History and Growth
Campbelltown was founded in 1820, named after Elizabeth Macquarie née Campbell, wife of the then Governor Lachlan Macquarie. The town was one of a series of south-western settlements being established by Macquarie at that time. Others include Ingleburn and Liverpool.
Campbelltown Council was originally incorporated in 1882. The present boundaries of the City of Campbelltown were largely formed in 1949, following the amalgamation of the Municipalities of Ingleburn (incorporated in April 1896) and Campbelltown, as part of a rationalisation of local government areas across New South Wales following World War II.
Campbelltown was designated in the early 1960s in the Sydney Region Outline Plan, prepared by the Planning Commission of New South Wales as a satellite city, and a regional capital for the south west of Sydney. There was extensive building and population growth in the intervening time and the government surrounded the township with areas which were set aside for public and private housing and industry.
Campbelltown was declared a City by the Hon. P.H. Morton MLA, Minister for Local Government and Highways, on 4 May 1968. That same day saw the arrival of the first electric train to Campbelltown from Sydney.
As a City, Campbelltown honoured the 1st Signals Regiment (now the 1st Joins Support Unit) with the medieval custom of the Freedom of the City. The Mayor, Alderman Clive Tregear, wanted to recognise the contribution to the units based at the Ingleburn Army Barracks. The Regiment marched through Campbelltown until it got transferred to Queensland in the late 1980s.
Campbelltown was presented with its own coat of arms in 1969. The Arms were based those on the Arms of the Campbell Family in Scotland.
Campbelltown today acts as a significant regional centre for Southwestern Sydney with a rail line, major hospital, university and several shopping centres.
Campbelltown Arts Centre was opened in 2005. It is a cultural facility of Campbelltown City Council and is assisted by the New South Wales Government through Arts NSW.
Read more about this topic: City Of Campbelltown (New South Wales)
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