°E / -33.81500; 150.66778 (Mulgoa Parish)
Narellan	Camden Council	Campbelltown	34°02′54″S 150°44′04″E / 34.04833°S 150.73444°E / -34.04833; 150.73444 (Narellan Parish)
Narrabeen	Northern Beaches Council	Packenham	33°36′54″S 151°20′04″E / 33.61500°S 151.33444°E / -33.61500; 151.33444 (Narrabeen Parish)
Nelson	The Hills Shire	Windsor	33°36′54″S 150°57′04″E / 33.61500°S 150.95111°E / -33.61500; 150.95111 (Nelson Parish)
North Colah	Hornsby Shire	Dundas	33°37′54″S 151°03′04″E / 33.63167°S 151.05111°E / -33.63167; 151.05111 (North Colah Parish)
Petersham	Inner West Council	Sydney	33°51′54″S 151°10′04″E / 33.86500°S 151.16778°E / -33.86500; 151.16778 (Petersham Parish)
Pitt Town	City of Hawkesbury	Windsor	33°35′54″S 150°53′04″E / 33.59833°S 150.88444°E / -33.59833; 150.88444 (Pitt Town Parish)
Prospect	City of Blacktown	Parramatta	33°46′54″S 150°55′04″E / 33.78167°S 150.91778°E / -33.78167; 150.91778 (Prospect Parish)
Rooty Hill	City of Penrith	Richmond	33°43′54″S 150°48′04″E / 33.73167°S 150.80111°E / -33.73167; 150.80111 (Rooty Hill Parish)
South Colah	Hornsby Shire	Dundas	33°41′54″S 151°05′04″E / 33.69833°S 151.08444°E / -33.69833; 151.08444 (South Colah Parish)
Southend	City of Wollongong	Southend	34°16′54″S 150°55′04″E / 34.28167°S 150.91778°E / -34.28167; 150.91778 (Southend Parish)
St Andrew	City of Sydney	Sydney	33°52′26″S 151°12′23″E / 33.87389°S 151.20639°E / -33.87389; 151.20639 (St Andrew Parish)
St George	Georges River, Bayside	Sydney	33°56′54″S 151°06′04″E / 33.94833°S 151.10111°E / -33.94833; 151.10111 (St George Parish)
St James	City of Sydney	Sydney	33°52′10″S 151°12′39″E / 33.86944°S 151.21083°E / -33.86944; 151.21083 (St James Parish)
St John	Parramatta, Cumberland	Parramatta	33°49′54″S 151°03′04″E / 33.83167°S 151.05111°E / -33.83167; 151.05111 (St John Parish)
St Lawrence	City of Sydney	Sydney	33°52′53″S 151°12′18″E / 33.88139°S 151.20500°E / -33.88139; 151.20500 (St Lawrence Parish)
St Luke	City of Fairfield	Liverpool	33°51′54″S 150°54′04″E / 33.86500°S 150.90111°E / -33.86500; 150.90111 (St Luke Parish)
St Matthew	City of Hawkesbury	Windsor	33°37′54″S 150°49′04″E / 33.63167°S 150.81778°E / -33.63167; 150.81778 (St Matthew Parish)
St Peter	City of Campbelltown	Campbelltown	34°03′54″S 150°50′04″E / 34.06500°S 150.83444°E / -34.06500; 150.83444 (St Peter Parish)
St Philip	City of Sydney	Sydney	33°51′51″S 151°12′22″E / 33.86417°S 151.20611°E / -33.86417; 151.20611 (St Philip Parish)
Sutherland	Sutherland Shire	Heathcote	34°01′54″S 151°05′04″E / 34.03167°S 151.08444°E / -34.03167; 151.08444 (Sutherland Parish)
Wattamolla	Sutherland Shire	Heathcote	34°05′49″S 151°06′27″E / 34.09694°S 151.10750°E / -34.09694; 151.10750 (Wattamolla Parish)
Wedderburn	Wollondilly Shire	Southend	34°14′54″S 150°50′04″E / 34.24833°S 150.83444°E / -34.24833; 150.83444 (Wedderburn Parish)
Willoughby	Lane Cove, Mosman, North Sydney, Willoughby	Packenham	33°49′54″S 151°15′04″E / 33.83167°S 151.25111°E / -33.83167; 151.25111 (Willoughby Parish)

Districts

The first subdivisions of the county were called districts, shown in early maps from the period, such as 21 districts on an 1810 map and 37 districts on an 1824 map (not including Philip which was across the Nepean River and not part of the county). The districts in use in 1824:

Airds
Appin
Bankstown
Bathurst
Botany Bay
Bringelly
Bullanaming
Cambramatta
Castle Hill
Castlereagh
Concord
Cooke
Dundas
Eastern Plains
Evan
Field of Mars
Green Hills
Holsworthy
Hunter's Hill
Illawarra
Liberty Plains
Mecham
Melville
Meyrick
Minto
Nelson
Northern Boundary
Oxley
Parramatta
Petersham
Ponds
Prospect
Richmond
Sydney
Tongabee
Upper Minto
Upper Nelson

References

^ "Cumberland County". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales.
^ "CUMBERLAND COUNTY". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 293. New South Wales, Australia. 1 February 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 11 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "AGY-424 State Planning Authority". NSW State Archives & Records. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
^ Sarah-Jane Rennie, 'Tate, John Percival (1894–1977)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/tate-john-percival-11822/text21153, published first in hardcopy 2002, accessed online 11 March 2017.
^ "Councillor R. S. Luke". Construction. New South Wales, Australia. 14 February 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 11 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "County Council Chairman's Chain of Office". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 36, 054. New South Wales, Australia. 11 July 1953. p. 2. Retrieved 11 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Thomas Christopher Foster". Sydney's Aldermen. City of Sydney. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
^ "Draw decides new chairman". The Biz. No. 2903. New South Wales, Australia. 7 February 1962. p. 3. Retrieved 11 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Names Search". Geographical Names Board of NSW. Archived from the original on 23 March 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
^ The Naming of the Parish, Christ Church of St.Laurence^{[permanent dead link‍]}