Arcadia

Beautiful Gardens of Fagan Park

Arcadia is located approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Sydney in the Shire of Hornsby.

With European settlement, the area was extensively logged to provide timber for a growing colony. This cleared land presented an excellent location for the development of orchards and farms. The name Arcadia was first used for a public school and later adopted for the area itself. Opening in 1894, the school still teaches local children.

Arcadia offers a tranquil, rural setting with a wide variety of plants, animals and wonderful vistas. The area offers a number of tourism facilities including: a conference and recreation centre, parks, B&Bs, nurseries and other relaxing activities. Arcadia is well known for Fagan Park, a large landscaped park with an historic house, picnic areas and walks. It offers the popular “Garden of Many Nations”, which showcases themed gardens including a Japanese, Meditation and Traditional English representation.

The original inhabitants of the Arcadia area were the Darug people. The Darug were the custodians of the majority of what is now the Greater Sydney region. They were divided into a number of different ‘clans’, whose quick demise upon European settlement has sadly resulted in very little information remaining on how they utilised the local area.