In June 1790, Governor Philip decided to lay out a regular town at Rose
Hill. The town received its present name on the 4th June 1791. The
Governor called it “Parramatta”, the name by which the aborigines knew the
locality. It is said to mean “the place where the eels lie down”.
By 1791 the town was more important and had a
larger population than Sydney settlement. Two streets were marked out, known
today as Church Street and George Street. Governor Philip ordered huts to be
erected for convicts down both sides of George Street. They were built 100 feet
from each hut containing 10 convicts who were responsible for growing their own
vegetables in the small plots in front of the huts. Farmers’ Market at Church
Street Mall, the site of the first growers market in Parramatta, established in
1791. The first gardens at Parramatta began to produce vegetables and fruit but
there were also plots for shrubs and flowers.
In 1792 Governor Philip opened the Municipal Markets.
