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| Parramatta Park and Old Government House |
| Item |
| Name of Item: |
Parramatta Park and Old Government House |
| Other Name/s: |
Government Farm, Old Government House and the Government Domain - Parramatta |
| Type of Item: |
Complex / Group |
| Group/Collection: |
Government and Administration |
| Category: |
Other - Government & Administration |
| Location: |
Lat:150.99675176 Long:-33.80909986 |
| Primary Address: |
O'Connell Street, Parramatta, NSW 2150 |
| Local Govt. Area: |
Parramatta
|
Property Description:
| Lot/Volume Code |
Lot/Volume Number |
Section Number |
Plan/Folio Code |
Plan/Folio Number |
| CROWN LAND |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| LOT |
369 |
- |
DP |
752058 |
|
| Boundary: |
Refer to Heritage Council map. |
|
All Addresses |
| Street Address |
Suburb/Town |
LGA |
Parish |
County |
Type |
O'Connell Street
|
Parramatta
|
Parramatta
|
St John
|
Cumberland
|
Primary
|
|
|
Owner/s
| Organisation Name |
Owner Category |
Date Ownership Updated |
| Parramatta Park Trust |
State Government |
19 Oct 05 |
|
|
| Statement of Significance |
Parramatta Park demonstrates continuous cultivation and land-use from the management of the Cumberland Plain grasslands by the Burramatta clan of the Dharug Aboriginal people and later through the processes of colonisation, from exploration to occupation, including land clearing and building. The first farm to produce sufficient food to feed the penal colony was established here beside the river in 1788, saving the settlement from starvation.
Following Governor Phillip's establishment of the Governor's Domain in 1790 the area contained agricultural land, stockyards, lumber yards, and most significantly, the governor's residence and vice-regal offices. Old Government House at Parramatta demonstrates the growth of the Colony, from an impermanent cottage, built with the limited material available, into a grand residence with some of the finest extant plaster and joinery from the Georgian period.
A landmark site, the Park and House retains historical association with successive governors, and was the location for significant interaction between Aboriginal and European people. It demonstrates early town planning and landscaping design and features strategic and picturesque views and vistas, created to frame Old Government House and enforce the status of the Governor over the convicts and free settlers inhabiting the township below. As such it is a conscious recreation of English landscapes of control.
The Domain was used for botanical and astronomical scientific research, and the Park is considered both a European and Aboriginal archaeological resource of national significance.
The park has evolved from being one of the earliest successful agricultural sites of the colony, including the site of the only 18th century vice-regal residence and seat of colonial government remaining intact today, to one of the most important and earliest open spaces dedicated for public use. The Park has continuously operated as a public park since 1857, reinforced by its gazettal as a National Park in 1917. Old Government House was used by Governors until 1855, tenanted by the King's School and other organisations, and then operated by the National Trust since 1970 as a house museum. Parramatta Park retains strong associations with the local Aboriginal community.
The whole site is a unique and rare demonstration of the evolution of New South Wales and Australian Society since 1788.
Date Significance Updated: 16 Feb 07
Note: There are incomplete details for a number of items listed on the State Heritage Register. The Heritage Branch intends to develop or upgrade statements of significance for these items as resources become available. |
|
| Description |
| Designer: |
John Watts, Francis Greenway, W.L. Vernon (Old Government House) |
| Construction Years: |
1790 - 1857 |
| Physical Description: |
An area of 200 acres situated in part of the former Government Domain, containing over 80 items of cultural significance. These items include: buildings (eg Old Government House), relics (former observatory), historic plantings, archaeological sites (41 in all, including former roads, convict huts, stables, redoubt, lumberyard), vistas (across Parramatta and along George St to the former wharf) and natural items such as bushland. For a description of individual items please refer to the reports listed in the "information sources" field. Archaeological Site: AZP Cross Reference: PP1-41.
Governor Thomas Brisbane's Observatory site includes two transit stones, two marker trees (Himalayan or chir pine, Pinus roxburghii) to its south, two more chir pines near the Southern Domain gate house spaced the same distance apart as the two close to the observatory, centred exactly on the same north-south alignment extending through the gap in the transit stones (on the Great Western Highway) which probably mark the location of a marker stone), the Observatory Memorial (1880) obelisk and archaeological remains of the footings of both the 28' square observatory with its northern and southern domed ends and the former astronomer's cottage to its west. (Brian McDonald & Associates, Parramatta Park Historic Buildings & Monuments Study, 1986). |
Physical Condition and/or
Archaeological Potential: |
High archaeological potential.
Date Condition Updated: 30 Sep 97
|
| Modifications and Dates: |
1788: Government Farm founded at Rose Hill, and wheat, barley, corn and oats were planted in June & July that year. Part of the farm was in the Crescent of Parramatta Park, a former anabranch of the Parramatta River.
1790 Governor Phillip laid out the area of the Domain as part of the Parramatta township. It was located on the western edge of the original township, and contained a Governor's residence, stockyards, lumber yard, and the redoubt. It was also used for grazing and food cultivation, grazing continuing until 1900. Under Phillip a town plan was surveyed that included High Street (now George Street), running between the planned site of Government House and 'The Landing Place', further down the river. High Street was 205'/63m wide and one mile/1.6km long. On each side of this street, the Government erected huts set 60'/18.5m apart and constructed to accommodate 10 persons. These were built of wattle and daub with thatched rooves, and measured 12x24'. Convicts built the new street and huts from July 1790. From the early 1810s these were occupied by emancipated convicts and free settlers. From 1814/5 the huts were in disrepair and many were demolished as part of landscaping by Governor and Mrs Macquarie who pushed back (east) the township to create an expanded Governor's Domain. Huts were still standing outside the Domain in 1822 (now part of the Law Courts/Attorney-General's/Bloodbank/Parramatta District Hospital site).
