Just prior to leaving the colony in 1806, Governor Philip King granted 600 acres on South Creek to Mary Putland, the daughter of the incoming governor, William Bligh. She named the property Frogmore. Her husband John died two years later and in 1810, Mary married Lieutenant Colonel Maurice O’Connell. An additional grant of 1055 acres was made to Mary at the time of her wedding as a present from Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Frogmore was managed for many years by Major George Druitt as Maurice O’Connell’s military duties meant they were rarely in residence.

The suburb of Orchard Hills takes in part of the original Frogmore Estate and the adjoining York Estate originally owned by the York family. When the York Estate was subdivided in the late 1880s, the land was mainly sold for orchards and vineyards. By the early 1900s a rural community was well established in the area and a village developed. The Mount Hope Methodist Church was built in 1904 and in 1910 the York Estate Public School was built.

The district and village did not have a definite name however. Frogmore, Mount Hope and York were all used to describe the region. On 17th October 1910, a meeting of local residents, held at the public school, decided on the name Orchard Hills, after considering a number of names that had been put forward. Frogmore was discarded as it was felt confusion may arise because an area in southern NSW already had the name.