Australia’s oldest town square - Thompson Square, Windsor

The township of Windsor is recorded as one of our country's foremost heritage spaces with Thompson Square, located on a ridge between the Hawkesbury River and South Creek, contributing to the town’s unique character. The distinctive blending of both the open space with its historic surroundings have made it one of the Hawkesbury’s prized assets. 

It is well-known that European settlement was established at the Hawkesbury by 1794 when Lt. Governor Francis Grose selected a group of settlers to take up 30 acre grants to farm along the confluence of the Hawkesbury River and South Creek. The experiment succeeded with more grants distributed and by 1795 over 500 people recorded in residence. The small settlement, which became known as The Green Hills, took on an air of permanence with the construction of the wharf and several public buildings. Constructed in an area above the river and forming a town square, they included a storehouse, granary for grain storage and barracks used to house the military posted at the settlement. By 1800 Governor Hunter established a watch-house and cottage for the constable, additional granaries as well as replacing some of the earlier buildings. During Governor Bligh’s term, a schoolhouse, which operated as a chapel on the weekend, was established in what is now Bridge Street. Some of the earlier wooden structures were also replaced with brick. 

Convict Andrew Thompson arrived in the colony in 1792 and was appointed constable in the district in 1796, residing in the constable’s cottage and also operated an inn and a store in the square. Thompson was an astute businessman and accumulated additional property, operating a number of successful enterprises. He was the first emancipist appointed magistrate when Macquarie gave him the position in 1810.

In the early 1800s, the town square was a central meeting place. Those that visited the settlement by river, alighted at the wharf. It was here too that the early settlers obtained their provisions, stored their grain and could discuss matters with the magistrate or constables.  

The town square was formally recognized when Governor Lachlan Macquarie named it Thompson Square in memory of Andrew Thompson whose death had taken place in October 1810. Macquarie recorded in his Journal on 12 January 1811:

…I walked over the whole of the present Village on the Green Hills, forming the beginning or Basis for the Town of Windsor, in which I planned a square and several new streets…The Square in the present Town I have named ‘Thompson Square’, in honor of the memory of the good and worthy late Andrew Thompson Esqr. Justice of Peace & Principal Magistrate for this District and who may justly be said to be the Father and Founder of the Village hitherto known by the name of the Green Hills; there being hardly a vestage[sic] of a single Building here, excepting the Government Granary, when he first came to reside on the Green Hills ten years ago. I had a Post erected this afternoon in Thompson Square, having a Board nailed thereon with the name painted on it in large characters.

Macquarie’s building program followed the naming of the Windsor township, and other Macquarie Towns, and not only were the streets carefully laid out in a grid pattern, more established buildings including churches, hospital and courthouse were constructed elsewhere in the town. However Thompson Square remained a focus of the community and early artworks demonstrate the early settlement with a particular focal point of activity surrounding the wharf and square.

The square was used for a variety of purposes during the 19th century. Members of the local Aboriginals sometimes congregated in Thompson Square and in one instance in 1845 were recorded as “amusing themselves and several of the Military…by throwing the boomerang.” The stocks were also situated in the square and used to confine both men and women for a variety of misdemeanors including drunkenness. The bell post as well as the pillory was positioned in the square and the latter used for punishing crimes such as perjury. The Hawkesbury Lancers marched to Thompson Square in 1900, cheered on by a large crowd of onlookers.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Hawkesbury waterways were an important form of transport and boats both small and large used the wharf at Windsor to load and unload supplies, long after the railway was opened in 1864. Waterways were originally crossed in the early days by ferries. The punt crossing the Hawkesbury River to Wilberforce was replaced with the Windsor Bridge which opened in 1874. The decking was raised in 1897, however, the bridge has survived despite numerous major floods. 

Thompson Square with Windsor Bridge in the background, 1879
Courtesy State Library of NSW

The earliest surviving building in Thompson Square is the Macquarie Arms. The land was given to Richard Fitzgerald in 1811 on the proviso he build “a handsome commodious inn of brick or stone two stories high” which opened in 1815. 

Thompson Square includes a number of significant buildings; the Doctor’s House; Howe House which is part of the Hawkesbury Regional Museum complex; a number of cottages; the former Moses Bakery; Hawkesbury Garage as well as the Alfred Stearn’s Building all located along George Street. The School of Arts and Lilburndale in Bridge Street also enhance the historic landscape.

The Square was used for markets and occasionally hawkers to sell their wares and for social events and performances. In 1875 the site was marked for Windsor’s Town Hall but it was later decided to build offices further down George Street and the green space remained a reserve. A pavilion was constructed at the top of the square in the late 1800s but was flagged to be moved at a Council meeting in 1900.

Windsor’s Thompson Square, is an important legacy from the European settlement of the Hawkesbury and a remarkable reminder of its development. The significance of Thompson Square is valued not only by the locals but also the wider community, as well as visitors to the district and those descended from Hawkesbury pioneers. It was the first, and today is the only surviving 18th century square in Australia. 

Today Thompson Square requires urgent protection by the NSW and Australian Government from the Windsor Bridge development project. The RTA plans to demolish the Windsor Bridge and build a new bridge through the Historic Thompson Square precinct. To find out more about the action to save Thompson Square, check the Community Action for Windsor Bridge CAWB or their Facebook page.