Chatswood takes its name from an early settler of the area, Charlotte Harnett. The wife of an early settler of Willoughby, Richard Hayes Harnett, Charlotte often went by the nickname “Chattie”.
At the time, Chatswood was still a densely wooded area, and so the area came to be known as “Chattie’s Wood”.
Over time, “Chattie’s Wood” was condensed to simply Chatswood, a change which became ingrained as more colonists settled in the area.
When the North Shore Line was constructed in 1890, Richard Harnett, who had been a major advocate for the construction of the line, sold some of his land to serve as ground for what would become Chatswood station.