1800-10 Governor King appears to have set up Australia's first public botanic garden, under Sir Joseph Banks' personal plant collector, George Caley, on the Government Farm. Caley also used Old Government house to mount and treat his plant collection/specimens.
The character of the Domain was changed by the gradual removal of the stockyards, lumber yard etc to other areas of the township and by Governor Macquarie who extended the domain east to O'Connell St and reworked the site according to currently fashionable picturesque principles. River Road dates to the Macquarie period (c1810-20).
1822: Governor Brisbane's observatory built on Coronation Hill
1823: Governor Brisbane's bath house built, completed in 1823, on Coronation Hill. Water pumped ex river, heated, drained to a duck pond near the Macquarie Street gatehouse
1850: Railway surveys undertaken to determine the desired alignment of a rail track west of Parramatta.
1858 Parramatta Park created as a Victorian People's Park for public access after much lengthy lobbying from the 1840s. Numerous adaptations, eg: additional paths, drives, planted avenues of trees, plantations, the George Street entrance - three playgrounds have been located near here (northwest of) since 1858.
1860: railway easement, an avenue of English oaks was planted along the length of River Road in the 1860s
1886: Governor Brisbane's former bath house converted into an open arched rooved pavilion
1904: Boer War Memorial and cannon erected, memorial re-cycling Doric columns off the former Parramatta Court house complex, on the southwest corner of Church & George Streets
1911: Memorial to Parramatta resident William Hart, first Australian to fly a plane on a cross-country flight, from Penrith to Parramatta, touching down in the park on November 4th. The flight took 23 minutes.
1913: loss of 0.9 ha to Parramatta High School
1923 and 1965: loss of 1.8 ha to public roads
1952: loss of 1.1 ha to RSL Club
1958: loss of 0.3 ha to Children's Home
1967: dedication of Old Government House
1981: loss of 8 ha to Parramatta Stadium. Stadium Trust has had control of the stadium and surrounds since 3/1989.
c.1985: Burramatta Visitors' Centre (then kiosk) built , designed by Tonkin Zulaikha
1990s: Visitor's Centre renovated, interpretive display on park heritage installed.
1998 major refurbishment of George Street entry playground area including excavation to 600mm depth and excavation of 30 post holes - an archaeological monitoring program accompanied the works. (finding a largely intact soil profile to a depth of greater than 300mm beneath the playground).
2003: Sealing and edging River Road, and two car park areas north and south of the Burramatta visitors' centre, construction of a bus/set-down bay and minor drainage improvements
2004 approval for demolition of three existing toilet blocks and construction of new amenities around the park. |
| Further Information: |
PRS, RNE, NTL, HCL, CPS, Higginbotham and Johnson AZP, Parramatta.
Park Draft Plan of Management 1996.
Parramatta Park, Plan of Management. NSW Dept. of Lands,1987.
Parramatta Park Historic Buildings and Monuments Study, Brian Mc Donald Architect Pty Ltd, 1986. Parramatta Park Historic Landscape Study. Brian McDonald Architect Pty Ltd & Craig Burton, 1987. Parramatta Park Plan Of Management, Crown Lands Office. 1983. Draft Plan of Management Parramatta Park. Planning Workshop Pty Ltd. 1980.
Heritage Ccl. conditionally endorsed a landscape master plan for the Park 3 April 2002 |
| Current Use: |
Park, sporting facilities, historic buildings |
| Former Use: |
Government domain, Government House, school |
|
| History |
| Historical Notes: |
Aboriginal Parramatta:
Research has demonstrated that the presence of large and cohesive Aboriginal groups in the township of Parramatta represented a conspicuous and enduring aspect of the post-colonial periods of Parramatta's development (Steele, 1999, 8). Parramatta was their traditional hunting and fishing grounds and this aspect of traditional use can be interpreted still in Parramatta Park through features such remnant indigenous plantings, scarred trees and the proximity to the Parramatta River and riverine features such as the anabranch of the Crescent and the "Island", a billabong type feature near the George Street gatehouse.
1788-1800: military outpost, Government Farm & Domain:
Early in November 1788 Governor Phillip established a military outpost at Rose Hill. He entrusted the supervision of convicts sent there to commence farming to James Smith, a free man who came from England in the Lady Penrhyn intending to proceed to India, but who was permitted to remain at Sydney Cove (Gray, A.J., entry on Dodd in ADBonline, accessed 7/8/9).
On 4 November 1788 a party of ten convicts known to have some farming experience was sent to the site (the Crescent) to clear it and prepare for further troops and convicts. After the initial removal of trees and erection of temporary huts, convicts began clearing land radiating out from the new settlement (McClymont, 2004, 6).
Smith was soon found unequal to the task and was replaced in March 1789 by Henry Dodd. Dodd was an experienced farmhand who arrived with Phillip as his personal servant. He was found to be the only free man who could be employed 'in cultivating the lands on the public account'. In February 1788 he supervised clearing and hoeing operations at the head of Farm Cove and soon had a few acres under corn.
'This man', wrote David Collins, 'joined to much agricultural knowledge a perfect idea of the labour to be required from the convicts; and his figure was calculated to make the idle and the worthless shrink if he came near them'. Although the number of convicts at Rose Hill increased steadily during the year, the military guard was reduced in October. Dodd's 'influence' was such that 'military coercion was not so necessary as when the settlement was first established'.
That Dodd was no mean gardener was apparent to all who saw the 'plentiful and luxuriant' produce, including a cabbage weighing twenty-six pounds (11.8 kg), which he sent to Government House in 1789, a few days before Christmas. In February 1790 Phillip reported that 100 convicts were working under the direction of this 'very industrious man' and that the corn produced was 'exceedingly good'. When Watkin Tench visited Rose Hill in November 1790, Dodd informed him that 88 (36 ha) of 200 acres (81 ha) cleared and prepared for cultivation were under wheat, barley, oats and maize. Tench was mildly critical of certain procedures, but readily appreciated the practical problems (ibid, ADBonline, accessed 7/8/9).
