Blacktown and the Westpoint Shopping Centre
by John Horne
This month , April 2023 , marks the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Westpoint in Blacktown . It first opened on 10 April 1973 and has become an integral part of the community ’ s life .
Its construction and development created a whole new Blacktown city with Westpoint dominating the commercial business district during its past fifty years . When it was opened Westpoint was the largest regional shopping centre in New South Wales . Today it is still one of the largest shopping complexes in Western Sydney .
It started with local businessman , builder and developer Bill McNamara . His group Western Shopping Centres Pty Ltd , part of the McNamara Group , planned and developed Westpoint in the late 60s and built it in the early 70s .
Bill grew up and went to school in Riverstone . It was here that he began his climb from a humble carpenter to the head of the company that built Westpoint in Blacktown , Market Town malls in Riverstone , Leichhardt , Newcastle and Gosford , high schools in Dundas , Mt Druitt , Glenfield , Macquarie Fields and Fairfield , churches and retirement villages in Queensland
and New South Wales , and many other buildings in the Parramatta area like The Octagon , Riverside Theatres and the J . A . Herring Stand at Rosehill Racecourse .
Bill McNamara was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1984 and in 2017 was Blacktown City Council ’ s Corporate Citizen of the Year .
In 2022 Bill , aged 94 , was given the
Interior view of Westpoint in the early days showing Farmers Department Store .
Key to Blacktown City by the Mayor , Tony Bleasdale , to recognise his contributions to the development of Blacktown and Western Sydney .
In 1972 , the name ‘ Westpoint ’ was chosen in a competition to name the incomplete shopping centre . Maria Geyer won and she was presented with a prize of $ 250 by Bill McNamara for naming the new complex Westpoint Shopping Centre . This name has remained , though for a short time it was changed to Westpoint Marketown .
What was the area like before Westpoint ?
The Blacktown Commercial Business District and surrounding area changed significantly when Westpoint was built . Today Westpoint is bordered by Flushcombe Road , Main Street , Kildare Road , Balmoral Street and Alpha Street . Before it was built the streetscape was mainly suburban with weatherboard and fibro houses on large blocks of land , a look that is still typical of the older parts of Blacktown today .
Planning for Westpoint brought many changes to Blacktown . The police station , from 1957 until 1966 , used to be in Austral Street in a rented weatherboard cottage , until the current police station
opened on Kildare Road . The fire station was also in Austral Street from 1961 until 1971 . It moved to Hereward Highway before Westpoint was built - today it is on Richmond Road . One of Blacktown ’ s first doctors , Dr Donnellan , had his practice and home on Kildare Road between Austral Street and Patrick Street .
At the time of opening Westpoint was a revolutionary concept in shopping
Mrs Maria Geyer won the competition to name Westpoint and was presented with a cheque by Mr W McNamara before the centre ’ s completion .
for Blacktown and Western Sydney . Its airconditioned one-stop shopping centre with built-in carpark was a winner with the locals . In its first week over one quarter of a million people shopped there . Six police officers were used to control traffic congestion on its first Thursday night . Prior to Westpoint ’ s opening the nearest thing to a one-stop shopping experience in Blacktown were the small Westfield Plaza complex off Flushcombe Road and the K-Mart store that had opened in 1969 . The Westfield in Blacktown was the first Westfield to be built anywhere in Australia .
Blacktown ’ s K-Mart was the second K-Mart to be built in Australia , opening only months after the first opened in Burwood East , a suburb of Melbourne .
The shopping experience at Westpoint was described in this advertisement from 1973 ,
“ Westpoint …. A fifteen-million-dollar development will give to the people of Blacktown and the surrounding area the greatest array of retailers ever assembled under the one roof . These include Farmers , Waltons , Woolworths Family Centre , Target Discount Store , Franklins and Darrin Lloyd Discounts . Customers will enjoy a meal
Westpoint looking westwards over St Patricks Roman Catholic Church and School in Patrick Street , 1975 .
Back in the 60s - Westpoint covered the corner of Patrick and Alpha Streets . at the licensed Westpoint Restaurant or the Coffee Lounges scattered over the three levels . Mothers will be able to relax or feed baby in comfort . There will be a Carnival Roof Top to keep the young ones entertained or stay with Mum to watch the parade of latest fashions in Balmoral Court .
Bill McNamara in 1973 , the year Westpoint opened .
EMERTON VILLAGE
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Founded in 1976 to ensure that the history of the Blacktown area would be collected and conserved for all time by tapping into documents and people ’ s memories .
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Grantham Heritage Park BDHS Research Centre 71 Seven Hills Road South , Seven Hills NSW 2147 PO Box 500 Blacktown NSW 2148 Phone 02 9676 1198 www . blacktownhistory . org . au
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10 ISSUE 25 // APRIL 2023 theindependentmagazine . com . au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT