SYDNEY SUBURBS: DEAN PARK

DEAN PARK

Location:

Dean Park is located 43 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Western Sydney region.

Name Origin:

Dean Park takes its name from the Dean family.

William 'Lumpy' Dean (1776–1854) received two grants of land of 100 and 50 acres in 1817, and later a third one of 50 acres, beside Eastern Creek.

His family owned the Bush Inn on the Western Highway.

About:

William Lumpy Dean was born in 1777 in England,

Convicted of stealing money, he was sentenced to transportation for life and arrived in Sydney Cove in 1799 on "Hillsborough"

Dean married Elizabeth Hollingsworth in 1806 at Parrramatta and they had the following children

William 1805

john Samuel 1807

Sarah 1810

Thomas 1812

Mary 1813

Elizabeth 1816

Ann 1822

Martha 1823

William died 7/11/1847 age 78 and was buried at Parramatta

From:

https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/dean/william/45280

The Legend of ‘Lumpy’ Dean’

He was a huge man (over 6’ tall and weighing 22 stone) with a huge sense of humour and the ability to laugh at himself but it was no laughing matter for youthful William Dean when he was sentenced to death at the Old Bailey. He was 16 and employed as a servant at a house in Cavendish Square, London, when he found a £20 note in his master’s jacket and put it in his own pocket. Instead of hanging he was transported to New South Wales which turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him.

After spending several years on the hated floating hulks in London he arrived at Port Jackson aboard the hell-ship Hillsborough in 1799, aged 23. Twelve years later he received a ticket-of-leave and was self-employed as a tanner.

Elizabeth Hollingsworth, transported for stealing two £1 notes from her employer, was assigned to him. The couple formed a relationship and married at St John’s Church of England, Parramatta on Christmas Day 1806. They already had one child, the first of eight with another on the way.

In 1817 William Dean received two grants from Governor Macquarie. One was of a 100 acres, south of the Western Road and west of Eastern Creek. The other was of 50 acres, north of the Western Road and west of Eastern Creek. He was later given a further 50 acres in the area.

Deane, who, on land near the Presbyterian Church at Rooty Hill, grew grain, which he had milled into flour at Parramatta.

This flour was exported to India, and it is from this fact that Rooty Hill is said to have derived its name. The word “Roti” was the name written on the bags of flour, and is an Indian word meaning “bread” or “flour’.

In 1820 he was living on the Western Road near the turnpike almost 10 miles from Parramatta. By this time his enormous bulk earned him the nickname of ‘Lumpy’ Dean but in spite of his size he was energetic and enterprising and had built a home for his wife and seven children with extensions for an inn. He also grew wheat and raised cattle.

The role of Mine Host of The Bush Inn suited him admirably and customers were drawn by his jovial personality. He later changed the name to The Corporation Inn a facetious reference to his girth. The inn was a seven hour journey by coach from Sydney and travellers often stayed over to enjoy the warmth and hospitality. When the Western Road was extended, traffic increased and so did the family fortune. The 1828 census shows William Dean as the owner of 220 acres with 100 cattle and eight horses.

‘Lumpy’ Dean was 78 when he died, a wealthy man and a generous advocate for the education of the poor. Hundreds turned up for his funeral. In spite of his bulk it is said he could still dance the Sailor’s Hornpipe as good as anyone half his age.

The family home, Hollingsworth House on the Western Road, built by convicts in 1817 was occupied by the Learmonth family, descendants of William and Elizabeth Dean, when it was acquired by the Department of Main Roads and demolished in 1960 for the construction of the Great Western Highway.

A few items associated with ‘Lumpy’ Dean remain today, in particular a giant cedar chair especially made to accommodate his larger-than-life size and personality. Today William ‘Lumpy Dean is remembered in the suburb of Dean Park.

The suburb was originally planned and developed in the early 1980s.

At the 2016 census, there were 3,227 residents in Dean Park. 58.2% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were Philippines 8.6% and India 3.9%.

Gallery:

The granddaughter of William 'Lumpy' Dean, Eileen Olson, pictured with her grandfather's red cedar chair.