Peakhurst was named after landholder John Robert Peake. The area was originally part of a land grant to Captain John Townson. John Robert Peake bought 10 acres (40,000m2) of land from William Hebblewhite in 1838. Peake donated land for the first Methodist church built in 1856. School Inspector Huffer suggested that Peake's name be used when the public school was founded in 1871 and it was later adopted by the suburb. The post office opened in 1885.
Peakhurst's commercial centres are predominantly located along Forest Road and Boundary Road. Various retail shops, restaurants and cafes are located near the Peakhurst Inn Hotel on Forest Road. The hotel contains a pub and drive-through bottle shop. Peakhurst also contains a sizeable industrial area mainly on and around Boundary Road.
The main roads are Forest Road, Henry Lawson Drive, Stoney Creek Road, Boundary Road, Bonds Road, Broad Arrow Road, Isaac Street, Baumans Road. Forest Road, which links to Henry Lawson Drive at Peakhurst, is the busiest carriageway that extends through numerous other suburbs in Sydney. Buses operate through Peakhurst and there is a local City Rail station in the centre of Peakhurst.
There are four public schools: Georges River College Peakhurst Campus, Peakhurst Public School, Peakhurst South Public School and Peakhurst West Public School.
