{{distinguish|Rosehill, New South Wales}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = suburb | name = Rouse Hill | city = Sydney | state = nsw | lga = The Hills Shire | lga2 = City of Blacktown | postcode = 2155<ref>{{cite web |work=Australia Post |url=https://auspost.com.au/postcode/rouse-hill/nsw/cbff |archive-date=20 August 2024 |url-status=live |title=Find a postcode |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240820052041/https://auspost.com.au/postcode/rouse-hill/nsw/cbff |at=2155 Rouse Hill, NSW}}</ref> | est = 1802 | image = (1)_Main_Street_Shopping_Centre.JPG | caption = Main Street, Rouse Hill Town Centre shopping centre, 2010 | alternative_location_map = Australia NSW metro Sydney | pushpin_map_caption = Location in greater metropolitan Sydney | coordinates = {{Coord|-33.68162|150.91552|format=dms|display=title|type:city_region:AU-NSW}} | local_map = yes | zoom = 12 | elevation = 49 | area = 6.37 | area_footnotes = <ref name="ID">{{cite web |url=https://profile.id.com.au/the-hills/about?WebID=230 |access-date=20 August 2024 |archive-date=20 August 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240820033419/https://profile.id.com.au/the-hills/about?WebID=230 |title=Rouse Hill About the profile areas |url-status=live |via=Informed Decisions |work=Australian Bureau of Statistics}}</ref> | density = {{formatnum:1401}}<ref name="ID"/> | stategov = Hawkesbury | stategov2 = Kellyville | stategov3 = Riverstone | fedgov = Greenway | near-n = Nelson | near-ne = Annangrove | near-e = North Kellyville | near-se = Beaumont Hills | near-s = The Ponds<br />Kellyville Ridge | near-sw = Schofields | near-w = Riverstone | near-nw = Box Hill | dist1 = 43.1 | dir1 = north-west | location1 = Sydney CBD |dist2=19.2|dir2=north-west|location2=Parramatta CBD|dist3=13.3|dir3=south-west|location3=Windsor }} '''Rouse Hill''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɹ|au|z}}) is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rouse Hill is located in the Hills District, 43 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 19 kilometres north-west of the Parramatta central business district. It is in the local government areas of The Hills Shire and City of Blacktown. Rouse Hill Town Centre is at the heart of the suburb, which contains a busy Town Square.
==History== Rouse Hill (sometimes named Rouse's Hill in older sources)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2191467 |title=Road Parties |newspaper=The Sydney Gazette And New South Wales Advertiser |volume=XXVI |issue=1593 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=10 December 1828 |accessdate=28 February 2026 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130898515 |title=The Sydney Hunt Club's Steeplechase. |newspaper=The Newsletter: An Australian Paper For Australian People |volume=1 |issue=13 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=8 December 1900 |accessdate=28 February 2026 |page=17 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> encompasses what was called the Village of Aberdour along with the area that became known as 'Vinegar Hill' following the convict rebellion of 1804.
Rouse Hill is noteworthy in Australian history as the site of the main battle during an Irish convict rebellion, known as the Castle Hill rebellion or the 'Second Battle of Vinegar Hill'.
