By Cathy Jones
Underwood Road is named for James Underwood [1776?-1844], a shipbuilder, distiller and merchant. 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’.
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