[2] The Darug people lived in the area that was greater western Sydney before European settlement regarded the region as rich in food from the river and forests.

[4] Rapid population increase after World War II saw the settlement of many ex-service men and migrants in the greater west, making it one of the most urbanised regions in the country and an area of growing national importance.

The Hawkesbury and Nepean River system is Sydney's firsthand water source and the mainstay of the region's agricultural and fishing industries, and is also major recreational area for the inhabitants of GWS.

[11] Most of the natives died due to introduced diseases, such as smallpox, following the arrival of the First Fleet, and the remainder were largely relocated to government farms and a series of settlements.

Phillip sent exploratory missions in search of better soils and fixed on the Parramatta region as a promising area for expansion and moved many of the convicts from late 1788 to establish a small township, which became the main centre of the colony's economic life.

[13][14] Eighteen months after the landing of the First Fleet, an exploring party led by Captain Watkin Tench set out to further findings made by Governor Phillip where, in 1789, they discovered the broad expanse of the Nepean River and Penrith.

Windsor is the fourth-oldest place of British settlement on the Australian continent, where European settlers utilised the fertile river flats for agriculture.

[24] Designed and constructed by the NSW Public Works Department, Prospect Reservoir was built as Sydney's main water supply in the 1880s.

By the latter part of the nineteenth century coarse-grained picrite, and other dolorite rock types were being extracted from William Lawson's estate on the west and north sides of Prospect Hill.

This confirmed earlier accounts by Governor Arthur Phillip, who suggested that the trees were "growing at a distance of some twenty to forty feet from each other, and in general entirely free from brushwood..."[32] Greater western Sydney predominantly lies on the Cumberland Plain and is relatively flat in contrast to the above regions.

The region is situated on a rain shadow, due to the Hills District to the northeast, where it tends to be drier than the coast and less lush than the hilly Northern Suburbs.

[37] It has been calculated that around 98,000 hectares of native vegetation remains in the Sydney metropolitan area, about half of what is likely to have been existing at the time of European arrival.

[39] Possums, bandicoots, rabbits, feral cats, lizards, snakes and frogs may also be present in the urban environment, albeit seldom in city centres.

Sandstone slopes in the Sydney area are on three sides: to the west the Blue Mountains, and to the north and south, the Hornsby and Woronora plateau.

The oval-shaped ridge was made many millions of years ago when volcanic material from the Earth's upper mantle moved upwards and then sideways.

[55] The south and southwest of Sydney is drained by the Georges River, flowing north from its source near Appin, towards Liverpool and then turning east towards Botany Bay.

Winters are pleasantly cool and relatively sunny (especially August), although east coast lows can bring large amounts of rainfall, especially in June.

[60] They may exacerbate fire danger in the warm months, although they usually tend to occur between late winter and early spring when westerly cold fronts become more frequent and would therefore be blocked by the ranges – This phenomenon thereby permits the late winter and early spring period to feature the highest amount of clear days in the year.

The suburbs east of those, in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown and Camden Council, had a high amount of Islamic adherents, such as Lakemba (59.2%), South Granville (49%) and Old Guildford (45.9%).

[76] The region's major city centre is Parramatta, and the rest of the LGAs are growing immensely when it comes population, economic opportunity and environmental diversity.

Lying strategically between the major population growth zones in the north-west and south-west of Sydney, it contains more than 1,000 manufacturing, wholesale, transport and service firms which employ more than 20,000 persons.

[86] Yennora is known to be the most poorest suburb of western Sydney overall, where the median personal income is just $19,000, followed by Landsdowne, Blairmount, Wiley Park, Campsie, Roselands, Carramar, Villawood and Punchbowl.

[88] Nonetheless, the rest of the GWS region is generally made up of a middle class population, with such even found in both affluent and low income suburbs.

[89] This is mainly due to the immense cultural activities and high affordability in the region, and also the development of new restaurants, high-rise apartments, telecommunications, local employment, retail and education.

[91] Agriculture is mainly concentrated in the outskirts of the Greater Western Sydney area, such as in suburbs of Kemps Creek, Mount Vernon, Mulgoa, Bringelly, Silverdale, Orchard Hills, Luddenham and Horsley Park, among others, which lie in a countryside adjacent to the footsteps of the Blue Mountains westwards of these country plains.

The area around the site of Regentville has remained largely rural, if hemmed in somewhat by the modern residential suburbs of Jamisontown and Glenmore Park.

[93] In the 1800s, John Blaxland built an original wooden weir at "Grove Farm" (now known as Wallacia) for a sandstone flour mill and additional brewery.

The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) includes the local government areas of Blacktown, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Cumberland, Liverpool, Parramatta and Penrith.

Western Sydney includes, or partially includes, the NSW Electoral Districts of Penrith, Londonderry, Badgerys Creek, Camden, Macquarie Fields, Leppington, Campbelltown, Liverpool, Cabramatta, Fairfield, Prospect, Bankstown, Granville, Parramatta, Winston Hills, Kellyville, Castle Hill, Riverstone, Mount Druitt, Blacktown, Holsworthy, Auburn, Hawkesbury.

The National Rugby League has four teams based in the region; the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers.