Looking across from Penrith beach

This photograph was taken from the sand and grass area looking onto the water that is now known as Penrith beach. From the late 1800s what is now known as the Western Sydney Lakes Castlereagh site was a series of 12 man-made quarries from which coarse sand and gravel has been mined. It has been operated by Boral, Holcim, and Hanson, who formed the Penrith Lakes Development Corporation and conducted Sydney's housing and infrastructure projects. In 1987, PLDC signed a deed of agreement with the NSW Government to construct flood mitigation weirs and quarry rehabilitation, aiming to transform the site into a major parkland and lake system with future urban areas. It was developed and used as an event location during the Summer Olympic Games in 2000. Between 2015 to 2017 mining was discontinued and the site was rehabilitated through the creation of a regional recreational lake system. The draft Penrith Lakes Parkland Vision Plan was finalised and the site was given an unzoned designation in the State Environmental Planning Policy.