Parramatta Park - Part 1

European History

In September 1788 Governor Phillip announced his intension to establish a settlement at Parramatta.

Governor Hunter granted George Salter 30 acres in 1796. Salter erected a small cottage sometime between 1796 and 1800, which was later purchased by Governor Macquarie for Government use. This cottage, which is still standing, was enlarged by Macquarie and became known as the Governor's Dairy. It is one of the oldest buildings in Australia.

In 1823 Brisbane also constructed a bathhouse west of Old Government House. When in operation a sunken bath was located in the centre of the building surrounded by a suite of rooms. In 1886 the building was converted to its present form as a pavilion after it had been extensively vandalised following the Domain becoming a public Park in 1857.

During the years 1822 to the 1850's the area supported agriculture whilst also being used as a gentrified residence for successive Governors. The last Governor to occupy the house, Fitzroy left Government House in 1855 after the death of his wife. During the 1840's it was debated whether to hand Governors Domain to Trustees for public use which was finally achieved in 1858. Parramatta Park has been a People's Park since then.

Archaeology: Indigenous – Parramatta Park has evidence of Aboriginal occupation. Aboriginal stone artefacts have been found in 14 locations. According to Aboriginal consultants, scarred trees are located within Parramatta Park. 

Archaeology: Non-Indigenous – Government farm and convict huts are one of the first buildings constructed in Parramatta Park.

During the years 1822 to the 1850's the area supported agriculture whilst also being used as a gentrified residence for successive Governors. The last Governor to occupy the house, Fitzroy left Government House in 1855 after the death of his wife. During the 1840's it was debated whether to hand Governors Domain to Trustees for public use which was finally achieved in 1858. Parramatta Park has been a People's Park since then.

Aboriginal History

Darug people called Parramatta as Burramatta. Burramatta consists of two words:

• Burra meaning eel
• Matta meaning creek

Evidence of Aborigional occupation exists within Parramatta Park along the ridgeline of the Cresent and Domain Creek – scarred trees and several artefacts.

Parramatta Park is a World Heritage listed site and one of the oldest Parks in Australia. The 85 ha park offers a unique blend of natural and rural landscapes and historical features.

Continued to Part 2

Kellyville

Kellyville is a part of the Hills District and fast growing suburb of Sydney. Kellyville is bounded by Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Rouse Hill and Glenhaven. Kellyville possesses a unique combination of being semi-rural, older suburban and modern. Population is low because properties here are large, and many accommodate orchards, or support horses kept for riding, or cultivate native-plant nurseries. But it is changing very quickly due to the residential development and rail line expected to open in 2019. This development is bringing lots of young families to Kellyville.

Kellyville was originally known as 'There and Nowhere', followed by 'Irish Town', as a large number of Irish people lived there. The first land grants were in 1802.  Kellyville is named after Hugh Kelly, who owned the Kellyville Estate.

Kelly was convicted of larceny (theft) and transported to Australia. He arrived in Australia in May 1803 on a ship called the Rolla. Hugh Kelly was pardoned in April 1808. He began work for Humphrey Evans, a former Royal Marine turned farmer, who had a 130 acre grant in Parramatta. Evans died in 1805 and by 1810 Kelly had married Evans’ widow Mary and established a licensed inn 'The Half Way House' which became 'The Bird in the Hand' which was located on the corner of Wrights and Windsor Roads. After Mary’s death Kelly married another two times, to Ester Harley who died in a house fire and finally to another Mary in 1828 when he moved to Goulburn.

White Hart Inn - an artist impression

Early land grants:

The White Hart Inn is located on 30 acres originally granted to John Moss in 1810. Moss transferred the land to Edmund Wright in 1821 and in the same year Edmund Wright transferred the land to Hugh Kelly.

After Kelly's death in 1884, John Fitzgerald Burns, James Green and George Withers purchased portions of several early land grants, which were subdivided into farmlets as part of the 'Kellyville Estate', thereby giving the suburb its name Kellyville. The first subdivisions of 100-acre lots were made in 1884.

Kellyville Post Office opened on 1 January 1889.

Bus outside Kellyville Post Office on corner of Acres & Windsor Roads Kellyville 1930s

Parts of Kellyville became separate suburbs – Beaumont Hills, north of Samantha Riley Drive, was renamed in 2002.  Kellyville Ridge, west of Old Windsor Road, is a separate suburb in the City of Blacktown.

Kellyville Public School is a historic building which was established in 1849. For most of the 20th century, Kellyville was semi-rural. From the 1960s to the 1980s about 900 homes were developed in an area around Acres Road, known locally as 'The Village'. More recently, major developments such as Kellyville Plaza have encouraged residential growth. Due to the suburb's location, Kellyville is a major growth area in The Hills.

Grace Brothers

Grace Bros was an Australian department store chain, founded in 1885. Grace Bros. joined Myer in 1989 to become the largest department store group in Australia. All the departmental stores were operating under Grace Bros. until they were re-branded under the Myer name in 2004.


The Grace Brothers, Albert Edward and Joseph Neal Grace decided to leave England in 1880 to go to America and Australia. Joseph Neal arrived in Australia in 1883 and shortly after in 1885, Albert Edward arrived in Sydney. Grace Brothers had a long and rich history of retailing in Sydney following its founding by the Grace Brothers, Albert Edward and Joseph Neal Grace.

In 1885, brothers purchased 15x60 store front at 203 George Street near Railway Square terminus. They stocked the store with $1000 merchandise. They moved to the new location, Broadway in 1887 with the expansion of the store. By 1906, they had opened a five-story building at Broadway, now the site of the Broadway Shopping Centre. A full page announcement appeared in Sydney morning Herald about the Grace Bros. Company Policy in 1911. In 1917 the company was registered as Grace Bros Ltd. with the motto – Sure to get it at Grace Bros. Under the NSW Companies Act Grace Bros Ltd changed its name to Grace Bros. Pty. Ltd.

