The Horsley Drive is a urban

sealed road A sealed road is a road whose surface has been permanently sealed by the use of one of several pavement treatments, often of composite construction. In some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, this surface is generically referred to as "s ...

located in the

City of Fairfield The Fairfield City Council is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Greater Western Sydney, west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was first incorporated as the "Municipal District of Smit ...

in Greater Western

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. The road's northwestern terminus is located at the entrance of

Western Sydney Parklands The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildli ...

in and its southeastern terminus at its intersection with

Hume Highway The Hume Highway, including the sections now known as the Hume Freeway and the Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of t ...

in Carramar.

Route

The Horsley Drive commences at the intersection of Arundel Road and the entrance to Horsley House in Horsley Park and heads in an easterly direction as a two-lane, single-carriageway road, widening to a four-lane road at the intersection with Wallgrove Road and the interchange with

Westlink M7 The Westlink M7 is a tolled urban motorway in Sydney, New South Wales that is part of the Sydney Orbital Network. Owned by the NorthWestern Roads (NWR) Group, it connects three motorways: the M5 South-West Motorway at Prestons, the M4 We ...

, and further to a dual-carriageway road at the roundabout with Cowpasture Road through the

Wetherill Park Wetherill Park is a suburb in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wetherill Park is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. The ...

industrial area, before narrowing back to a single carriageway road through Smithfield, where it meets

Cumberland Highway Cumberland Highway is a long urban highway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The highway links Pacific Highway (Australia), Pacific Highway and Pacific Motorway (Sydney–Newcastle), Pacific Motorway (Highway 1 (New South Wales), ...

. It continues in a southeasterly direction through Fairfield, to eventually terminate at the intersection with

in Carramar. There are three main pedestrian and cycle access points to The Horsley Drive: at the intersections with

, Ferrers Road, and the Upper Canal System. Recreational areas situated on the road include Wetherill Park Nature Reserve and several picnic spots in

such as

Western Sydney Regional Park Western Sydney Regional Park is a large urban park and a nature reserve situated in Western Sydney, Australia within the suburbs of Horsley Park and Abbotsbury, New South Wales, Abbotsbury.TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...

college, Fairfield High School and

Fairfield Public School Fairfield Public School is a government-funded, co-educational, primary day school, located in Fairfield, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1889 and opened by Sir Henry Parkes, the school caters for appro ...

are also situated on the road.

History

Horsley Park was originally part of Colonel George Johnston's property "Kings Gift". After his death it passed to his daughter Blanche who in 1829 married Major George Nicholas Weston. He built an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

colonial style homestead on the property and named it " Horsley" after his birthplace in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England. In 1959, The Horsley Drive (so named because it leads to Horsley Park) opened up as a continuous route from Carramar. Fairfield Hospital was constructed on The Horsley Drive in Fairfield in September 1956, but was then relocated in 1988. The passing of the ''Main Roads Act of 1924'' through the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the

Main Roads Board The Main Roads Board was an agency of the Government of New South Wales, responsible for planning, constructing and maintaining road infrastructure in New South Wales, Australia. History The Main Roads Board (MRB) was founded on 1 January 1925 ...

(MRB). With the subsequent passing of the ''Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929'' to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, the Department of Main Roads (having succeeded the MRB in 1932) declared Main Road 609 along the eastern half of The Horsley Drive, from the intersection with Hume Highway in Carramar to the intersection with Liverpool Road (today

) in Smithfield, on 25 March 1970. This was extended west along the western half of The Horsley Drive from Smithfield to the intersection with Wallgrove Road in Horsley Park on 15 February 1991. It was later re-aligned to run along Victoria and Elizabeth Streets through Smithfield and Wetherill Park respectively, instead of The Horsley Drive, on 12 March 2010. The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993'' updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, The Horsley Drive retains its declaration as part of Main Road 609. On 15 March 2002, a

pedestrian bridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

over The Horsley Drive was opened to link Fairfield High School and Fairfield Public School on the opposite side. The bridge was named the ''Eva Wesley Stone Pedestrian Bridge'', after Eva Wesley Stone (1894–2001), who was Fairfield's oldest resident.

Major intersections

The Horsley Drive is entirely contained within the

Fairfield City Council The Fairfield City Council is a local government area in the west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was first incorporated as the "Municipal District of Smithfield and Fairfield" on 8 December 1888, and the coun ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsley Drive, The Streets in Sydney 1959 establishments in Australia Roads in New South Wales

Route

History

Major intersections

See also

References