Blackett takes its name from George Forster Blackett, Superintendent of the Government Cattle Station at Rooty Hill 1820–1830.[2]
Blackett is primarily a residential suburb with very limited commercial activity, having only a small shopping complex containing a combination liquor/general store, a Halal and non-Halal butcher, a bakery, take-away store, and combined service station/general store, which caters heavily to residents of Pacific Islander extraction. It is quite close to the suburbs of Mount Druitt and St Marys, which most residents would consider to be more commercial areas (having shopping centres, banking facilities and railway stations). Other nearby suburbs with shopping facilities (though no rail access) include Emerton and Plumpton.
Transport
On the day of the 2021 Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people were: Car, as driver 50.5% and Car, as passenger 7.2%.[1]
By road, Blackett is adjacent to the Westlink M7 motorway which can provide very easy access to the Great Western Highway and the M4 Motorway, providing road access to the western sections of the city and eastward to the Sydney CBD.
This suburb is linked by several private bus companies to the train stations located at Mount Druitt and St Marys.
Cycleways running through Blackett run from Poppondetta Park all the way to Mt Druitt and the M7 cycleway, which in turn connects to the cycleways on the M4 and M2 Motorways.
Schools
Blackett Public School (founded in 1971) and Niland Special School are both public schools in the suburb.
Population
According to the 2021 census, there were 3,586 people in Blackett.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 11.2% of the population.
58.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 4.5% and Samoa 3.1%.
59.4% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Samoan 4.9%, Arabic 2.8% and Tongan 2.1%.
The most common responses for religion were No Religion 26.3%, Catholic 21.6%, Not stated 16.4% and Anglican 11.0%.[1]
Housing
Housing is very heavily dominated by public housing built throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with large numbers of freestanding fibro houses and extensive terrace-style complexes. The houses are gradually transferring to private ownership, and as this continues, these government-built premises are being replaced with privately built, modern homes, similar to those being built in other areas of Sydney.
Of occupied private dwellings in Blackett 89.1% were separate houses.[1]
Kirtley, Allan, Longbottom, Patricia, Blackett, Martin. A History of the Blacketts. (2013) The Blacketts.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
