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Maroota
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TypeSuburb
DetailsIt is a locality south of Wisemans Ferry. The name is derived from a Darug word 'muru' meaning 'pathway'. Thomas Best was granted land in the Dural area in 1819, where he had an Inn.
The 'New South Wales Calendar and General Post Office Directory of 1832' mentions the existence of the road from Windsor to Maroota. Approaching Maroota, on the Great North Road, the calendar warns that "the descent is bad for carts". The junction of the Maroota Road with the great North Road is mentioned and the description goes on to comment that, "the Maroota forest commences. Small tracts of grassy land, being chiefly to the eastward of the road, allotments for veterans have been marked here, but they have not yet been taken up".
Construction of the Great North Road commenced in 1826 and the section to Wiseman's Ferry had been largely completed by 1828. The Maroota Road appears to have been built as an extension of the road to Camden to Richmond. Its purpose seems to have been to connect the chief agricultural areas in New South Wales, providing a shortcut to the North Road, leading to the Hunter Valley.
The 'New South Wales Calendar and General Post Office Directory of 1832' mentions grants on Maroota Road within a mile and a half of its junction with the North Road. C. C. Singleton, in his article, 'The Short North', states that the section of the Great North Road between Glenorie and Maroota, fell into disuse during the 19th century, because most of the traffic to the north came from the Windsor district. Livestock, in particular, were being transferred from one rural area to another.
Modern Maroota is largely located in the neighbouring Shire. The section in Hornsby Shire is largely rural but on the other side of the Old Northern Road extensive sandmining operations exists. The village is located over the bed of an ancient river and the sand is suitable for building.
It is ironical that an area considered unsuitable for farming in the 1820s should now support rural activities so close to Sydney.
CreatorPlacenames of the Greater Hawkesbury Region, John P. Powell and Our Bushland Shire, compiled by local history researchers from the district. (2021)p.94
DetailsIt is a locality south of Wisemans Ferry. The name is derived from a Darug word 'muru' meaning 'pathway'. Thomas Best was granted land in the Dural area in 1819, where he had an Inn. The 'New South Wales Calendar and General Post Office Directory of 1832' mentions the existence of the road from Windsor to Maroota. Approaching Maroota, on the Great North Road, the calendar warns that "the descent is bad for carts". The junction of the Maroota Road with the great North Road is mentioned and the description goes on to comment that, "the Maroota forest commences. Small tracts of grassy land, being chiefly to the eastward of the road, allotments for veterans have been marked here, but they have not yet been taken up".
Construction of the Great North Road commenced in 1826 and the section to Wiseman's Ferry had been largely completed by 1828. The Maroota Road appears to have been built as an extension of the road to Camden to Richmond. Its purpose seems to have been to connect the chief agricultural areas in New South Wales, providing a shortcut to the North Road, leading to the Hunter Valley.
The 'New South Wales Calendar and General Post Office Directory of 1832' mentions grants on Maroota Road within a mile and a half of its junction with the North Road. C. C. Singleton, in his article, 'The Short North', states that the section of the Great North Road between Glenorie and Maroota, fell into disuse during the 19th century, because most of the traffic to the north came from the Windsor district. Livestock, in particular, were being transferred from one rural area to another.
Modern Maroota is largely located in the neighbouring Shire. The section in Hornsby Shire is largely rural but on the other side of the Old Northern Road extensive sandmining operations exists. The village is located over the bed of an ancient river and the sand is suitable for building.
It is ironical that an area considered unsuitable for farming in the 1820s should now support rural activities so close to Sydney.
CreatorPlacenames of the Greater Hawkesbury Region, John P. Powell and Our Bushland Shire, compiled by local history researchers from the district. (2021)p.94Place
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Placenames of the Greater Hawkesbury Region, John P. Powell and Our Bushland Shire, compiled by local history researchers from the district. (2021)p.94, Maroota. Hornsby Shire, accessed 11/06/2026, https://hornsbyshire.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/4949