Home > Hornsby Shire, New South Wales

The estimated population of Hornsby Shire as of June 2003 was 155,971 ( Australian Bureau of Statistics).

Hornsby calls itself the 'Bushland Shire'. This is in reference to its location on a high ridge separating two expansive areas of natural bushland: The Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park on the eastern side and the Berowra Valley Regional Park on the western side. Ku-ring-gai Chase is a large area of natural parkland that provides a greenbelt separating Sydney from the countryside to the north. The park is extremely popular with day-trippers from all areas of Sydney and provides diverse recreations such as bushwalking and boating. Berowra Valley Regional Park separates the main, urbanised ridge from a western, rural extension of Hornsby Shire. The village of Galston is the centre of this rural area.

There are two industrial areas, in Hornsby and Thornleigh. Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital at Hornsby is the main public hospital for the Upper North Shore.

Local attractions in Hornsby Shire include its easily accessible wilderness areas, many parkland recreational facilities such as Fagan Park at Galston and Pennant Hills Park, and Koala Park , a popular koala sanctuary in West Pennant Hills. There are marinas in Hornsby at Bobbin Head on Cowan Creek, Berowra Waters on Berowra Creek, and the village of Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury River.