Bella Vista, New South Wales

Bella Vista is a suburb of north-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bella Vista is located 33 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the The Hills Shire Bella Vista is part of the Greater Western Sydney region and the Hills District.

History

In 1799, Joseph Foveaux was granted 300 acres (1.2 km²), which he expanded to over 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) and later sold to John Macarthur in 1801. John and Elizabeth Macarthur farmed sheep on this property in addition to their properties at Camden and Parramatta. Part of this land was later acquired by the Pearce family and became known as Bella Vista. In the 1890s, Edward Henry Pearce (1839-1912) of Bella Vista was declared the "largest and most successful orange grower in the colony." Bella Vista was sold by the Pearces in 1950. ^[2]

Until the mid-1990s, the area was primarily used for small-scale agriculture. Since then, significant changes have become apparent as it incorporates a residential area and a busy business district. However, the homestead and old farm buildings have been preserved and this portion of the former Pearce family property is now owned by the Baulkham Hills Shire Council. The Friends of Bella Vista Farm Park has been formed and they are working actively to achieve the restoration of this unique site.

Commercial area

The suburb now sports several shopping complexes and a major hotel. It is rapidly becoming the main business centre within the Hills District. The biggest commercial area is the Norwest Business Park on Norwest Boulevard to the east. Norwest Business Park incorporates retail, commercial, industrial and hotel developments. The industrial areas in West Bella Vista are still heavily under development, with many new warehouses appearing recently.

Shopping centres

Norwest Marketplace is a shopping centre featuring a Coles and many specialty stores including Subway, Gloria Jeans, Michel's Patisserie, Joeys', Blockbuster movie rentals, small electronic and clothing stores and a day care centre. Circa Retail is a shopping centre in South Norwest Business Park (West Bella Vista) featuring a Woolworths supermarket as the anchor tennant with 25 speciality stores.

Corporate hub

In 2006, Woolworths Limited, a public Australian retail company, joined all of its sub-management offices into a $200 million complex in Norwest Business Park in Bella Vista. The move meant Bella Vista was listed in Fortune's Global 500 list as one of the cities where Global 500 companies have their headquarters, ranked above Singapore, Miami and Baltimore and alongside Bangkok and Boston.

Other large scale corporations with corporate headquarters in the Norwest Business Park include ResMed and AAMI Insurance.

Transport

A major factor in the recent growth of Bella Vista has been its prime location near the end of the Sydney M2 motorway. The motorway (opened in 1997) means that in very good traffic conditions takes just over half an hour to get from Bella Vista to the CBD. However, during peak hours, this drive is much longer. This also puts Bella Vista close to two major north-south transport routes through Sydney, the Cumberland Highway and the Westlink M7.

Buses are the only form of public transport available to Bella Vista residents. The suburb is serviced by Hillsbus and Busways, a private bus company. Relatively frequent buses connect Bella Vista with the nearby hubs of Parramatta, Castle Hill and Blacktown (bus number T70 and 745) and Seven Hills. There are also peak services available directly to the CBD.

The closest railway station is at Seven Hills. Several proposals have been released by the New South Wales state government to develop a train line with a stop at Norwest near Hillsong Church. The proposed $360 million North West Rail Link would be the main public transport line linking residents of north-western Sydney with Epping, Chatswood, North Sydney and Sydney CBD^[3]. It would also improve access to Castle Hill Norwest Business Park and Rouse Hill.

Schools

Bella Vista is close to many schools including Crestwood High and Primary, St Michaels Primary, Matthew Pearce Primary and Baulkham Hills High.

Churches

Bella Vista is also the home of the Hillsong Church, located in Norwest Business Park. It is also close to St Michael's Parish in Baulkham Hills.

References

External links

• Bella Vista, New South Wales is at coordinates 33°44′31″S 150°57′18″E / 33.742°S 150.955°E / -33.742; 150.955Coordinates: 33°44′31″S 150°57′18″E / 33.742°S 150.955°E / -33.742; 150.955