Chatswood was named after Charlotte Harnett, wife of then Mayor of Willoughby and a pioneer of the district, Richard Harnett, and the original "wooded" nature of the area. The moniker derives from her nickname "Chattie" and was shortened from Chattie's Wood to Chatswood.

Residential settlement of Chatswood began in 1876 and grew with the installation of the North Shore railway line in 1890 and also increased with the opening of the Harbour Bridge in 1932.

Chatswood Post Office opened on 1 August 1879, closed in 1886 and reopened in 1887.

In 1900, Chatswood was easily accessible by public transport. In 1903 the Council Chambers moved from Mowbray Road to Victoria Ave.

At this time Chatswood's history contained orchards and dairy farms on the west side of the train station as well as factories such Dairy Farmers Inc and Three Threes Pickle Factory on what was then Gordon Road ( now the Pacific Hwy)

Chatswood has a rich history of artists who have contributed to Australian culture such as poet Banjo Patterson, poet Kenneth Slessor, artist Arthur Murch, cricketer Victor Trumper, actor Ruth Cracknell, and pianist Roger Woodward all of whom have called Chatswood home.

Other notable Australians who were educated in Chatswood include cricketer Mark Taylor, former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, painter/artist Brett Whiteley, opera singer Yvonne Kenny to name but a few.

Chatswood was declared a town centre in 1983 and a city in 1989.

Chatswood is one of the North Shore's major commercial and retail districts. Many retail outlets are situated along Victoria Avenue and many office buildings are situated along Pacific Highway.

The Australian headquarters of CSR Limited, Smith's Snackfood, Abigroup, Coffey, Pepsico and Carter Holt Harvey as well as offices of Nortel Networks, Optus, Lenovo, NEC, Leighton Contractors, Huawei and Cisco Systems are located in Chatswood. A number of high-density residential towers are also located in Chatswood.

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Wikipedia