Phillip laid out the area of the Domain in 1790 as part of the Parramatta township. It was located on the western edge of the original township, and contained a Governor's residence, stockyards, lumber yard, and the redoubt. It was also used for grazing and food cultivation, grazing continuing until 1900 (Old Government House Conservation Plan, 1996). Phillip planned a house and an experimental garden on the site... following the failure of crops in Farm Cove. Beside the first simple Govt.Hse. of lath and plaster, it contained a gardener's cottage and the experimental garden (Pollen, 1983).
Phillip transferred Henry Edward Dodd from the almost unproductive farm at Farm Cove to Rose Hill to hasten the clearing and planting. Dodd had been a labourer on Phillip's farm in the New Forest in England and accompanied him as his manservant. Desperate for reliable supervisors, Phillip pressed Dodd into service because of this agricultural experience and ability to control working convict on whose results rested the fate of the little colony. A big man, Dodd was hard but fair, able to coax indolent convicts to work; he was greatly respected by the marine officers. He lived across the river from the Redoubt where his hut, a threshing barn and grain store were accessible by bridge (across from Pitt Row). On his visits to the outpost, Phillip shared Dodd's hut until his own house was built in 1790. Dodd's untimely death in January 1791 from pneumonia, was regretted by all. Dodd's grave marker remains the oldest in the stock yard which later became St.John's cemetery. Dodd's efforts contributed greatly to saving the little colony from starvation McClymont, 2004, 6, 8).
Phillip reported in 2/1790 that 100 convicts were then employed in clearing and cultivating the ground: '77 acres in corn promise a good crop'. Surgeon John Harris wrote that) gardens had been established by July 1789, and a small house had been constructed for Superintendent Dodd, who was supervising the agricultural activities. George Barrington, who later occupied this house, states that Phillip initially used this residence prior to the construction of his official 'government house' which commenced mid1790. Lt.Philip Gidley King 9/4/1790 noted that (Dodd's) farm house was on the opposite (northern) side of the creek (Ptta.River). A painting shows a 1791 view of the Government Farm at Rose Hill including Supdt. Dodd's house (taken from the Redoubt (Rosen, 2002, 40)
On 28 January 1791, Dodd, died. He was believed to have taken ill after being exposed to the night while chasing thieves robbing his garden. The garden, which was an important agricultural site and with the Domain had a crucial role in the early economy of the colony. In late 1791, Mrs Mary Ann Parker described Govt. Hse as: a small convenient building, placed upon a gentle ascent, and surrounded by a couple of acres of garden ground'. The six acre garden surrounding Govt. Hse had earlier been partly sown with wheat and maize (Rosen, 2002, 40).
Dodd was buried in the corner of a stock reserve which later became the burial-ground of St John's, Parramatta. His funeral was attended by all the free people and convicts at Rose Hill'... A stone erected to his memory still stands in St John's cemetery, but more significantly Collins's tribute endures. 'He had acquired an ascendancy over the convicts which he preserved without being hated by them; he knew how to proportion their labour to their ability, and, by an attentive and quiet demeanour, had gained the approbation and countenance of the different officers who had been on duty at Rose Hill.' (Gray, A.J., entry on Dodd in ADBonline, accessed 7/8/9).
In December 1791 Watkin Tench reported (of the garden around Govt.Hse): 'the semicircular hill, which sweeps from the overseer of the cattle's house to the Governor's house, is planted with maize...looked at a little patch of wheat in the governor's garden...went round the crescent at the bottom of the garden, which certainly in beauty and form and situation is unrivalled in New South Wales. Here are eight thousand vines planted. Besides the vines, are several small fruit trees' adding (31/12/1791) that Sydney 'had long been considered only as a depot for stores; it exhibited nothing but a few old scattered huts, and some sterile gardens; Cultivation of the ground was abandoned, and all our strength transferred to Rose Hill...' (Rosen, 2002, 40).
In April 1792, Phillip wrote to Sir Joseph Banks that he had: ' gathered this year about 300 weight of very fine grapes, the quantity next year will be very considerable. I have oranges but they are not yet ripe'
A detail from a c.1796 plan originally prepared by Govr. Hunter, indicates six structures still evident in the vicinity of Dodd's cottage, where opposite, the unnamed Pitt Row runs in front of Government House to the river (ibid, 41).
Under Phillip a town plan was surveyed that included High Street (now George Street), a prominent boulevard designed to rival Pall Mall and other cities finest streets of the time, running between the planned site of Government House and 'The Landing Place', further down the river. High Street was 205'/63m wide and one mile/1.6km long. On each side of this street, the Government erected huts set 60'/18.5m apart and constructed to accommodate 10 persons. These were built of wattle and daub with thatched rooves, and measured 12x24'. Convicts built the new street and huts from July 1790. From the early 1810s these were occupied by emancipated convicts and free settlers. From 1814/5 the huts were in disrepair and many were demolished as part of landscaping by Governor and Mrs Macquarie who pushed back (east) the township to create an expanded Governor's Domain. Huts were still standing outside the Domain in 1822 (now part of the Law Courts/Attorney-General's/Blood bank/Parramatta District Hospital site).
Governor Phillip's second Government House was built in the park in 1790, to facilitate the opening up and settlement of the Sydney basin. Part of the original house is in evidence in the present building which dates from 1799 (extended in the 1810s by the Macquaries). The house was used by NSW's Governors until 1855, after which it was leased to private tenants including the Kings School. The house was taken over by the National Trust (NSW) which opened it as a house museum in 1970. (Old Government House Conservation Plan, 1996)
1800-1857: Science, Government & Recreation:
Governor King (1800-10) appears to have set up Australia's first public botanic garden, under Sir Joseph Banks' personal plant collector, George Caley, on the Government Farm. Caley also used Old Government house to mount and treat his plant collection/specimens.
