The Hurstville area was granted to Captain John Townson and his brother Robert Townson in 1808; Captain Townson was granted 1,950 acres (7.9km2) which was on the land now occupied by the suburb of Hurstville and parts of Bexley, while Robert was granted the land which is now occupied by Penshurst, Mortdale, and parts of Peakhurst. The next year, Captain Townson was granted an additional 250 acres (1.0km2) in the area now occupied by Kingsgrove and Beverly Hills. The Townson brothers, however, were not happy with the heavily timbered land that they were given because it was not suitable for the farming of sheep for wool; consequently, it is likely that the brothers never occupied their land.
The land was sold to a wealthy merchant named Simeon Lord (1771–1840) in 1812, who called his land Lord's Bush. When Simeon Lord died, the land became the property of John Rose Holden and James Holt of the Bank of N.S.W.
The land was sold to Michael Gannon (1800–61) in 1850 and became known as Gannon's Forest. The Gannon's Forest post office opened in 1881. The local school was known as Hurstville by School Inspector MacIntyre in 1876. When the railway arrived in 1884, the station took the name 'Hurstville' from the school. Hurstville municipality was incorporated in 1887.
South Hurstville is a mainly residential area with a few commercial developments, most of which are located on King Georges Road. A shopping strip is located on King Georges Road around the intersection of Connells Point Road. The Kings Head Tavern is a well-known landmark on one of the corners. An IGA (Australian supermarket group) Supa supermarket, McDonald's restaurant, Eagle Boys Pizza take away, and another small shopping strip are accessible from Greenacre Road. A 7-Eleven store is located opposite the Greenacre Road shops. Some of the landmark buildings of the past such as banks and picture theatre have found new uses as office space, a Civic Video shop and our own Gavan Property Group.
