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History of Kings Langley - the Suburb
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Matthew Pearce, who was born in England in Kings Langley, a village
about 30 kilometres from London, arrived in Sydney aboard the "Surprise" in
October 1794.
On July 22, 1795, he received a grant of 160 acres (64.75 hectares) of land,
which he named Kings Langley. His son Woodward Pearce settled on the
northern side of the farm, and his house looked out on seven hills, from
which the district got its name.
Matthew Pearce died in 1831, aged 69, and was buried in St Johns cemetery,
Parramatta. His widow, who died in 1840 was interred in the same grave.
Later, the family established a private cemetery on their estate and the
remains of Matthew Pearce and his wife were moved there.
Aerial photographs of Kings Langley taken in 1969, before development of the
suburb started, show that there were very few trees on the area - mostly
only growing along water courses, and some on high tops. Developers planted
ten thousand trees throughout the estate, replacing those cleared a century
ago to provide open space for grazing.
In September 1973 about 130 homes were under construction, and some had
already been completed. Homesites in Kings Langley were available from
$14,000, and four bedroom house and land packages were available from
$39,950.
Kings Langley was one of the first suburbs in Sydney to have all services,
such as power and phone lines, placed underground to preserve a park like
environment.
Kings Langley has quickly developed to a suburb with all services, such as
doctors, dentists and optometrists, organisations such as Lions,
Toastmasters, Scouts, Cubs, Guides and Brownies; most sporting clubs, and a
very good bus service running
seven days a week. Today, the average Kings Langley home is valued at
approximately $450,000 Australian. |
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