The character of the Domain was changed by the gradual removal of the stockyards, lumber yard etc to other areas of the township and by Governor Macquarie who extended the domain east to O'Connell Street and reworked the site according to currently fashionable picturesque principles. The Park's River Road dates to the Macquarie period (c1810-20).
Governor Brisbane (1822-5) was also interested in astronomy and had an observatory and bathhouse built on the hill west of Old Government House. This is significant as the first permanent observatory site in Australia, also for Brisbane's contribution as the man who established astronomy and scientific activities in the colony. Brisbane was a skilled astronomer in his own right, and work here produced some of the most important astronomical observations in the southern hemisphere in the first half of the 19th century. The transit stones were also used as the meridian mark for Thomas Mitchell's first trigonometrical survey of Australia in 1828. The site has additional significance for its historic associations with astronomers James Dunlop and Christian Carl (Charles) Rumker. Both were recognised in Europe for their achievements (McDonald, 1986, abridged).
The observatory remains as an archaeological site (transit stones), and the bathhouse has been adapted as a park pavilion/gazebo. Brisbane also granted land on the Government Farm to the first Agricultural Society in Australia in 1822 as an experimental growing ground for fruit trees and other plants. (See Old King's School/Marsden Rehabilitation Centre site)(DPWS, 2002, 15-16).
In January 1836 the HMS Beagle visited Sydney on its circumnavigation of the globe, under Captain Fitzroy, charting longitudes and latitudes by chronometer for the Royal Navy. Old Government House was important to that expedition, as the reason the Beagle visited Sydney was to check its chronometrical determination of longitude against that determined in Governor Brisbane's Observatory just west of Old Government House. Secondly, the Beagle's Captain Fitzroy attended a party at Old Government House on 18/1/1836, in the company of Hannibal Macarthur, his wife Maria and Mrs Anna King (wife of the colony's third Governor, Philip King (Nicholas, 2008, 10).
Cricket in Parramatta started relatively early after formation of the Sydney colony. "The Commercial Journal" newspaper reported that the 'manly' game of Cricket was introduced to Parramatta in 1839 - the maiden match being played on August 17th for pound and supper at mine host of the Royal Exchange Hotel. The Parramatta District Cricket Club has been officially acknowledged by the NSW Cricket Association Library as the 'oldest living' cricket club in Australia (spanning 163 years). The first recorded match against Liverpool at Parramatta on Monday 11th September 1843. Parramatta won by 35 runs. Over the next decade and a half Parramatta participated in many recorded games, for example in 1848 a match was played against the Fitz Roy Club on 'Harris Meadow' at Parramatta and through the 1850s matches regularly played on the 'Barracks Square'.
The shared heritage between Parramatta Cricket Club and Parramatta Park commenced in 1862 when the Club President Dr.George Hogarth Pringle gained approval to build a Cricket Oval within the race track in Parramatta Park. Members toiled hard for 12 months levelling the surface, growing a well grassed pitch and erecting a modest post and rail fence around the field. In March 1863 the first match (Married v. Single) was played. The Parramatta (Cumberland) Cricket Club continued playing on the oval, with significant matches against English International touring teams in 1881, 1884, 1886, 1887 and 1891. Parramatta was a foundation member of the NSW Cricket Association Grade competition in 1893/4 and continues to participate in this competition. The club switched from Cumberland Oval to Old King's Oval in the early 1970s, to accommodate the initial reshaping of the oval into a rectangular layout for Football, which eventually evolved into Parramatta Stadium in 1986 (Parramatta (Central Cumberland) District Cricket and Parramatta Park 'The Shared Heritage', undated (2009).
Under Governor Fitzroy in the 1840s a Racecourse (the Cumberland Turf Club) was laid out north of the river in response to the 1840s Parramatta Parks Movement which pushed for more public access to the Government Domain. It ran from 1847-1858 (it was large, extending from the River in the west to O'Connell Street in the east) and the Mud Lodge Races ran here from 1858-1883. This was the first step towards a public park which would satisfy the recreational and health needs of the people of Parramatta. The opening of the Vice Regal Domain followed the establishment of the Racecourse (DPWS, 2002, 15).
1857+ Public Park:
In 1857 the western section of the Domain was offered for sale, while 200 acres was retained for public use. The Parramatta Domain Act of 1857 provided for a park of no less than 200 acres to be managed by Trustees for public use and granted as a park for 'promoting the health and recreation of the inhabitants of the town of Parramatta'. The area set aside was not surveyed until 1887 and at that time was 246 acres or 99.6 hectares, which is historically regarded as the original land dedication. An avenue of English oaks was planted along the length of River Road in the 1860s. The opening of the Vice Regal Domain followed the establishment of the Racecourse. Government House was fenced separately and divorced from the park. Cricket was played here from 1868 (DPWS, 2002, 15-16).
By 1902 the fenced cricket ground north of the river was removed and replaced by two entrance avenues to Cumberland Oval. One was a plantation of kurrajongs in line with Victoria Road, the other a more informal plantation of eucalypts and kurrajongs leading from the direction of the King's School. Both led to the ticket box. The Cumberland Oval was double-fenced and its encircling trees removed: the King's Oval retained its encircling trees and gained a picket fence (Parramatta Park Historic Landscape Study, 1987). In the 1910s the Racecourse was divided into three smaller ovals defined by (stone pine) tree planting (DPWS, 2002, 16).
The site was gazetted as a National Park in 1917 and has since performed the role of a regional park. The Park today is 88.6 hectares in size, representing a loss of 13 hectares in 140 years (Parramatta Park Plan of Management 1996)
Sporting activities began to dominate after the 1930s including motorcycle and car racing in 1938. In 1939 a Rugby League oval was built at Cumberland Oval (the site of the Stadium) and between 1958 and 1966 a memorial swimming centre alongside (DPWS, 2002, 17).
The road ways in Parramatta Park are significant as many represent the remains of the earliest town planning in Parramatta. The road layouts have been designed to reflect the natural topography of the area including the River Road which follows the course of the Parramatta River. Road alignments have remained substantially unchanged since the 1880s (NB: River Road was constructed by the 1860s and appears on an 1887 survey map.
