Parramatta Park | |
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Type | Urban Park |
Location | Pitt & Macquarie Streets, Parramatta |
Coordinates | 33°48′49″S150°59′52″E / 33.813670°S 150.997885°E |
Area | 85 ha (210 acres) |
Created | 1858 |
Operated by | Parramatta Park Trust |
Visitors | 2 million(in 2015–16) [1] |
Open | All year |
Website | www.parrapark.com.au |
Parramatta Park is a major urban park and historic site in Parramatta in Western Sydney, Australia. It was gazetted as a public park in 1858 on the site of the former Parramatta Government Domain over 99.5 hectares. It was gazetted as a National Park in 1917. [2] The Government Domain was established around the cottage built for Arthur Phillip, which was replaced by the Government House that is still the centrepiece of the park today. Old Government House and Domain form part of the World Heritage Listed item "Australian Convict Sites", together with ten other Australian sites with a significant association with convict transportation which together represent "the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts". [3]
The park is a part of the territory of the Darug people, who called it Burramatta, and has remnants of the Cumberland Plain Woodland. It is historically and archaeologically significant and has been used for recreational purposes throughout the 19th and the 20th century. The remains of aboriginal occupation can be seen within the park and various artifacts of the era have been retrieved from the vast green space. [4]
Between 1859 and 1889, large parts of the Government Domain were subdivided into the suburbs of Westmead and Northmead.
In 1860 the extension of the Main Western railway line divided the park and necessitated the demolition of Governor Macquarie's stables. In 1913 some of the park was annexed for the construction of Parramatta High School. In 1981, eight hectares was transferred to the Parramatta Stadium Trust. [2]
In the early 1950s motor racing was held on the roads running through the park. After a failed attempt in 1938, in 1951 an agreement was reached between the Parramatta Park Trust and the Australian Sporting Car Club to build two circuits in the park; a full 3.2 kilometres (2 mi) Grand Prix circuit, and a shorter 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) club circuit. Initially the agreement was for four meetings per year, with the first on 28 January 1952, but in the end five were held that year, and in the final year of racing 12 were held in 1955. An attempt to revive the circuit failed in 1958 due to an intervention by the Commissioner of Police over safety concerns. [5]
In June 1954, the Steam Tram & Railway Preservation Society laid a short section of railway track. Its depot was destroyed by an arson attack in June 1993, and the track was lifted in December 1998. [6] [7]
The present parklands are 85 hectares in size, straddling the Parramatta River on the western edge of the Parramatta central business district. Old Government House, sits within the park. [8]
The park is administered by the Parramatta Park Trust pursuant to the Parramatta Park Trust Act 2001. [9]
The formal entrance to the park (normally open only to pedestrians) is the grand gatehouse facing George Street. From here, George Street continues as a path up the hill to Old Government House. There are five other gatehouses or lodges at various entrances of the park. [10]
The centrepiece of the park is Old Government House, which sits at the top of a hill overlooking a bend in the Parramatta River. The house is furnished in 1820s style, and is open to the public for an entrance fee. Near the Old Government House, Governor Brisbane's bath house has been converted into a park pavilion.
Also on the crest of the hill is the Boer War Memorial. [11]
Domain Creek flows north across the western portion of the park, joining Parramatta River upstream of Parramatta Weir.
Several crossings of the Parramatta River are located inside the park. From downstream, these are Noller Bridge, Buttons Bridge and Ross Street Weir.
Sporting facilities are largely located in the southern portion of the park, south of the railway, and the northern portion, on the left bank of the Parramatta River, including Parramatta Stadium. Two children's playgrounds are located in the east (Paperbark Playground) and west (Domain Creek Playground) respectively.
Parramatta is a satellite city of Sydney, Australia's largest city and the capital of New South Wales. It is the primary central business district (CBD) for Greater Western Sydney, located approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of Central Sydney, on the banks of the Parramatta River.
Castle Hill is a town in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, located 34 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 9.5 kilometres north of Parramatta. It is within the Hills District region, split between the local government areas of The Hills Shire and Hornsby Shire.
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea. It is the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The location of the first European settlement and colony on the Australian mainland, Port Jackson has continued to play a key role in the history and development of Sydney.
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Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions within Sydney's metropolitan area and encompasses 11 local government areas: Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Wollondilly. It includes Western Sydney, which has a number of different definitions, although the one consistently used is the region composed of ten local government authorities, most of which are members of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC). The NSW Government's Office of Western Sydney calls the region "Greater Western Sydney".
Francis Howard Greenway was an English-born architect who was transported to Australia as a convict for the crime of forgery. In New South Wales he worked for the Governor, Lachlan Macquarie, as Australia's first government architect. He became widely known and admired for his work displayed in buildings such as St Matthew's Church, St James' Church and Hyde Park Barracks.
Northmead is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Northmead is located 26 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta.
Victoria Park is a 9-hectare (22-acre) urban park situated on the corner of Parramatta Road and City Road, Camperdown, in the City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The park is located adjacent to The University of Sydney and the Broadway Shopping Centre.
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Melbourne is Australia's second largest city and widely considered to be a garden city, with Victoria being nicknamed "the Garden State". Renowned as one of the most livable cities in the world, there is an abundance of parks, gardens and green belts close to the CBD with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways, and tree-lined avenues, all managed by Parks Victoria.
Experiment Farm Cottage is a heritage-listed former farm and residence and now house museum at 9 Ruse Street, Harris Park, City of Parramatta, Sydney, Australia. It is one of Australia's oldest standing residences, being built in c.1834. It is located at the site of Experiment Farm, Australia's first European farmstead, which was itself created by Australia's first land grant. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Newington House is a historic house in Silverwater, New South Wales, Australia and is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. The house and chapel are situated on the southern bank of the Parramatta River and are now enclosed by the Silverwater Correctional Centre. With Elizabeth Bay House and Camden Park, it is considered to be one of the three great houses of the County of Cumberland.
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The Macquarie Street Gatehouse at the Macquarie Street entrance of Parramatta Park in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, is a building of historical significance and is listed on the Heritage Register. It dates back to 1848, when the first gatehouse was built following the death of Lady Mary Fitzroy. The present house, which was largely constructed in 1887, was built around this original dwelling. The building was designed as a gatekeeper's cottage, with a separate room set aside for the use of the Parramatta Park Trust. It is a typical example of High Victorian Gothic architecture, which was very popular at that time. Today the house is used as a café.
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