Rowe Street and Rutledge Street around the railway line. History The Wallumedegal aboriginal tribe lived in the area between the Lane Cove River and Parramatta River, which was known as Walumetta. The area was originally heavily timbered. The area was first settled by Europeans shortly after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 and is located in the Field of Mars Parish, and was part of the Field of Mars Common located in its northern area. The area of Eastwood was originally granted between the years of 1790 and 1803 to marines and the New South Wales Corps. John Love, a private was granted here in 1794, described as North Brush, in the Field of Mars Common. The land was then acquired by William Kent who already held land in what is now Epping. The land was purchased by William Rutledge for 288 pounds in 1835, who built 'Eastwood House' in 1840. This house is now part of Marist College Eastwood. Scottish born John Ross, who was part of the "squattocracy", owned Eastwood from 1860 until 1863. He reputedly paid £60 000 for it. In 1863 Edward Terry purchased the estate and upon his death in 1905, the estate was sub-divided. In 1886, the Main Northern railway line from Strathfield to Hornsby was opened, with a station here originally called Dundas. This was changed a year later to Eastwood, named after the Eastwood Estate. The commercial centre underwent a major upgrade in the early 1980s. Rowe Street, which originally ran across the railway line through a level crossing was turned into a mall between The Avenue and West Parade, and the 1940s bridge built in First Avenue for crossing traffic was replaced with a six-lane bridge. This bridge was to service the planned County of Cumberland Scheme, Eastwood County Road (linking Eastwood with Macquarie Park), a road project in the local area which has been controversial among locals. Commercial area The Eastwood commercial district is located around Eastwood railway station. Eastwood Shopping Centre, built in 1976 on the former Odeon Theatre and is a 2-storey centre that once featured Target, Tandy Electronics, BBC Hardware and Woolworths. However, due to growth in nearby Macquarie Centre and Top Ryde City these stores have all closed, leaving Woolworths as the sole anchor tenant. Eastwood Village (formerly Westfield Eastwood) is a shopping centre located on Progress Avenue. Westfield Eastwood opened in 1964 and