The Visitors' Centre (then kiosk) was built c.1985, designed by Tonkin Zulaikha architects.
In 1995 the Rumsey Rose Garden was officially opened, on the site of the former Bowling Greens and before that of the Convict Lumber Yard near Pitt Row (later Pitt Street) and the Macquarie Street gatehouse. The gardens are named in honour of the late Heather and Roy Rumsey, nursery proprietors of Dural who donated two of every species (& cultivar) of 'heritage rose' (Rosa spp. & cv.s) they had stockpiled in their nursery for more than 45 years. The result was more than 500 heritage rose varieties/cultivars and species. In 2008 a new drip irrigation system was added to the garden (Howlett, 2009).
The Parramatta Park Trust Act was passed in 2002, establishing the Parramatta Park Trust as an independent Government Authority (formerly part of NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service's Regional Park network).
Cricket has been played at the Old King's Oval from 1883 to the present day. Cricket was played on the nearby Cumberland (Parramatta) Oval from 1868 until its closure. The sport of cricket has been played within Parramatta Park as an integral part of its history as a public park and contributes to that significance. The current use is a continuation of historic uses here since the public movement for recreation space achieved the release of Government Domain lands for a racecourse in the 1840s and then the creation of Parramatta Park in 1857. (Parramatta District Cricket Club, 2006). |
|
| Historic Themes |
| Australian Theme (abbrev) |
New South Wales Theme |
Local Theme |
| 2. Peopling - Peopling the continent |
Aboriginal cultures and interactions with other cultures - Activities associated with maintaining, developing, experiencing and remembering Aboriginal cultural identities and practices, past and present. |
Daruk Nation - sites evidencing occupation - |
| 2. Peopling - Peopling the continent |
Aboriginal cultures and interactions with other cultures - Activities associated with maintaining, developing, experiencing and remembering Aboriginal cultural identities and practices, past and present. |
Eora nation - places of contact with the colonisers - |
| 2. Peopling - Peopling the continent |
Convict - Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities |
Working for the Crown - |
| 2. Peopling - Peopling the continent |
Convict - Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities |
Administering the convict system - |
| 2. Peopling - Peopling the continent |
Convict - Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities |
Demonstrating convicts' experiences and activities - |
| 3. Economy - Developing local, regional and national economies |
Agriculture - Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture |
Farming with convict labour - |
| 3. Economy - Developing local, regional and national economies |
Agriculture - Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture |
Attempting to transplant European farming practices to Australian environments - |
| 3. Economy - Developing local, regional and national economies |
Environment - cultural landscape - Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings |
Landscapes and parklands of distinctive styles - |
| 3. Economy - Developing local, regional and national economies |
Environment - cultural landscape - Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings |
Landscapes of urban amenity - |
| 3. Economy - Developing local, regional and national economies |
Science - Activities associated with systematic observations, experiments and processes for the explanation of observable phenomena |
Researching botany and botanical processes - |
| 3. Economy - Developing local, regional and national economies |
Science - Activities associated with systematic observations, experiments and processes for the explanation of observable phenomena |
Researching astronomy - |
| 4. Settlement - Building settlements, towns and cities |
Accommodation - Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities. |
Housing governors and vice-regal families - |
| 4. Settlement - Building settlements, towns and cities |
Accommodation - Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities. |
Accommodating convicts - |
| 4. Settlement - Building settlements, towns and cities |
Towns, suburbs and villages - Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages |
Developing civic infrastructure and amenity - |
| 4. Settlement - Building settlements, towns and cities |
Towns, suburbs and villages - Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages |
Planning relationships between key structures and town plans - |
| 4. Settlement - Building settlements, towns and cities |
Towns, suburbs and villages - Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages |
Urban landscapes inspiring creative responses - |
| 7. Governing - Governing |
Government and Administration - Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities. |
Developing roles for government - facilitating agriculture - |
| 7. Governing - Governing |
Government and Administration - Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities. |
Direct vice-regal governance (pre 1856) - |
| 7. Governing - Governing |
Government and Administration - Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities. |
Developing roles for government - parks and open spaces - |
| 8. Culture - Developing cultural institutions and ways of life |
Sport - Activities associated with organised recreational and health promotional activities |
Playing golf - |
| 8. Culture - Developing cultural institutions and ways of life |
Sport - Activities associated with organised recreational and health promotional activities |
swimming - |
| 9. Phases of Life - Marking the phases of life |
Persons - Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups |
Associations with Governor Phillip Gidley King 1800-1806 - |
| 9. Phases of Life - Marking the phases of life |
Persons - Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups |
Associations with Governor Lachlan Macquarie, 1810-1821 - |
| 9. Phases of Life - Marking the phases of life |
Persons - Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups |
Associations with Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane 1821-1825 - |
| 9. Phases of Life - Marking the phases of life |
Persons - Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups |
Associations with Governor Ralph Darling and Eliza Darling - |
| 9. Phases of Life - Marking the phases of life |
Persons - Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups |
Associations with Governor Bourke, 1831-5 - |
| 9. Phases of Life - Marking the phases of life |
Persons - Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups |
Associations with Governor Arthur Philip, 1788-1792, - |
|
|
| Assessment of Significance |
SHR Criteria a)
[Historical Significance] |
Parramatta Park demonstrates the development of people's interaction with the environment. The land was first used by the Burramatta clan of the Dharug Aboriginal people as a fishing and hunting ground. The Burramatta people's connection to the land saw the Park become the site of significant interaction with European people. As such, Parramatta Park contains evidence of the first impact of British settlement and the subsequent development of many phases of the Nation's development. The site is closely associated with the beginnings of rural settlement in Australia and with exploration and the extension of colonisation. Rural settlement at the head of the Parramatta River had early importance to the colony as productive agricultural land, stockyards and lumberyards. The proclamation of Government Domain in 1790 and the construction of Old Government House is strong evidence of this. The former Government Domain and vice-regal residence at Parramatta demonstrate the early importance of the rural settlement at the head of the Parramatta River. Old Government House itself demonstrates the growth of the Colony, from an impermanent cottage, built with the limited material available, into a grand residence, followed by the consolidation of public administration in Sydney.
