In the north western limits of the Sydney metropolitan region, by the confluence of the Grose, Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers, rests the peaceful locality of Agnes Banks. This rural region is jointly administered by the local government constituencies of Hawkesbury and Penrith. When emancipated convict Andrew Thompson was granted 278 acres of Hawkesbury River land in 1804, he named it Agnes Banks in memory of his mother, Agnes Hillson. Over the years the surrounding region adopted this identity.

Tried and sentenced to transportation, Andrew Thompson arrived in the colony of New South Wales in 1792. After serving five years free of incident he was pardoned, and took up residence in the Hawkesbury River region. Thompson built a reputation as an honest and tireless worker, proving instrumental in the consolidation of the township of Windsor. During the infant years of the nineteenth century, he diversified from pastoralism and farming into secondary orientated industry. His ventures included trading and manufacturing, ship and bridge building, toll keeping, brewing and managing a granary.

However it was his appointment to the office of Chief Constable which most graphically exemplified his impressive rise within colonial society. His ardent support for Governor Bligh saw him removed from this position in 1808. In time this insult was compensated for, when the succeeding Governor Lachlan Macquarie, instated Thompson as Chief Magistrate for the entire Hawkesbury region. Unfortunately Thompson did not live long to enjoy this promotion. He passed away in 1810 at the tender age of 37 years. Thompson was posthumously honoured by Governor Lachlan Macquarie for his contribution to the township of Windsor, with the naming of Thompson Square.

The division of the Agnes Banks estate is an interesting postscript to Andrew Thompson's life. While a portion of his estate was bequeathed to his relatives in the United Kingdom, two colonists also benefited from its distribution. Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who had so recently restored the emancipated convicts' dignity, was generously remembered by Thompson. As was the wealthy entrepreneur Simeon Lord. Not only was Lord a close friend of Thompson's, he shared his meteoric rise from the status of convict.

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