===Pre-European colonisation=== The area now called Rouse Hill was originally home to the Bediagal people of the Dharug nation. There have been archeological excavations in Rouse Hill<ref>{{Cite web |last=Meacham |first=Steve |date=2011-09-08 |title=Native history buried under houses on the Hill is brought to light |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/native-history-buried-under-houses-on-the-hill-is-brought-to-light-20110908-1jzo4.html |access-date=2026-05-22 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}</ref> which have discovered silcrete stone tools. The closest natural silcrete deposits are in nearby Riverstone and along Plumpton Ridge in Schofields. Trends identified across the archeological sites in Rouse Hill indicate that the people in the area prefered to be in elevated sections in the lower part of valleys. Here they would've still received sun in winter, but would have been sheltered from winds, and far enough away from creeks to avoid mosquitoes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=White |first1=Beth |last2=McDonald |first2=Jo |date= 17 March 2016|title=Lithic Artefact Distribution in the Rouse Hill Development Area, Cumberland Plain, New South Wales |url= |journal=Australian Archaeology |volume=70 |issue=1 |publisher= |pages=29-38 |doi=10.1080/03122417.2010.11681909 |access-date=}}</ref>
===19th century=== thumb|left|250px|A 1804 watercolour depicting the 'Second Battle of Vinegar Hill'. On 4 March 1804, Irish convicts including political prisoners transported for participating in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, broke out of the Government Farm at Castle Hill, aiming to seize control of the area and to capture Parramatta. The uprising was crushed by the military authorities at Rouse Hill the following day with at least fifteen rebels killed during the battle. Nine of the rebel leaders were executed and hundreds were punished. The exact site of the Battle is uncertain but a monument with a plaque commemorating the event can be seen within Castlebrook Lawn Cemetery on Windsor Road in Kellyville Ridge.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/our-city/history/the-region/vinegar-hill_home.cfm | title = Vinegar Hill | publisher = Blacktown City Council | access-date = 2008-07-02 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080722230448/http://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/our-city/history/the-region/vinegar-hill_home.cfm | archive-date = 22 July 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article234599339 |title=The Battle of Rouse Hill |newspaper=Smith's Weekly |volume=XXI |issue=40 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=2 December 1939 |accessdate=28 February 2026 |author = The Man in the Mask |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The name Rouse Hill perpetuates the name of Richard Rouse (1774-1852), a public servant and free settler, who received a grant of land in the area. Rouse arrived in the colony in 1801. In October 1816 he was granted 450 acres at Vinegar Hill (named after the 1804 convict insurrection). Rouse had taken possession of the land at an earlier date because he began building his family home there in 1813. There were ongoing official efforts to dispense with the name Vinegar Hill, due to the association with the 1804 uprising. Governor Macquarie changed the name of the locality to Rouse Hill, but the alternate name Vinegar Hill persisted until at least the 1860s.<ref>{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |id2=rouse-richard-2612|title=Rouse, Richard (1774-1852)|author=Marjorie Lenehan |access-date=30 March 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103256600 |title=Place Names of the District |first= James |last= Jervis |newspaper=The Cumberland Argus And Fruitgrowers Advocate |volume=XXXIII |issue=2670 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=22 September 1920 |accessdate=28 February 2026 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
In 1813 a toll gate was placed on Windsor Road in Rouse Hill, with one also installed at the other end of Windsor Road in Parramatta. The toll gates begun operation in 1814.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article628815 |title=Government Public Notice |newspaper=The Sydney Gazette And New South Wales Advertiser |volume=11 |issue=519 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=4 December 1813 |accessdate=28 February 2026 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The first daily mail coach between Windsor and Sydney commenced in 1831. A change of horses was made at the Rouse Hill Hotel, at that time kept by the publican John Booth (known as 'Crockery Bill').<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71284023 |title=The Old Coaching Days |newspaper=Australian Town And Country Journal |volume=LVI |issue=1465 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=5 March 1898 |accessdate=28 February 2026 | author = H.C.R. |page=30 |via=National Library of Australia}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article238624522 |title=Old Coaching Days |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |issue=10,512 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=1 February 1913 |accessdate=28 February 2026 |page=23 |first = J.P. |last= McGuanne |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
Vinegar Hill Post Office opened on 1 October 1857 and was renamed Rouse Hill on 13 April 1858.<ref name = "Post Office">{{Cite web | last = Phoenix Auctions History | title = Post Office List | url = http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=NSW&filter=*Rouse*Hill* | access-date = 20 January 2021}}</ref><ref name = RHV />