The current use, as a public park, is a continuation of historic uses here since the public movement for recreation space achieved the release of Government Domain lands for a racecourse in the 1840s and then the creation of Parramatta Park in 1857. The sport of cricket has been played within Parramatta Park as an integral part of its history as a public park and contributes to that significance.
The park is historically significant as a site of Aboriginal and early European heritage, early agriculture and as a seat of government. The park is the remnant of the Government Domain which dates from first settlement and was used for early grazing and food crops as well as for the private use of the Governor. Old Government House was the early focus of Parramatta, an indicator of its importance and was the starting point for several early explorations of the interior. |
SHR Criteria b)
[Associative Significance] |
Parramatta Park is of State significance as a landscape and house created by Governor and Mrs Macquarie. As Old Government House, the site is also primarily associated with Governors Phillip, King, Macquarie, Brisbane, Darling and Fitzroy. The buildings were associated with the King's School, a state significant educational institution. In 1970 the National Trust, a significant heritage organisation to New South Wales, began its long association with the site.
Old Government House is the architectural work of two prominent early colonial architects: Francis Greenway and Lieutenant John Watts. Government architect Walter Liberty Vernon is associated with the refitting of the house for use by the King's School and meticulously recording the building prior to the works.
The site has additional significance for its historic associations, through the Parramatta Observatory, with astronomers James Dunlop and Christian Carl (Charles) Rumker, both of whom were recognised in Europe for their achievements. |
SHR Criteria c)
[Aesthetic Significance] |
The site is aesthetically significant for its cultural landscape values. Old Government House shows the direct translation of English building forms to Australia. It contains original eighteenth century English joinery, no other examples of which occur in Australia to this standard. The work of three significant architects (Watts, Greenway and Vernon) is also demonstrated in the house.
The location of Old Government House was chosen for the expansive views commanded. The garden design augmented the setting to form an aesthetically significant landscape and aspect. The effect created is striking, originally to enforce the status of the Governor over the convicts and free settlers inhabiting the township below - a conscious recreation of an English working manorial estate. The House is one of very few where the original setting can still be seen. Old Government House is an aesthetically significant Palladian-style country house and illustrates the best of the elegant "Old Colonial Georgian" style of architecture. |
SHR Criteria d)
[Social Significance] |
Research has demonstrated that the presence of large and cohesive Aboriginal groups in the township of Parramatta represented a conspicuous and enduring aspect of the post-colonial periods of Parramatta's development. Parramatta was their traditional hunting and fishing grounds and this aspect of traditional use can be interpreted still in Parramatta Park through features such remnant indigenous plantings, scarred trees and the proximity to the Parramatta River and riverine features such as the anabranch of the Crescent and the "Island", a billabong type feature near the George Street gatehouse.
Old Government House is of social significance to the people of New South Wales as an early seat of government and a site integral to the formation of the Colony and as a tourist and school excursion destination. |
SHR Criteria e)
[Research Potential] |
Old Government House and Parramatta Park have exceptional archaeological research potential, and are of state heritage significance. The complex was a seat of the Colonial Governor from 1788 to 1855, when the present Government House, Sydney finally prevailed as the vice-regal residence. Retained in public ownership, the Park is a complex cultural landscape which includes individual archaeological features and deposits of unparalleled research potential. The physical archaeological evidence within this area may include built landforms, structural features, open deposits and scatters, ecological samples and individual artefacts which have potential to yield information relating to major historic themes including Aboriginal Pre-Contact, Aboriginal Post-Contact, Environment, Convicts, Government and Administration, Labour, Industry, Agriculture, Pastoralism, Monuments and Sites, Sport and Science. Archaeological evidence at this site is likely to be largely intact, though subject to major disturbance in some areas.
Governor Thomas Brisbane's 1822 Observatory site is of historic and scientific significance as marking the first permanent observatory site in Australia and also Brisbane's contribution as the man who established astronomy and scientific activities in the colony. Brisbane was a skilled astronomer in his own right and work here produced some of the most important astronomical observations in the southern hemisphere in the first half of the 19th century. The transit stones were also used as the meridian mark for Thomas Mitchell's first trigonometrical survey of Australia in 1828. |
SHR Criteria f)
[Rarity] |
The former Old Government House is the oldest surviving public building in Australia, has significant historic associations and is a unique example of 18th century English building work in Australia. It is rare as the oldest surviving vice-regal residence in Australia.
The road ways in Parramatta Park are significant as many of them represent the remains of the earliest town planning in Parramatta. The road layouts have been designed to reflect the natural topography of the area including the River Road, which follows the course of the Parramatta River. As the road alignments have remained substantially unchanged since the 1880s, the roads are likely to have beneath them substantial remains of older road surfaces, culverts and retaining walls. These remains are potentially highly significant for their ability to demonstrate early convict road building techniques. The roadways within the Park also have a park-land ambience, which separate them from the busy roads surrounding the Park. |
SHR Criteria g)
[Representativeness] |
Old Government House and Parramatta Park are representative of the Old Government Houses established around New South Wales in the early years of the Colony, including those on Norfolk Island, Newcastle, Windsor and Sydney. While not all of the same architectural style or with such extensive domains, Parramatta is an example of construction of accommodation for the Governors of New South Wales. |
| |
| Integrity/Intactness: |
Generally good but affected by encroachments, particularly Parramatta Stadium. |
| Assessment Criteria |
Items are assessed against the  State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance.
Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection. |
|
| Recommended Management |
Plan of Management for park; conservation plan for Old Government House
Implementation of 2002 Master Plan (Landscape Management Plan) by DPWS.
