Riverstone, New South Wales

Riverstone Sydney, New South Wales
Riverstone Town Centre
Riverstone
Coordinates	33°40′55″S 150°51′34″E / 33.68194°S 150.85944°E / -33.68194; 150.85944Coordinates: 33°40′55″S 150°51′34″E / 33.68194°S 150.85944°E / -33.68194; 150.85944
Population	6,191 (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	2765
Location	48 km (30 mi) W of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)	City of Blacktown
State electorate(s)	Riverstone
Federal Division(s)	Greenway, Chifley
Suburbs around Riverstone: South Windsor Vineyard Box Hill Windsor Downs Riverstone Rouse Hill Marsden Park Schofields Kellyville Ridge

Riverstone (pronunciation: /raɪvˈaɪərˈstɒn/) (postcode: 2765) is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Riverstone is located 48 kilometres (30 mi) north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Blacktown local government area; part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Originally settled in 1803 as part of a government stock farm, Riverstone is one of the oldest towns in Australia.

As at the 2011 census, Riverstone had an estimated population of 6,191.

Prior to settlement and colonisation of Australia, the area that was to become known as Riverstone was inhabited by the Darug tribe. Most of these people died due to introduced diseases following the arrival of the First Fleet, and the remainder were largely relocated to government farms and a series of settlements.

The Sydney Cove region originally settled in 1788 turned out to be unsuitable for farming, and after a number of years of near-famine in the colony, efforts were made to relocate food production inland to hopefully more climatically stable regions. In 1803 a government stock farm was established in what was to become the Riverstone/Marsden Park area, on the basis of the abundant water supply and good grazing land there. In 1810 Lieut-Col Maurice Charles O'Connell was granted 2,500 acres (10 km²) of land in the district, which he named "Riverston Farm", after his birthplace in Ireland. (The "e" at the end first appeared on railway timetables in the 1860s, an apparent misprint that has become the accepted spelling, although the name is still pronounced as though the "e" is not present).