In 1926, the Grace Brothers, Albert Edward and Joseph Neal Grace, purchased a block of land on the corner of York, Clarence and King Streets in Sydney, on which they would build the "Grace Building". Both brothers believed that the site was perfectly positioned for the building as a "The Showpiece of the Company".  New public transport routes were opened and even Company letterhead showed the building as being "...on the Harbour Bridge Highway." The Grace Building was officially opened by Sydney Lord Mayor Ernest Marks on 3 July 1930.

In 1931, Joseph Neal Grace died and Albert Grace became Managing Director of Grace Bros Ltd. In 1933 Albert took his first step towards the expansion of Grace Bros stores from City to suburban Parramatta and Bondi. Prior to his death in 1938, Albert Grace planned suburban expansion of the Grace Bros stores from the City, a move which is considered the reason Grace Bros survived when many of their contemporaries perished such as Anthony Hordern’s and Mark Foy's. Isabel Grace died in 1970 at age of 86 years.

Over the years, grace Bros. opened many suburban and country stores. Parramatta and Bondi Junction stores were opened in 1933. Parramatta store was the first suburban Grace Bros. stores. In 1961 Chatswood Grace Bros. was opened followed by Roselands on October 1965. In August 2001, the final grace bros. store was opened in Castle Hill. In 2004, Sydney retailing icon Grace Bros. replaced its 109 year old name to Myer. 

Norman Mackay Field - World War One – Parramatta Soldiers

World War One – Parramatta Soldiers – Norman Mackay Field

Private Norman Mackay Field lived in Inkerman Street Granville, NSW when he enlisted on the 17 March 1916. He was 32 years old, single and worked as a cement worker at Goodlet and Smith’s in Merrylands. He had previously served 18 months with the Scottish Rifles. Norman was Methodist and his next of kin, his sister Ethel May Field, lived in North Sydney.

On the 22 August 1916 he embarked from Sydney on the HMAT Wiltshire A18, and disembarked at Plymouth England on the 13 October 1916. He proceeded to France on the 8 January 1917 on the "Princess Henrietta" and on the 18 January 1917 was transferred to the 4 Division of the Australian Division Base Depot.                                                                                                     

Private Norman Field was killed in action in the field in France on the 7 June 1917 at 34 years of age, and was posthumously awarded the Victory Medal.                                                                                         

John Farrell - World War One – Parramatta Soldiers

World War One – Parramatta Soldiers – John Farrell

Private John Farrell was one of three brothers who served in the First World War. Although John had been born in Wagga, at the time of his enlistment he was living in Mechan Street Granville, NSW, with his brother and sister. John was a carpenter by trade and unmarried.

On the 24 July 1916 he suffered a gunshot wound to his left thigh in France, and needed to be transferred to Graylingwell War Hospital in Chichester for treatment. He began his return to France by marching in from England, and proceeded to the front on the 4 October 1916, and rejoined his unit the 3 Battalion on the 12 October 1916.

On the 11 May 1917 he died in France of gunshot wounds and was buried in Grevillers, France.

St John’s Anglican Cathedral

1803 - St John’s Anglican Cathedral is the oldest place of worship in Australia. It was opened on 11^th April 1803. 

1818 - The twin towers which stand today were constructed under the supervision of Lieutenant John Watt in 1818, making them the oldest surviving part of any Anglican Church in Australia. They are built from handmade sandstock bricks, possibly by convicts, and overlaid with a stucco render giving the appearance of stone. The choice of design is attributed to Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who was inspired by a ruined church in Reculver, Kent in England.

1821 - St John’s Anglican Cathedral’s clock was built by the London Clock making Company Thwaites and Reed of Clerkenwell and installed in the northern Tower in 1821 

1850s - The church building of the early 1800s, except the towers, was demolished in the early 1850s after a severe storm and subsequent deterioration meant that the building was no longer fit for use.

1862 – The pipe organ was brought from England in 1862 and installed in the Western Gallery in 1863.

1882 - The new building was opened in 1855 and by 1882; the church family had expanded so much that the building needed to be enlarged. The well-known architect firm of Blacket and Son was commissioned to design transepts which completed the building as it is seen today.

George Taylor

George Taylor was born on 1 August 1872 in Sydney. He was a second son of George and Annie. He learned a trade in building from Sydney Technical College.  He first became known as an artist/cartoonist for various local and international papers.  He contributed drawings to The Bulletin, Worker, Sunday Times, Referee, and London Punch, but later became interested in aviation and radio. George was a member of the Dawn and Dusk Club. He married his wife, Florence Mary Parsons in 1907.

Taylor in his self-constructed glider at Narrabeen in 1909

He was very interested in technology. He experimented with a motorless aeroplane (glider) and, in November 1909, constructed one of full size. On 5 December 1909 he became the first person in Australia to fly in a heavier-than-air craft. Same day Florence Taylor also flew in her husband's glider. In 1910 he founded the Wireless Institute of New South Wales and was elected to the Royal Geographical Society of London for his military maps and to the Royal Astronomical Society for his theory of moon-life. George visited Europe to study broadcasting developments in 1922. He played a major role in framing the broadcasting regulations for Australia.

An epileptic seizure in his bath tub drowned him on 20 January 1928. His wife Florence Mary Taylor was very upset of his sudden death.

In 1929 a gift of £1100 was made to the University of Sydney by the G. A. Taylor memorial committee to found a lectureship in aviation or aeronautical engineering in his memory.