The Rouse Hill Hotel closed in 1891.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/85839352 Kellyville], ''Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate'' (Parramatta), 8 October 1898, page 4.</ref>
===20th and 21st centuries=== thumb|right|250px|The Rouse Hill Post Office in 1951. By 1928 the town had a population of 150.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article85930101 |title="WE SURRENDER!": Post Office Burglars At Bay |newspaper=Windsor And Richmond Gazette |volume=40 |issue=2093 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=17 February 1928 |accessdate=15 May 2026 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
== Heritage listings == thumb|Mungerie House, Rouse Hill, a heritage-listed farmstead dating back to 1890 Rouse Hill has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: ===Items listed under NSW Heritage Act s. 136=== * Hunting Lodge, Rouse Hill<ref name=nswshr-632>{{cite NSW SHR|5045575|Hunting Lodge (former)|hr=00632|fn=S90/03128, HC 33384|access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref> * Royal Oak Inn, Rouse Hill<ref name=nswshr-698>{{cite NSW SHR|5045488|Royal Oak Inn (former)|hr=00698|fn=S90/03075|access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref> * Rouse Hill House and Farm<ref name=nswshr-002>{{cite NSW SHR|5044989|Rouse Hill House and Farm|hr=00002|fn=S90/3624 EF13/20410|access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
===Items listed under NSW Heritage Act s. 170=== * Mungerie House, Rouse Hill<ref>{{cite NSW HD|3490011|Mungerie House|access-date=10 October 2019}}</ref>
===Local Government Schedule 1=== * Aberdoon House, Rouse Hill<ref>{{cite NSW HD|1090027|Aberdoon House|access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref> * Christ Church, Rouse Hill<ref>{{cite NSW HD|1090106|Christchurch|access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref> * 288 Annangrove Rd, Rouse Hill<ref>{{cite NSW HD|1090003|House|access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref> * Private Burial Ground, Rouse Hill<ref>{{cite NSW HD|1090119|Private Burial Ground|access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
==Rouse Hill House== [[File:Rouse family and others, Rouse Hill House, 1859 - photographer Major Thomas Wingate (7778465508).jpg|thumb|right|Rouse family in front of Rouse Hill House, in 1859.]] {{main|Rouse Hill House}} Richard Rouse built his Australian Georgian home, Rouse Hill House, from 1813 to 1818. Service wings and an arcaded courtyard were added {{circa|1863}}. The simple, geometric layout of the garden is probably the oldest surviving in Australia. The house, its immediate surviving estate and outbuildings including stables designed by John Horbury Hunt, is now a house museum cared for by Sydney Living Museums,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/rouse-hill-house-farm |title=Rouse Hill House & Farm |work=Sydney Living Museums |publisher=Office of Environment and Heritage, Government of New South Wales |access-date=6 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004151621/https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/rouse-hill-house-farm |archive-date=4 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> and is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register,<ref name=nswshr-002 /> and the former Register of the National Estate.<ref>The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, p.2/12</ref> Much of the family memorabilia has been preserved, including dolls, clothes and writings of the two girls, Nina (1875-1968) and Kathleen Rouse (1878-1932). These form a unique and fascinating record of late-Victorian Australian childhood,<ref>[http://www.hht.net.au/discover/highlights/articles Kathleen Rouse’s dolls’ clothes: dressed-up for the camera] Historic Houses Trust {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324200508/http://www.hht.net.au/discover/highlights/articles/kathleen_rouses_dolls_clothes_dressed-up_for_the_camera |date=24 March 2012 }} Retrieved 11 July 2012</ref> and inspired Ursula Dubosarsky's prize-winning novel "Abyssinia".<ref>[http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780143300519/abyssinia Abyssinia] Ursula Dubosarsky {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101003102941/http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780143300519/abyssinia |date=3 October 2010 }} Retrieved 11 July 2012</ref>
==Commercial area== {{Main|Rouse Hill Town Centre}}
Rouse Hill Town Centre built on the old golf course is the town centre, owned and managed by The GPT Group, is located at the intersection of White Hart Drive and Windsor Roads. Construction on the Rouse Hill Town Centre started in April 2006.<ref>{{cite news |last=Newton |first=John |date=28 August 2008 |title= Brave new world|url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/brave-new-world-20080828-gdssxb.html|newspaper= Sydney Morning Herald |location= Sydney, N.S.W.|access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref> The first stage was opened in September 2007, with the launch of the town centre on 6 March 2008. The first stage comprises Woolworths and Coles supermarkets, a food terrace, and 80 specialty stores. The second stage comprises Big W, Target (now Kmart), Reading Cinemas, an additional 130 specialty stores, a Community Centre, Library, Medical Centre, commercial and residential accommodation and the Secret Garden. The development has been integrated with the North-West T-way and Rouse Hill railway station opened in 2019.
