By Cathy Jones
Underwood Road is named for James Underwood [1776?-1844], a shipbuilder, distiller and merchant. Large areas of Homebush and Homebush West are located on land acquired by Underwood from earlier land grants, which were subdivided and sold in the late 1870s and 1880s including the Village of Homebush Estate and Underwood Estates.
In 1912, Underwood married Mary Ann Powell, one of the daughters of Edward Powell, who was an early land grantee in the Homebush area. After Powell’s death, his land holdings were passed to his son Edward, who sold these landholdings to Underwood in 1823.
Though Underwood died in 1844, it took an Act of Parliament in the 1870’s to allow the sale of his many large land holdings.
Part of Underwood’s land was sub-divided in 1878 as the ‘Village of Homebush’, the largest portion of the Underwood Estate, extending from Homebush Road in the east, Bridge Rd in the west and Coventry Rd in the south.
Another area which is currently known as Homebush West was subdivided in 1882 under the title ‘Underwood Estate’.
The other major land holding was north of the western rail line at Homebush. This area was originally granted to Thomas Rose in 1798. The land transferred to Edward Powell (whom Powells Creek is named) and then sold to his son-in-law James Underwood (who Underwood Road is named) in 1823.
The land north of the western railway line was subdivided c.1880 and created the street layouts which are largely still in place. Streets such as Underwood Road, Powell Street, Wentworth Road and Creek Street (now Pomeroy Street) were laid out at this time.
Homebush Council, which included land north of the rail line and bordered at east by Powell’s Creek, was incorporated in 1906. The first Sands Directory in 1908 notes development on Underwood Road and Pomeroy Street, mainly houses. Streets including Short Street, Ismay Avenue and Allen Street were created in the 1920s through further subdivision. Residential development commenced in the late 1920s in these streets.
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