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:''For the local government area, see City of Parramatta''.
'Parramatta' is a western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Parramatta is located 23 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Parramatta. Parammatta is a major commercial centre of Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is colloquially known as 'Parra'.
Parramatta sits on the bank of the Parramatta River and is approximately at the geographical centre of the Sydney metropolitan area. North Parramatta is a separate suburb.

Contents

Commercial Area

History

Aboriginal Culture

European Settlement

Transport

Landmarks

Churches

Schools

Culture

National Estate

References

External links

Commercial Area

Parramatta is a major business and commercial centre, sometimes called Sydney's "second central business district". Parramatta has many high density commercial and residential developments. It is home to Westfield Parramatta, which is now the eighth largest shopping centre in Australia.^[1] Church Street is home to many shops and restaurants. The northern endof Church Street, close to Lennox Bridge, features ''al fresco'' dining with a diverse range of cuisines. The southern end of Church Street, past Westfields is known as ''Auto Alley'' for the prevalence of car dealerships.
Since the new millennium, Parramatta has seen the consolidation of its role as a government centre, with the relocation of facilities, such as the New South Wales Police Headquarters, from Sydney's CBD. At the same time, major construction work occurred around the railway station with the expansion of Westfield Shoppingtown, the creation of a new transport interchange and the development of the Civic Place local government precinct. Some private businesses have also relocated their offices to Parramatta.

History

Aboriginal Culture

The Darug people had lived in the area they called Baramada or Burramatta ("Parramatta") for many generations, and regarded the area as a food bowl, rich in food from the river and forests. The name means "the place where the eels lie down"^[2]. To this day there is a plentitude of eels and other sea creatures attracted to the profusion of nutrients created by the fact that at Parramatta the saltwater of Sydney Harbour meets the freshwater of the Parramatta River's catchment. The eel has been adopted as the symbol of the Parramatta Eels Rugby League club.

European Settlement

Parramatta was founded in 1788, the same year as Sydney. The British Colony, which had arrived in January 1788 in the First Fleet at Sydney Cove, had only enough food to support itself for a short time and the soil around Sydney Cove proved too poor to grow the amount of food that 1000 convicts, soldiers and administrators needed to survive. During 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip had reconnoitred several places before choosing Parramatta as the likeliest place for a successful large farm. Parramatta was the furthest navigable point inland on the Parramatta River (i.e. furthest from the thin, sandy coastal soil) and also the point at which the river became freshwater and therefore useful for farming.
On Sunday November 2 1788, Governor Phillip took a detachment of marines along with a surveyor and, in boats, made his way upriver to a location what he called The Crescent, a defensible hill curved round a river bend, now in Parramatta Park. As a settlement developed, Governor Phillip gave it the name "Rose Hill" (now used for a nearby suburb) which in 1791 he changed to Parramatta, approximating the term used by the local Aboriginal people.
In an attempt to deal with the food crisis, Phillip in 1789 granted a convict named James Ruse the land of Experiment Farm at Parramatta on the condition that he develop a viable agriculture. There Ruse became the first person to successfully grow grain in Australia. The Parramatta area was also the site of John Macarthur's pioneering of the Australian wool industry at Elizabeth Farm in the 1790s.
Governor Arthur Phillip built a small house for himself on the hill of The Crescent. In 1799 this was replaced by a larger residence which, substantially improved by Governor Lachlan Macquarie from 1815 to 1818, has has survived to the present day, used as a retreat by Governors until the 1850s with one Governor (Governor Brisbane) making it his principal home for a short period in the 1820s. The house, Old Government House, is currently a historic site and museum within Parramatta Park and is Australia's oldest surviving public building.

Transport

Parramatta railway station is a major transport interchange on the CityRail network. It is served by the Blue Mountains line, Cumberland line and the Western line. The station was originally opened on July 4, 1860, five years after the first railway line in Sydney was opened in 1855, running from Sydney to Parramatta Junction. It was recently upgraded, with work beginning in late 2003 and the new interchange opening on February 19, 2006
The ferry wharf is at the Charles Street Weir, which divides the tidal saltwater from the freshwater of the upper river, on the eastern boundary of the Central Business District. The wharf is the westernmost destination of the Sydney Ferries River Cat ferry service which runs on Parramatta River.
The Great Western Highway and Parramatta Road have always been important roads for Parramatta. The M4 Western Motorway has taken much of the traffic away from these roads, with entrance and exit ramps close to Parramatta.

Landmarks

★ Lake Parramatta is a 10-hectare reserve, based around a former reservoir. The catchment area for the lake is bounded by North Rocks Road, Pennant Hills Road and Hunts Creek. The entrance is from Lackey Street, North Parramatta.

★ Parramatta Park is a large park adjacent to Parramatta Stadium. It was formerly the Governor's Domain and contains Old Government House, as mentioned above. Another feature is the natural amphitheatre located on one of the bends of the river, named by Governor Philip as "the Crescent", which is used to stage concerts.

Churches

Church Street takes its name from St John's Anglican Cathedral opposite the Town Hall. Nearby is the historic St John's Cemetery. Parramatta Salvation Army is one of the oldest active Salvation Army Corps in Australia.

Schools

Parramatta High School was the first co-educational school in the Sydney Metropolitan area, established in 1913. Other schools include Arthur Phillip High School, Macarthur Girls High School, Parramatta Public School and The Kings School, Parramatta.

Culture

★ Riverside Theatre is located on the bank of the Parramatta River.

★ Parramatta Eels rugby league club which competes in the National Rugby League. Parramatta Stadium is the home ground of the Parramatta Eels, located beside Parramatta Park. Parramatta Leagues Club is on O'Connell Street.

National Estate

'Parramatta has many buildings on the Register of the National Estate. The following is a sample. (Source: The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981)'

★ Lancer Barracks

★ Elizabeth Farm House

★ Centennial Clock

★ Former Post Office, Church Street

★ Lennox Bridge

★ Parramatta Town Hall

★ St John's Cathedral

★ Roman Catholic Cemetery, Parramatta North

★ Parochial School, Elizabeth Street

★ Parramatta Psychiatric Center

★ Brislington, Marsden Street

★ Hambledon, Hassall Street

★ St Patrick's Church

★ Macarthur House

★ St John's Cemetery

★ Former king's School Group

★ Parramatta Park

★ Experiment Farm Cottage

★ All Saints Church Group

★ Arthur Phillip High School

References

★ ''The Book of Sydney Suburbs'', Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8 1. Parra Westfields
2. Macquarie Aboriginal Words, , Jakelin, Troy, Macquarie Library, ,

External links

★ Parramatta City Council website

★ 2001 Census Information

★ Fictional Parramatta in 1807

★ Parramatta High School