North Rocks, New South Wales

North Rocks Sydney, New South Wales
Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children
Coordinates	33°46′34″S 151°01′11″E / 33.77607°S 151.01984°E / -33.77607; 151.01984Coordinates: 33°46′34″S 151°01′11″E / 33.77607°S 151.01984°E / -33.77607; 151.01984
Population	7,625 (2011 census)
Established	median age 62.7
Postcode(s)	2151
Location	26 km (16 mi) north-west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)	City of Parramatta
State electorate(s)	Baulkham Hills Parramatta
Federal Division(s)	Berowra Mitchell Parramatta
Suburbs around North Rocks: Baulkham Hills West Pennant Hills West Pennant Hills Northmead North Rocks Carlingford Northmead North Parramatta Oatlands

North Rocks is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, located 26 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district. Following the amalgamation of council areas in 2016, the majority of North Rocks falls into the council area of the City of Parramatta. Streets north of the M2 Hills Motorway are within The Hills Shire.

The name "North Rocks" dates back to the beginning of the settlement at Parramatta and is older even than the name of the city itself, which at first was called Rosehill. In 1789 Governor Phillip reserved large areas to the north and west of Rosehill for the use of Government stock - the present Northmead and Westmead. The reserve to the north was described as extending as far as 'the North Rocks'. The area was also known as Jerusalem Rocks.

North Rocks was once considered as the haunt of convict bolters and bushrangers and regarded as an unsavoury area. With the constant flow of people between Windsor and Parramatta, a gold watch was always a good steal! A noted experience was the hold-up of Dr Sherwin in 1830 by John Macnamara and William Dalton, which resulted in ex-convicts' demise. The North Rocks were a massive sandstone outcrop, which terminated the ridge on the south side of Hunts Creek. These rocks so dominated the landscape and were such prominent features that they gave their name to the locality but were not preserved. In 1841 when it was decided to build a new gaol at Parramatta, a contractor bought the Rocks as they consisted of the best sandstone in the district - and were very conveniently situated. His tender was accepted, and much of the North Rocks became gaol walls and flagstones in 1844. Further inroads were made on what was left when the wall of masonry was erected in 1855-56 which held back the waters of Lake Parramatta. Much stone was needed for the dam, as the wall is about 240 feet (73 m) long and is fifteen feet thick at the base.

A North Rocks Post Office first opened on 1 February 1894; it was renamed Forrester later that year, Maraylya in 1921 and closed in 1970. The current Post Office opened on 1 November 1921.