Rouse Hill Village Centre which opened in 1999, is a small shopping centre located on Windsor Road. This complex features a major discount supermarket chain selling packaged groceries and perishables, as well as specialty shops and restaurants. The Terrace is another small shopping centre which was opened on Panmure Street in 2004.
==Places of Worship== thumb|right|Rouse Hill Anglican Church ===Christian=== * Rouse Hill Anglican Church, located on Windsor Road, was built in 1862 for the United Church of England and Ireland. It was a church, school, and the centre of most community events. In 1875, the school was relocated from the church and established as Rouse Hill Public School on the corner of Windsor Road and Annangrove Road, and then relocated once again in 2003 to its present site.<ref name = RHV>{{cite book |last1= Warren|first1= Jilly H.|last2= Pullen|first2= Noelene|last3= Wilson|first3= Pam|date= 2006|title=Rouse Hill Village: A Step Back in Time |url= |location= |publisher=Hills District Historical Society |page= |isbn= 9780957760233|access-date=}}</ref> In 2008, a Ministry and Education Centre opened alongside the restored Christ Church and the old hall built in 1908.<ref>{{cite news| first =Natasha| last =Percy| title =People know we're here!| url =http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/people_know_were_here/| publisher =SydneyAnglicans.net| date =2008-04-28| access-date =2008-07-02| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080705175053/http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/people_know_were_here/| archive-date =5 July 2008| url-status =dead}}</ref> * [https://rhbc.com.au/ Rouse Hill Baptist Church], established in 2019 from the merger of two neighbouring Baptist churches and moved into the current site at 320 Annangrove Rd, Rouse Hill. The church is affiliated with the Baptist Association of NSW & the ACT. * [https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/locations/new-south-wales/wrhc/norwest-region-rouse-hill-corps/ Rouse Hill Salvation Army Corps] which is at 6a Edwards Rd, Nelson - just outside of Rouse Hill proper. * [https://c3churchrousehill.com.au/ C3 Church Rouse Hill] which meets at Rouse Hill Public School. * [https://www.mileend.org.au/ Mile End Community Church], Seventh Day Adventist, which currently meets on the Rouse Hill Baptist Church premises while their Mile End Rd site is redeveloped. * [https://engagecommunitychurch.com.au/ Engage Community Church], Churches of Christ at 1/595 Withers Rd, Rouse Hill.
===Islamic=== * Rouse Hill Musallah, part of the Sydney North West Muslim Community. Located at 14/589 Withers Rd, Rouse Hill. The musalla does not offer jummuah.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date= 20 February 2026 |title=Rouse Hill Musallah |url= https://gopray.com.au/place/rouse-hill-musalla/|website= Go Pray! |location= |publisher= |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>
==Education== * Ironbark Ridge Public – Public Primary School<ref>{{cite web | url = https://ironbarkrg-p.schools.nsw.gov.au | title = Ironbark Ridge Public School | publisher = NSW Department of Education }}</ref> * Our Lady of the Angels Primary – Catholic Primary School<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.olarousehill.catholic.edu.au/ | title = Our Lady of the Angels Primary School | publisher = Our Lady of the Angels Primary | access-date = 2012-08-01 }}</ref> * Rouse Hill Anglican College – K–12 co-educational Anglican day independent school<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.rhac.nsw.edu.au/home | title = Rouse Hill Anglican College| publisher = Rouse Hill Anglican College| access-date = 2008-07-02 }}</ref> * Rouse Hill High – Public High School<ref>{{cite web | url = https://rousehill-h.schools.nsw.gov.au | title = Rouse Hill High School | publisher = NSW Department of Education | access-date = 2012-08-01 }}</ref> * Rouse Hill Public – Public Primary School<ref>{{cite web | url = https://rousehill-p.schools.nsw.gov.au | title = Rouse Hill Public School | publisher = NSW Department of Education | access-date = 2008-07-02 }}</ref>
==Transport== Rouse Hill is bisected by Windsor Road, which is now a major 4-lane road running from North Parramatta north-west to Windsor. {{Citation needed span | date=May 2026|Most residents of Rouse Hill are reliant on private cars for transport, with a high number of households having two or more cars.}}
CDC NSW provides services to Sydney CBD, North Sydney, Parramatta, Macquarie Park, and Castle Hill. Busways provides services to Blacktown, Riverstone, Mount Druitt and Castle Hill. CDC NSW also provides weekday services from Rouse Hill to Windsor. In September 2007, the North-West T-way opened, providing a bus rapid transit service to Parramatta railway station.
