R&H Suburb Profile PENRITH

Penrith is a suburb about 50km west of Sydney’s CBD and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Penrith.

Penrith lies east of the Nepean River, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. It is a major commercial centre of Greater Western Sydney and is home to several shopping complexes, the largest being Westfield Penrith, featuring more than 200 stores.

Penrith is an agricultural centre (including dairying, poultry-farming, fruits, vegetables, beef and turf farming) as well as a focal point for manufacturing industries. Industries include the treatment of non-metalliferous mine and quarry products, saki production, aluminium foil manufacturing, concrete and building materials, plastics, textiles, pharmaceutical, engineering and electrical products. Service industries include transport, storage, commerce and education.

Penrith Railway Station is a major station on the Western Line of the City Rail network, with frequent services to and from Sydney’s CBD.It is a minor stop on the intercity Blue Mountains Line. Penrith station has its own bus interchange.

Schools include Penrith Public School, Penrith High School, Jamison High School and St Nicholas of Myra Catholic primary. The Penrith campus of Nepean College of TAFE is in the centre of town, while the Penrith campus of the University of Western Sydney is in nearby Werrington.

The highway and M4 Freeway cross the area from east to west.There are two large areas to the north and south of the residential areas, mostly used for agricultural purposes.

Penrith has several sporting clubs, the most well known is Penrith Panthers rugby league club. The club (one of the largest in Australia) has a massive entertainment complex and resort. The Panthers’ home ground, Penrith Stadium (or CUA Stadium), is also home to the Penrith Nepean United soccer club. Other sporting associations include cricket, AFL, gridiron, triathlon and swimming. Penrith's Junior Rugby League competition is the largest in the world, incorporating teams from the Blue Mountains, Blacktown and Windsor/Richmond areas.

Just west of Cranebrook is the Penrith Lakes Scheme, a system of flooded quarries that are now recreational lakes. One of these lakes hosted the rowing events of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. North of the rowing lake is the Penrith Whitewater Stadium, the only pump-powered and artificial whitewater slalom course in the Southern Hemisphere. It was built for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and it continues to host international competitions.

The area is served by several major hospitals including the Neapean Hospital.