West Pennant Hills

West Pennant Hills is located approximately 25 kilometres northwest of the Sydney CBD in the Shire of Baulkham Hills. The original inhabitants of the West Pennant Hills area were the Darug people. The Darug were the custodians of the majority of what is now the Greater Sydney region. They were divided into a number of different ﾑclans', whose quick demise upon European settlement has sadly resulted in very little information remaining on how the local area was utilised. West Pennant Hills is the area west of the current suburb of Pennant Hills and was originally known as Pennant Hills until a Railway Station was built and a suburb grew around it. Pennant Hills was probably named after Sir Thomas Pennant, the famous naturalist who died in 1798, and had been a friend of Sir Joseph Banks who might have suggested the name. West Pennant Hills is at the start of the Tourist Drive 15 (to Wisemans Ferry) and includes the very popular Koala Park. A must see here is the Cumberland State Forest, the only state forest in a metropolitan area, and a true sanctuary for bird-life and native animals. Towns surrounding West Pennant Hills include: Carlingford, Castle Hill, Dural, Hornsby and North Rocks. Visitor Information: Sydney Hills Visitor Centre 656A Old Northern Road, Dural (02) 9651 4411 Email: enquiries@sydneyhills.com.au Website: www.sydneyhills.com.au