Busby was created between 1961-1965. The first sod turned on 3 August 1961. Busby was one of six suburbs that formed the Green Valley Housing Estate created by the Housing Commission of New South Wales during the affordable housing crisis of the 1960s.
What’s in a Name?
The suburb is named for James Busby, a Scottish grape grower and wine expert. Busby arrived in the colony in 1824 at the age of 23. He was employed as the Superintendent of the Male Orphan School near Liverpool. Busby knew nothing about boys but a lot about wine. In the 1820s, he was the colony’s leading wine expert and he wrote and published a number of books on growing vines in the colony. Busby recommended children as excellent workers in vineyards; the boys planted and pruned the vines, killed the caterpillars and crushed the grapes. The authorities did not approve of Busby’s use of child labour and the Orphan School was taken-over by the Trustees of Clergy and School Lands Corporation.
Busby continued to promote wine-making in New South Wales. Some of the vines he imported from France and Spain eventually became part of the famous Lindeman family’s wines, which were still producing in 1924. One of today’s most fashionable wines, the Chardonnay, comes originally from stock planted by Busby at Kirkton, his vineyard in the Hunter Valley.
Green Valley Garden Suburb Housing Project
Between 1961 and 1965 housing was developed for the Green Valley project for over 30,000 residents in Busby. The Green Valley Progress Association and the Liverpool & District Historical Society proposed names for the suburbs with local associations, which included Busby.
The establishment of Busby Public School was proclaimed 30 May 1962.
Busby : The Dictionary of Sydney. Access: https://dictionaryofsydney.org/place/busby
Davidson, J. W. “Busby, James (1801–1871).” In Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Accessed March 10, 2022. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/busby-james-1858
NEW PUBLIC SCHOOL (1962, June 8). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001), p. 1634. Retrieved May 25, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220250884
Busby High Parent Interest Group. Personal writings reflecting on life experiences (Busby: Busby High, 1990). Catalogue record: https://liverpool.spydus.com/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/BIBENQ?SETLVL=&BRN=139317
J. Busby. (1832). Authentic information relative to New South Wales and New Zealand / by James Busby. London: J. Cross. Can be accessed online on the SLNSW Catalogue here, https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/74VvWlmWAx0d/EwLZyGVZAjXlK
Busby, James. A Manual Of Plain Directions For Planting And Cultivating Vineyards, And For Making Wine In New South Wales (1839) (Hunters Hill: David Ell Press), 1979. Catalogue record: https://liverpool.spydus.com/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/BIBENQ?SETLVL=&BRN=113387
Busby, James. A treatise on the culture of the wine and the art of making wine, 1825 (Hunters Hill: David Ell), 1979. Catalogue record:
https://liverpool.spydus.com/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/BIBENQ?SETLVL=&BRN=113377
See something missing?
You know your suburb better than anyone. If you think an important part of your suburb’s history is missing, whether recent or distant, reach out to the Local Studies Team through our online Local and Family History enquiry form. We are always looking for new ways to bring the vibrant history of Liverpool to life!