Park archaeologist Catherine Snelgrove's 1998 "Assessment of the Roads in Parramatta Regional Park" recommended a number of conservation policies for park roads, including:
- maintaining the current alignment of all roads, their narrow carriage width;
- not introducing new landscape to define road edges such as mounding;
- no disturbance to existing road surfaces except under the direction of an archaeologist;
- reintroduction of avenue planting to define roads using traditional avenue trees taking into account views within the park and to and from the park.
- (re River Road/Drive) additional avenue planting to match the existing oak trees
- rationalisation of parking to have parking areas located near to key activity nodes
- landscaping of existing parking bays to minimise the visual impact of larger car parking areas
- consideration of the impacts on soft edges and archaeological sites where not all surfaces are fully bituminised
- consideration of opportunities to interpret the significance of roads within the park
- interpretation of the roadways of the park
- review of the 1998 report with new information (such as Dominic Steele's work) in 5 years (due by June 2003).
Manage in accordance with CMP/Plan of Management and particularly in accordance with Landscape Master Plan (DPWS, 2002), giving priority to actions recommended in that document. |
|
| Procedures /Exemptions |
| Section of Act |
Description |
Title |
Comments |
Action Date |
| 57(2) |
Exemption to allow work |
Heritage Act |
Order Under Section 57(2) to exempt the following activities from Section 57(1):
(1) Implementation of the current management plan approved under section 37u of the Crown Lands Consolidation Act;
(2) the maintenance of any building, structure, monument or work on the site , where maintenance means the continuous protective care of existing material;
(3) horticultural maintenance, including lawn mowing, cultivation, pruning and remedial tree surgery;
(4) weed control by methods not affecting historic plantings or remnant native vegetation;
(5) control of noxious animals by methods not affecting native fauna;
(6) removal of pruning of trees considered by a qualified tree surgeon to be dead or dangerous;
(7) erection and dismantling of temporary structures , signs, crowd control barriers, banners, stages, lighting and sound and public address equipment associated with special events and functions held in the Park;
(8) suppression of domestic and other fires in cases of active threat by fire to life or property;
(9) maintenance of safety clearances around power lines in accordance with current guidelines published by the Energy Authority of N.S.W;
(10) maintenance and repair of existing roads, paths, fences, gates, drains, water reticulation facilities and other utilities;
(11) maintenance of safety clearances around railway lines. |
Jun 9 1989 |
| 21(1)(b) |
Conservation Plan submitted for endorsement |
Parramatta Park C&MP |
Mr Christopher Levins
Director
Parramatta Park Trust
PO Box 232
PARRAMATTA NSW 2124
Dear Sir
Conservation Management Plan for Parramatta Park
Further to your letter of 15 August 2003, and to your telephone conversation with Bruce Baskerville of this Office, I can advise you that the draft conservation management plan for Parramatta Park has received a brief preliminary review, and that the format and general approach are considered acceptable.
I understand that, in view of the extensive body of research and planning that has been undertaken over the years for the park, that this particular format has been developed as suitable for the use of park officers; that Stuart Read of the Heritage Office has participated in the development of this format and approach; and that it has been peer-reviewed by Craig Burton and Stephen Davies.
I also understand that further work may be done on the history component, but that apart from this, the rest of the content of the document is largely ready for review.
I look forward to receiving your final version for review and endorsement,
Yours sincerely
Cameron White
Principal Heritage Officer |
Jun 21 2005 |
| 57(2) |
Exemption to allow work |
Standard Exemptions |
SCHEDULE OF STANDARD EXEMPTIONS
HERITAGE ACT 1977
Notice of Order Under Section 57 (2) of the Heritage Act 1977
I, the Minister for Planning, pursuant to subsection 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales, do by this Order:
1. revoke the Schedule of Exemptions to subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act made under subsection 57(2) and published in the Government Gazette on 22 February 2008; and
2. grant standard exemptions from subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977, described in the Schedule attached.
FRANK SARTOR
Minister for Planning
Sydney, 11 July 2008
To view the schedule click on the Standard Exemptions for Works Requiring Heritage Council Approval link below. |
Sep 5 2008 |
|
| |
Standard Exemptions for Works Requiring Heritage Council Approval |
|
| Listings |
| Heritage Listing |
Listing Title |
Listing Number |
Gazette Date |
Gazette Number |
Gazette Page |
| Heritage Act - State Heritage Register |
|
00596 |
02 Apr 99 |
27 |
1546 |
| Heritage Act - Permanent Conservation Order - former |
|
00596 |
09 Jun 89 |
72 |
3410 |
| Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register |
|
pending |
|
|
|
| Regional Environmental Plan |
Parramatta Park |
Sched.6 pt.1 (state signif) |
20 Aug 99 |
|
|
| Local Environmental Plan |
|
418 |
27 Feb 97 |
20 |
|
| Archaeological zoning plan |
Parramatta Archaeological Management Unit 2998 |
|
|
|
|
| National Trust of Australia register |
|
9237, 9238 |
|
|
|
| National Heritage List |
|
|
01 Aug 07 |
|
|
| Register of the National Estate |
|
multiple listings |
21 Mar 78 |
|
|
|
| Study Details |
| Title |
Year |
Number |
Author |
Inspected by |
Guidelines Used |
| City of Parramatta Heritage Study |
1993 |
418 |
Meredith Walker |
