Parramatta Park - Part 3

Gate House

Gatehouses are part of the evolution of the Park from Governor’s Domain to Parramatta Park. There are 6 gatehouses in Parramatta Park:

• George Street  Gatehouse - Tudor Gatehouse – Grand entrance
• Ross Street Gatehouse
• Park Road Gatehouse
• Macquarie Street  Gatehouse - Tea Room – Gothic-style
• Great Western Hwy Gatehouse  – Mays Hill
• Queens Road Gatehouse

Bath House

The bath house was built in 1823. The Governors Bath House has intricate exposed timber work within the internal roof structure and large sandstone paving under foot. Due to his war wounds, Governor Brisbane wanted a private place with warm baths. This Bath House is convict built heating and pumping system. In 1886, Parramatta Park Trustees converted the Bath House  to Pavilion.

William Hart Memorial

William Edward Hart was born on 20 April 1885 at Parramatta. He was first Australian to fly a plane and first qualified pilot in Australia. On 29 June, 1911  Billy won Australia's first air race when he defeated the American A. B. Stone from Botany to Parramatta Park.

Dairy Cottage

The Dairy Cottage is one of Australia’s oldest surviving colonial buildings and offers a glimpse back into Australia’s past. Dairy Cottage was constructed between 1798 and 1805 by ex-convict George Salter. In 1811 – 1815 Governor Macquarie purchased George Salter’s land and converted this cottage to Diary. Dairy Cottage is rare intact structure of European settlement. Dairy Cottage remains unchanged since c1820. 

Boer War Memorial

Boer War Memorial was erected in 1904. This is in memory of first Australian troops to arrive in Africa in 1899 from Lancer Barracks Parramatta to take part in Boer War. This was the first overseas military engagement in which troops were representing Australia. 

Lady Fitzroy Memorial

Memorial erected near the site of the carriage accident on 7 December 1847 which took the life of Lady Mary Fitzroy, wife of the Governor and aide de camp Lieutenant Charles Masters. A commemorative Oak tree was planted to mark the site of the accident. The current oak tree is the third tree to be planted on the site in c1996.

Government House

Governor Phillip laid out the area of Domain in 1790 as part of the settlement of Rose Hill and constructed a small timber cottage for the Governor’s residence. Nine years later, Governor Hunter replaced the cottage with two stories Georgian House. This convict built Old Government House is the oldest surviving public buildings in Australia and is a World Heritage site. It was the country residence for the first ten governors of NSW.

The Crescent

Natural ridgeline which once framed a small billabong on the bank of the Parramatta River. First Government House in Parramatta was built for Governor Phillip in 1790 on the ascending hill of The Crescent. Now the Crescent is used as an event space. This year Tropfest Jr will be held at The Crescent.

Observatory Transit Stones

Observatory was built by Governor Macquarie in 1822. Two marker trees were planted to the south of the of the transit stones with two additional in the southern domain. All four trees marked as a north-south alignment across the Governor’s Domain. This was the third observatory built in Australia. It was at this observatory, first extensive and systematic cataloguing of Southern Skies were carried out astronomers. The observatory building was demolished in 1848 with only the transit stones on their plinth left standing. A 16 inch repeating circle and the 5 foot 6 inch transit telescope are now on display at the Powerhouse Museum.

 

Parramatta Park - Part 2

Parramatta Park

Parramatta Park is one of Australia’s most significant cultural landscapes

Over 100 archaeological sites related to aboriginal history and early colonial history

Monuments and buildings built by convicts with cultural significance

Successful colonial farming in Australia

Beginning of cattle industry in Australia

Timeline – Parramatta Park

1788 – 1792: Governor Arthur Phillip

Establishment of convict town at Rose hill

Naming of the crescent

Construction of Government Cottage on The Crescent

Name changed from Rose hill to Parramatta

1795 – 1800: Governor John Hunter

30 acres land grant to George Salter

Construction of Dairy Cottage

Construction of first mill

Extension to Governor’s cottage

1800 – 1806: Governor Philip Gidley King

Dairy farms in Parramatta

Government house built on the site of earlier cottage

1806 – 1808: Governor William Bligh

                      Visited Parramatta twice a month but rarely stayed in Parramatta

                    Governor Bligh was granted 105 acres land to north of Government House by Governor King

1806 – 1808: Governor William Bligh

                      Visited Parramatta twice a month but rarely stayed in Parramatta

1806 – 1808: Governor William Bligh

                     Visited Parramatta twice a month but rarely stayed in Parramatta

1806 – 1808: Governor William Bligh

                     Visited Parramatta twice a month but rarely stayed in Parramatta

1806 – 1808: Governor William Bligh

                     Visited Parramatta twice a month but rarely stayed in Parramatta

Continued to Part 3

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.