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Hills District is a general, but unofficial, term for the north-western suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Hills District is also referred to as The Hills. These suburbs are generally located within the local government area of Baulkham Hills Shire but parts of the City of Parramatta. City of Blacktown and Hornsby Shire are also included in the area that is given the appellation "Hills District".

It is so called for its characteristically comparatively hilly topography, and the fact that several of its suburbs have the word 'Hills' in their names, such as Pennant Hills, Castle Hill, West Pennant Hills and Baulkham Hills.

The Hills District is characterised by its relatively affluent households, usually families, living in low-density housing. It is the most rapidly growing region of Sydney^{[citation needed]}.

The regional designation is a largely artificial construct and actual suburbs and localities that are considered to be in "the Hills" can be somewhat amorphous and varies according to who is doing the listing. For example the Hills District Historical Society restricts its remit to the Baulkham Hills Shire local government area. However notwithstanding this, suburbs or parts of suburbs that appear in all or some published listings of the "Hills District" such as Yellow Pages, local newspapers and businesses include: Baulkham Hills, Beaumont Hills, Bella Vista, Carlingford, Castle Hill, Cheltenham, Cherrybrook, Dural, Epping, Galston, Glenhaven, Glenorie, Glenwood, Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge, Kenthurst,Kings Langley, North Rocks, Pennant Hills, Round Corner, Rouse Hill, Thompsons Corner, Seven Hills, West Pennant Hills and Winston Hills. [1]

It should be noted that the Local Government Authority that comprises "the heart" of the notional region is a member of WSROC a grouping which characterises itself as "Greater Western Sydney" region.

Land grants in the district were made shortly after settlement began, however much of the district owes its development to the construction of the railway line between Strathfield and Hornsby, which wasn't declared open until 17th September 1886, some 15 years before Federation, and almost a century after land grants were first made in the area. [2]

At present, the district boasts Sydney's largest cinema complex, spanning both the Castle Hill Piazza and Castle Towers.[3]

Contents 1 Population 2 Geography 3 Religion 4 Stereotype In Popular Culture 5 Public Transport Network 6 Education 7 Pubs and Clubs 8 Sport 9 Notes 10 External links

According to the 2006/07 edition of the Yellow Pages Local Directory, the Hills District is home to 245,098 people. The Census of Population and Housing states that as much as 30.3% of the population is over 55 years of age ^[1]

As the name indicates, the Hills District is an area of high elevation above sea level (compared with the rest of the Sydney basin) and thus creates orographic rainfall brought in by onshore winds from the Pacific Ocean. This leaves the Hills District with slightly higher rainfall than the rest of Sydney and creates a rain shadow for some places in the Blacktown district, including Marayong and Doonside.

The area is notable for the fact that it has the highest rate of religious service attendance in Australia^{[citation needed]} and is thus often referred to as Australian Bible belt^{[citation needed]}. This area has a relatively high concentration of evangelical Christians^{[citation needed]}. Many religious denominations and belief systems are represented throughout the district, including, notably, the Mormon's Sydney Australia Temple in Carlingford, the Hillsong Church situated in Norwest Business Park. As with other urban regional areas in Australia there are numerous other places of worship catering to a wide range of belief systems including Anglican, Baptist, Buddhist, Hindu, Uniting, Chinese Christian, Islamic, Spiritualist, Roman Catholic and Sikh.

Observations and figures provided regarding housing and financial well-being, age distribution in the population, and religious attendance have led to a stereotype of the residents of the Hills District as docile, elderly, upper-middle class conservatives.^{[citation needed]}

The Hills District boasts both State Transit services and a number of private services.

The train network spans five CityRail network train stations, encompassing sections of the Northern Line, the Carlingford Line, and the Newcastle & Central Coast Line, including the western terminus of the Epping to Chatswood line.

An extensive list of bus services operate in the district, including Westbus, HillsBus, Harris Park Bus, CityBus Direct, Busways, Glenorie Bus Company, and Sydney Buses.

The district is home to 53 primary schools, 24 secondary schools, one TAFE college and numerous pre-schools and kindergartens, including both public and private systems, and selective schools. [4]

The area hosts a large number of licensed premises where residents and visitors can obtain alcoholic refreshments, food service, gaming and other entertainment facilities. Notable among such venues are The Mean Fiddler in Rouse Hill and The Bull and Bush in Baulkham Hills, both of which are heritage listed properties.

Some of the associations in which people living in the Hills District participate in include:

• Hills Baseball
• HDNA Netball
• NWSWS Women's Soccer
• GHFA Soccer
• GDFA Soccer
• BDSFA Soccer
• Hills Rugby Union

1. ^ 2006 Census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

• Out of the Mouths of Locals - article discussing the geography of the area and the snob value associated with the designation.

Regions of Sydney
CBD | Eastern Suburbs | Forest District | Greater Western Sydney | Hills District | Inner West | Northern Beaches | North Shore (Lower and Upper) | Southern Sydney | St George | South-eastern Sydney | South-western Sydney
Local Government Areas of Sydney
Ashfield | Auburn | Bankstown | Baulkham Hills | Blacktown | Botany Bay | Burwood | Camden | Campbelltown | Canada Bay | Canterbury | Fairfield | Holroyd | Hornsby | Hunter's Hill | Hurstville | Kogarah | Ku-ring-gai | Lane Cove | Leichhardt | Liverpool | Manly | Marrickville | Mosman | North Sydney | Parramatta | Penrith | Pittwater | Randwick | Rockdale | Ryde | Strathfield | Sutherland | City of Sydney | Warringah | Waverley | Willoughby | Woollahra
List of Sydney suburbs	edit box