Penrith (pop. 159,310) is a city in New South Wales, Australia. It is a suburb in a large region called Greater Western Sydney, which covers the western part of the Sydney metropolitan area. Penrith is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of Sydney’s central business district. The main western railway from Sydney passes through Penrith.
Penrith lies along the east bank of the Nepean River, near the Blue Mountains. Together with the Hawkesbury River, the Nepean forms one of the largest river systems in New South Wales. It supplies Sydney and its surrounding regions with water for irrigation and industry. The Nepean is known for severe flooding. In 1867, it experienced its worst flood in recorded history. That year, floodwaters covered large parts of Penrith. The number of floods in the area fell after the construction of the Warragamba Dam in 1960. But serious floods, including those of 1961 and 2021, have continued to impact the Penrith region.
Penrith’s chief industries are construction and manufacturing. The city’s residents also work in education, health care, and retail. Farmers around Penrith raise livestock for eggs and meat, and grow flowers and vegetables.
The area’s traditional inhabitants are the Darug Aboriginal peoples. Arthur Phillip, the British governor of New South Wales in the late 1700’s, named the area Evan District in honor of Evan Nepean. At the time, Nepean was undersecretary of state in the British Home Department. In 1804, the British naval officer Captain Daniel Woodriff received a land grant of 100 acres (40 hectares) in the area. The surveyor William Cox, along with a group of convict laborers, built a road through Woodriff’s settlement in 1815. This road, which became known as the Great Western Road, crossed the Nepean River and was the first road to cross the Blue Mountains.
Evan District was renamed Penrith in 1818. A railway line that passed through Penrith was built in 1863, and the settlement became an important stop for travelers. After floods destroyed a number of bridges across the Nepean River, an iron railway bridge was constructed. The new bridge, named Victoria Bridge, opened to commercial traffic in 1867. Penrith became a municipality in 1871. It was officially declared a town in 1890. 
As a major railway town, Penrith continued to expand into the early 1900’s. During World War II (1939-1945), the Australian government built one of the largest munitions (military supplies) factories near Penrith. In addition to employing local workers, the factory attracted many new residents to the area. Penrith officially became a city in 1959.
