Parramatta is steeped in history and was the first European City established in Australia. Its fresh river waters and rich soil meant it was an ideal spot for the first Europeans to survive the Antipodean climate and carve out a lifestyle that ensured their survival.
Britain's First Fleet leader, Governor Phillip founded Parramatta in November 1788. Philip named the town Parramatta, after the indigenous Aborigines of the region, the Burramatta people, a clan of the Darug nation. Both of Australia's oldest buildings are in Parramatta. The first seat of Australian Parliament, Old Government House, is located close to the City centre at Parramatta Park and is the oldest public building (1799) while Elizabeth Farm, located in one of Australia's oldest suburbs, Harris Park, is the oldest private building.
Parramatta is also a modern and accessible City that is at the geographic and demographic centre of greater Sydney. It is a thriving City that is a leader in national and international business endeavours.
Parramatta is a living City that boasts a cosmopolitan population that brings the City alive with its diversity in food and culture. It offers recreational facilities that draw people from across the region. The choice is diverse, whether shopping in the largest centre in the Southern Hemisphere, participating in the horse races at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, 'letting your hair down' in the City at night, or taking a stroll along the historic Parramatta Riverside Walk.
As the centre of Greater Sydney, Parramatta is a good base to visit the vast tourist attractions on offer. These span the surf of the eastern suburbs and southern beaches to the spectacular scenery of Sydney's Blue Mountains. Parramatta is accessible to everything from theme parks, a wildlife sanctuary with cuddly koalas, cruises on the Parramatta and Lane Cover Rivers and Sydney Harbour, botanic gardens, the zoo, markets, theatres, parks water skiing in the Hawkesbury, bush walking, boating and sailing at Penrith.
Below is a brief chronological history of the City of Parramatta. Scroll through or click on the appropriate decade to see what was going on at that point in time:
1788
Site of Parramatta chosen by Governor Phillip, 24th April.
Settlement at Rose Hill founded, 2nd Nov.
1789
First wheat crop harvested at Rose Hill, November.
James Ruse established his farm, lst Nov.
1790
'First burial in St. John's Cemetery.
Town laid out, June.
1791
James Ruse granted 30 acres upland. Experiment Farm, No. 1 grant, 30th Mar.
Rose Hill renamed Parramatta, 4th June.
Military barracks completed, May.
1793
Elizabeth Farm House built.
1794
First road constructed to Parramatta.
1796
Log gaol built.
First church opened, September.
1798
First inns licensed.
1799
First part Old Government House built.
1803
First St. John's Church opened, 9th April.
1804
New gaol completed.
1810
First horse-race held, April.
John Eyre's school opened.
1811
Town extended by Macquarie.
1814
School for aborigines founded.
1816
New Parsonage built.
1818
New Hospital erected.
Orphan School completed.
1820
Military barracks completed.
Convict barrack erected.
Towers of St. john's Church completed.
1821
First Methodist Church built.
Female Factory completed.
Brislington built.
1822
Agricultural Society established.
1823
Observatory erected.
1825
Foundation stone of the Darling Mills (Flour) laid on site of present Sydney Woollen Mills.
1832
The King's School opened, 13th February.
1836
The King's School building completed January.
1839
Lennox Bridge completed.
1841
Byrnes Bros. Flour Mills erected.
1843
Parramatta's first newspaper "The Parrmatta Chronicle" published.
Second St. John's Church opened, lst Railway opened to Parramatta Junction 26th September.
1856
Railway extended through the county of Cumberland.
Line from Granville to Liverpool opened in September.
1857
Parramatta Park created.
1860
Parramatta Rifle Corps formed.
Parramatta Fire Brigade established.
Railway opened through Parramatta to Blacktown, 4th July.
1861
Borough of Parramatta proclaimed, November.
1870
Parramatta Amateur Dramatic Society formed.
1872
Congregational Church building opened 19th May.
1873
Gas turned into town mains for first time.
1881
Council Chambers erected.
1883
Town Hall completed.
1889
The King's School new chapel opened 8th February.
1890
Friendly Societies form a Medical Institute
1900
First motor car runs in Parramatta.
1908
New Friendly Societies Dispensary building opened, 2nd December.
1910
Sewerage scheme completed and taken
over by Municipal Council, August.
1915
Electric light used in town for first time.
New High School Building opened,officially, 23rd February.
1924
New Masonic Temple opened, 21st May
1925
New Presbyterian Church completed
1936
Third St. Patrick's Church, opened, 26th May
1938
Parramatta proclaimed a City, 27th October
1948
First Greater City of Parramatta Council elected, December. (The Greater City of Parramatta was formed by the amalgamation of Dundas, Granville, Ermington, Rydalmere, and Parramatta.)
1955
The completed maternity unit opened at Parramatta Hospital.
1958
Meals on Wheels service established
Children's Library opened in Prince Alfred Park
A central library was established in Jubilee Hall within the Town Hall, which incorporated existing children's libraries at Dundas and Epping.
1959
Opening of the Parramatta Leagues Club.
A branch library opened at Granville.
1961
David Jones's first suburban store opened.
1962
Silverwater bridge opened.
1964
Central Library Building opened in November.
1975
Westfield complex opened as the largest shopping complex in the southern hemisphere.
Survey of historic buildings in the Parramatta CBD completed.
1978
Westmead Hospital opened.
1988
Bicentenary of Parramatta's foundation.
50th anniversary of the declaration of Parramatta as a City.
Position of Mayor of Parramatta raised by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the status of Lord Mayor in recognition of Parramatta's significance in the Greater Sydney metropolitan area.
Opening of the Riverside Theatre complex in February.
1989
Archaelogical Management Plan of Parramatta CBD completed.
1993
Rivercat Service to Parramatta inaugurated in December.
1998
Opening of the Parramatta Heritage Centre in August.
The information for this timeline was taken from:
Parramatta Pageant/story by J. J. Jervis.
Sydney: Oswald Zeigler Publications PTY LTD
for the Council
of the City of Parramatta, 195?
Parramatta a past revealed/by Terry Kass, Carol Liston
and John McClymont.
Sydney: Parramatta City Council, 1996