The Sydney Metro Northwest provides high frequency rail services to Sydenham via the major centres of Castle Hill, Chatswood and the Sydney CBD. Rouse Hill station is located within the suburb.
==Demographics== At the {{CensusAU|2021}}, the suburb of Rouse Hill recorded a population of {{formatnum:11349}} people. Of these:<ref name="Census">{{Census 2021 AUS |id=SAL13444 |name=Rouse Hill |access-date=20 August 2024 |quick=on}}</ref> * '''Age distribution''': Residents had a distinct bias towards young families compared to the country overall. The median age was 34 years, compared to the national median of 38 years. Children aged under 15 years made up 20.8% of the population (the national average was 18.2%) and people aged 65 years and over made up 7.4% of the population (the national average was 17.2%). * ''' Ethnic diversity''': 58.0% of all people in this area were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth included India 6.2%, China (excluding Special Administrative Regions and Taiwan) 4.4%, the Philippines 3.6%, England 2.3%, and South Africa 2.1%. 61.2% of people only spoke English at home; other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 5.3%, Hindi 2.5%, Persian (excluding Dari) 2.3%, Cantonese 2.0%, and Tagalog 1.9%. * ''' Religion''': The most common responses for religion included No Religion 26.8%, Catholic 24.7%, Anglican 10.8, Hinduism 6.7%, and Islam 5.4%. * '''Finances''': The median household weekly income was ${{formatnum:2643}}, compared to the national median of ${{formatnum:1746}}. This difference is also reflected in real estate, with the median mortgage payment being ${{formatnum:2730}} per month, compared to the national median of ${{formatnum:1863}}. * '''Transport''': On the day of the Census, 4.3% of employed people traveled to work on public transport, 38.4% by car either as driver or as passenger and 41.8% of people worked at home; this is in comparison to the 2016 Census when COVID-19 Work From Home restrictions were not in place, when the amount of employees that traveled to work via public transport was 11.9% and the amount of employees using a car to get to work to work either as a passenger or driving was 73.4%, 5.4% of employees worked at home.<ref>{{Census 2016 AUS |id=SSC13429 |name=Rouse Hill |access-date=20 August 2024 |quick=on}}</ref> * '''Housing''': 54.4% of occupied private dwellings were separate houses, 19.9% were semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc and 25.4% were flats or apartments. The average household size was 3.0 people.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Rouse Hill, New South Wales}} *{{cite web | url = http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/rouse_hill_estate | title = Rouse Hill Estate | access-date = 29 September 2015 | first = Terri |last=McCormack | year = 2008 | work=Dictionary of Sydney |archive-date=20 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240820051525/https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/rouse_hill_estate |url-status=live}} <nowiki>[</nowiki>CC-By-SA<nowiki>]</nowiki>
{{Sydney The Hills Shire suburbs}} {{Sydney Blacktown suburbs}}
Category:Rouse Hill Category:Suburbs of Sydney Category:1802 establishments in Australia Category:The Hills Shire