Removalists Blacktown.

Blacktown's name carries real historical weight. In 1819, Governor Lachlan Macquarie granted 30 acres on Richmond Road to Colebee and Nurragingy, two Darug men, in recognition of their service to the colony - including guiding a route across the Blue Mountains. The settlement that grew around their land became known as "The Black's Town." In 1823, a government school for Aboriginal children, the Native Institution, was relocated from Parramatta to a site near this land grant - an institution now recognised as an early chapter in the history of the Stolen Generation. The school closed in 1833, but the name attached to the road leading there, and then to the railway station that opened in 1860, and Black Town Road Station was shortened to Blacktown by 1862.

Blacktown remained a semi-rural town on the Cumberland Plain for over a century afterward, sitting at the junction of the Richmond and Penrith railway lines. The real growth came after the Second World War, when Sydney's western expansion turned Blacktown into the major commercial centre of the plains between Parramatta and Penrith. Today it is the largest suburb by population in New South Wales and one of the most multicultural areas in Sydney - a sprawling residential area with family homes across a genuine range of styles and sizes, and a growing apartment market around the station.

Blacktown's residential streets are generally more accessible than the inner suburbs - wider roads and more off-street parking mean planning is usually about timing rather than access alone. The residential streets are generally manageable for truck access, and the suburb's layout means most moves are straightforward - but planning the loading position and timing still makes the difference between a smooth day and a frustrating one.