It is located roughly 31 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool.

The area was named after Holsworthy, Devon, England, where Governor Lachlan Macquarie married Elizabeth Campbell on November 3, 1807.

With the arrival of the First Fleet, indigenous people were pushed back from their traditional lands in the area surrounding Sydney.

By 1815, Governor Macquarie declared a state of open warfare against aborigines in the Georges River area and forbade them carrying weapons within a mile of any British settlement.

The modern village of Holsworthy evolved after World War II to the north, with the barracks to the south.

[4] Holsworthy has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), like most of Sydney, with warm summers and cool to mild winters, and precipitation spread throughout the year.

Winters are pleasantly cool and sunny, although east coast lows can bring large amounts of rainfall.

Being inland from the coast and away from Sydney City, Holsworthy receives up to 500mm (20 in) less precipitation than coastal areas, just 25 km (16 mi) away.

59.9% of people were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth included India 8.2%, the Philippines 2.8%, Bangladesh 2.4%, China (excluding Special Administrative Regions (SARs) and Taiwan) 2.3%, and New Zealand 1.8%.