Sister City Blacktown, Australia
This page describes Blacktown, Porirua City's sister city in Australia.
About Blacktown
Blacktown is fast-growing city of 270,000 people, situated 35 kilometres from the Sydney Central Business District. With extensive rail and roading networks making for convenient travel between Sydney and its western neighbours, Blacktown has been transformed from a rural hinterland to the heart of Sydney’s booming Greater West region in a few decades. Blacktown’s population has increased by 60,000 in 10 years, and within the city more than 30 cultures are represented.
The area comprising the City of Blacktown has a long history. Aborigines belonging to the Daruk tribe inhabited the area long before European settlement. Europeans on exploratory expeditions to the Hawkesbury and beyond traversed the area and their first settlement occurred at the base of Prospect Hill in 1792.
Tourist Attractions abound in Blacktown
At Blacktown’s doorstep are national tourist attractions like the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park and Sydney’s renowned harbour, as well as the natural beauty of the Hawkesbury/Nepean Rivers. To meet the needs of its young, active population, Blacktown provides an extensive array of leisure and tourism attractions including Wonderland Sydney, Featherdale Wildlife Park and the Nurragingy Recreation Reserve, a sprawling natural bushland of more than 90 hectares. The City is also renowned for its extensive sporting and recreation facilities, including the Blacktown Aquatic Centre, Blacktown Olympic Centre and numerous community centres.
Porirua’s sister city agreement with Blacktown was signed on 5th May 1984. Since then the two cities have engaged in a range of civic, cultural and recreational activities. In recent years, efforts have been made to increase sporting exchanges between the two cities. Our proximity to each other and the natural New Zealand - Australia rivalry make pre-season and end-of-season trips within reach of local club and school teams.
In the area of civic events, a scheme is in place whereby Armed Forces cadets visit each other as sister city representatives in Anzac Day commemorations. Art exchanges also occur from time to time, and periodic meetings of the two Councils help to increase the mutual understanding of issues affecting local government and their communities in our respective countries.
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