|
Yes |
| Colonial Landscapes of the Cumberland Plain and Camden, NSW |
2000 |
|
NSW Heritage Office |
|
Yes |
|
|
| References, Internet links & Images |
| Type |
Author |
Year |
Title |
Internet
Links |
| Tourism |
Friends of Old Government House |
2006 |
Friends of Old Government House Tourism Website |
Click here
|
| Tourism |
National Trust |
2006 |
Old Government House - National Trust Tourism Website |
Click here
|
| Tourism |
Parramatta City Council |
2006 |
Parramatta Park - Tourist Walk |
Click here
|
| Tourism |
Parramatta Park Trust |
2004 |
Parramatta Park Trust Homepage - Tourism Website |
Click here
|
| Tourism |
Tourism NSW |
2007 |
Old Government House Parramatta |
Click here
|
| Written |
A. J. Gray |
1966 |
'Dodd, Henry Edward ( - 1791)' entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1 |
Click here
|
| Written |
Anne Bickford |
1988 |
Parramatta Park - the Observatory Site - excavation of the foundations |
|
| Written |
Anne Bickford for Brian McDonald Architect Pty. Ltd. Architect; |
1987 |
Report : Parramatta Park: the Governor's dairy, excavation of portion of room 4C |
|
| Written |
Archaeology & Heritage |
2009 |
Parramatta Observatory site : exemption application s.57(2) NSW Heritage Act for removal of fill |
|
| Written |
Brian McDonald Architect |
1986 |
Parramatta Park Historic Buildings & Monuments Study |
|
| Written |
Bruce Baskerville |
2009 |
Pers. Comm. |
|
| Written |
Catherine Snelgrove |
1998 |
Assessment of the Roads in Parramatta Regional Park |
|
| Written |
Clinton Johnston & Verena Mauldon |
2009 |
Parramatta Observatory, Parramatta Park: the story of Brisbane, Rumker & Dunlop |
|
| Written |
Department of Public Works & Services (DPWS), Landscape Design Group |
2002 |
Parramatta Park Master Plan (landscape master plan) |
|
| Written |
Design 5 Architects |
2000 |
Macquarie Street Gatehouse - conservation & refurbishment works: specification and schedules |
|
| Written |
Design 5 Architects (Team coordinator) |
1994 |
The Dairy Precinct - revised Conservation Management Plan |
|
| Written |
Dominic Steele |
1999 |
Archaeological Monitoring Report |
|
| Written |
Dominic Steele Consulting Archaeology |
1999 |
Archaeological Monitoring Report - George Street Playground |
|
| Written |
Dominic Steele Consulting Archaeology |
1999 |
Archaeological Monitoring Report George Street Playground |
|
| Written |
Dominic Steele Consulting Archaeology |
2002 |
Parramatta Park Macquarie Street Entrance Precinct - Storage Depot, Marquee Site & Car Park proposal: cultural heritage assessment report |
|
| Written |
Dominic Steele Consulting Archaeology |
2004 |
Archaeological Excavation Report: Macquarie Street Entrance Precinct Augmentation Proposal |
|
| Written |
Dr Val Attenrbow for Australian Museum Business Services |
1994 |
Parramatta Park - Management & Interpretation of Aboriginal Sites - stage 1 |
|
| Written |
Gingra Ecological Surveys, Roger Lembit for |
2003 |
Review of Bushland Restoration of The Ridge - a report to Parramatta Park Trust |
|
| Written |
Goddon Mackay |
1995 |
Parramatta Park Archaeological Zoning Plan |
|
| Written |
Howlett, Scott |
2009 |
Promise of Rose Garden', in Parramatta Sun (newspaper) 4/11/2009 |
|
| Written |
Hubert Architects |
2007 |
Parramatta Swimming Centre: Addendum to Heritage Assessment & Statement of Heritage Impact |
|
| Written |
McClymont, John |
2004 |
Chapter: 'Rose Hill: a convict town', in A Pictorial History: Parramatta and District |
|
| Written |
Parramatta District Cricket Club Inc. |
2006 |
Heritage impact statement: proposed development |
|
| Written |
Parramatta Park Trust |
1996 |
Parramatta Park Plan of Management |
|
| Written |
Parramatta Park Trust |
2004 |
Assessment of the Views & Vistas in Parramatta Park |
|
| Written |
Parramatta Park Trust |
2007 |
draft Parramatta Park Conservation and Management Plan |
|
| Written |
Parramatta Park Trust (with CAB Consulting, Dominic Steele et al). |
2009 |
Old Government House & Domain, Parramatta Park Landscape Project |
|
| Written |
Peter Hunt Architect |
2007 |
Parramatta War Memorial Swimming Centre - Alterations & Additions: Photographic Heritage Survey |
|
| Written |
Pollen, Frances |
1983 |
Parramatta: The Cradle City of Australia: its history from 1788 |
|
| Written |
Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Australia (SMEC) |
2005 |
Statement of Environmental Effects for 2 Fish Passageways on the Parramatta River |
|
| Written |
State Projects Heritage Group |
1996 |
Conservation Plan: Old Government House Parramatta |
|
| Written |
Stedinger & Associates |
2003 |
A heritage study of four weirs along the Parramatta River |
|
| Written |
Sue Rosen |
1999 |
The Dairy Precinct in the former Government Domain, Parramatta Park: Evidence for an alternative interpretation |
|
| Written |
various (including Bickford, Anne, 1988, Observatory Site - excavation of the foundations) |
1988 |
Parramatta Park Observatory : a collection of papers (Parramatta Park capital works strategy (excerpt) ; Sir Thomas Brisbane's legacy to colonial science - Colonial astronomy at the Parramatta Observatory, 1822-1848 by Shirley D Saunders ; Instruments fro |
|
| Written |
Varman, R., Dr. |
1997 |
Archaeological Zoning Plan for Parramatta Park |
|
| Written |
Wendy Thorp |
1994 |
Archaeological report Governor's Dairy precinct Parramatta Park - a report |
|
|
| Note: Internet links may be to web pages, documents or images. |
|
|
|
(Click on Thumbnail for Full Size Image and Image Details)
|
|
| Data Source |
| The information for this entry comes from the following source: |
| Name: |
Heritage Branch |
| Database Number: |
5051462 |
| File Number: |
S90/01429;S90/01914 |
|
Every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the State Heritage Inventory is correct. If you find any errors or omissions please send your comments to the
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