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1.     Overview

Aboriginal History

The Upper Parramatta River Catchment was originally home to the Dharug Aboriginal people who had inhabited the area for more than forty thousand years before British settlement in 1788. The local clan in the Upper Parramatta River Catchment was the Burramatta, from which the name Parramatta came, (burra meaning place and matta meaning eels). Many significant items of Aboriginal cultural heritage can be seen in the catchment, including such things as middens, tree scars, cave paintings and stone flakes.

The arrival of white settlers into Port Jackson in 1788 brought a clash of cultures which is still in evidence today.

Below is a summary of main themes identified in the study 'Uninvited Guests: An Aboriginal Perspective on the Parramatta Government House and Parramatta Park', by historian Dr J.L .Kohen – (Reproduced with the permission of the National Trust of Australia - NSW).

The Government House at Parramatta is recognised as one of the most important items of European cultural heritage in western Sydney, and indeed in Australia. The building and the site identify the location where the second settlement of Parramatta was established. Within four months of the arrival of the First Fleet, Governor Phillip was writing to London indicating that he planned to set up farms at Rose Hill, and by early November 1788 the marines had built a redoubt and the first convict farms were established. However, the area was already occupied. It was home to the Burramatta clan, part of the Darug language group. The Darug had a territory extending from Katoomba to the coast and from the Hawkesbury River to Appin. The coastal clans of the Darug, sometimes referred to as the Eora, were the first Aborigines to encounter the European settlers.

There were some friendly contacts between the Darug and the settlers at Parramatta, with several Aborigines including Ballooderry bartering fish with the officers and settlers in June 1791. But the following month some of the convicts destroyed Ballooderry's canoe and he speared a man near Kissing Point as payback. For this he was outlawed. Without the use of his canoe, he would have found it very difficult to feed himself and his family. He died a few months later, and was buried in the Governor's garden at Sydney.

By most accounts, the hostilities which developed near the outer settlements were instigated by the convicts and the soldiers. Between Parramatta and Kissing Point, and west to Toongabbie, spearings in retaliation were not uncommon. The Parramatta Darug had the unwanted distinction of being the first Aborigines to have their heads removed and sent to England. Pemulwuy, a Bediagal man from the headwaters of the George's River, was another who was decapitated. His head was sent back to England preserved in spirits. Darug people are still trying to have it returned.

By 1800 the conflicts around Parramatta had developed to the stage where Governor King issued a proclamation allowing any Aborigine west of Parramatta to be shot on sight. George Caley, who collected botanical specimens for Joseph Banks, suggested that the hostilities began when convict shepherds lost some of their sheep and, in fear of being punished, blamed the Darug people. Accordingly, "war was declared" and when the Darug retaliated a state of panic gripped the settlers living in western Sydney for over a year.

Hostilities around Parramatta continued until Macquarie's time, often led by Tedbury, Pemulwuy's son. Macquarie initiated a series of actions which were to dramatically impact on the local Aboriginal people, and it resulted in Parramatta and Government House becoming the centre of Aboriginal European interactions until Macquarie departed. In 1814, on the advice of the missionary William Shelley, he set up the Parramatta Native Institution to "civilise, Christianise and educate" Aboriginal children, and this was followed by the introduction of the annual feast, which continued at Parramatta until the 1830s. Many of the children who attended this school have descendants still living in western Sydney.

Macquarie's ambivalence towards the Aborigines was demonstrated in 1816 when, in response to raids on farms from Lane Cove to the Nepean River, he sent out a military detachment to kill as many Aborigines as they could find, but also gave orders to bring back children to be placed in the Native Institution. He developed a strategy of nominating a 'chief' to be responsible for each of the clans, identified by the wearing of a brass breast‑plate engraved with his name and title. This was a typically European way of negotiation, but it often reflected the actual status of certain elders and 'clever men' within each clan. However, to make sure that the 'chiefs' controlled their relatives, Macquarie asked each of them to give up one of their children to be placed in the Native Institution. People like Nurragingy of the Wianamattagal clan (South Creek Tribe) and Merimeri of the Mulgowi clan (Mulgoa Tribe) each gave up one of their children and for a short time the relationships between the Europeans and the Darug remained peaceful.

Following the punitive expeditions in 1816 and the subsequent conciliatory attempts by Macquarie in rewarding 'friendly' Aborigines, the Darug demonstrated their attitude towards the new relationship when Nurragingy, Merimeri and their entire clans visited the Governor and Mrs Macquarie at Parramatta on 12 January 1817. They were entertained but it was pointed out that they were uninvited. Of course, from the perspective of the local Darug owners of this area, it was the Europeans who were the uninvited guests on their land.

Lake Parramatta supplied freshwater to the region, and was also used foer swimming up to the 1960's

"The Place Where the Eels Lie Down”.

The early settlement in Port Jackson faced many difficulties, not the least of which was the poor soil which would not support imported strains of wheat and other staple crops. Governor Phillip, who had explored the upper tidal reaches of the Parramatta River in 1788, encouraged establishment of new farms on the low lying river flats by giving land and convicts to the white settlers. This resulted in the development of the township of Rose Hill which later became known as Parramatta, the Aboriginal name meaning "the place where the eels lie down."  Parramatta is Australia's second oldest settlement, having been established on November 2^nd 1788. Lake Parramatta provided a clean and reliable water supply for the orchards and market gardens so the township flourished. Parramatta is often referred to as the "cradle city" due to its significant farming contribution to help feed the whole colony.

Many important events in colonisation happened first in the Parramatta area including:-

• successful farm
• ferry (The Rose Hill Packet launched 1789)
• market (1792)
• woollen goods manufactured
• recorded race meeting (1810)
• agricultural society
• train line to Sydney (1855)
• vineyard – 3 acres of vines in the Governor’s garden at Parramatta in 1791
• public fair
• jail
• plough used
• legal brewery (1804)
• land grant (James Ruse 1791)
• orchard
• tannery
• Prospect Reservoir constructed 1888

Early settlers in the Upper Parramatta Catchment area include such identities as:

• James Ruse (1760 – 1837), a convict farmer who was granted land at Rosehill. His property became known as Experiment Farm.
• Edward Elliot (1752 – 1822) also a convict. He became the largest emancipist sheep farmer in the early colony with 120 sheep on 12 hectares near Parramatta.
• John and Elizabeth Macarthur John came to Australia in 1789 and was banished back to England for inspiring the Rum Rebellion against Governor Bligh in 1808.  He and his wife successfully bred merinos for fine wool so initiating the wool industry in Australia.

With the introduction of rail transport in the 1850’s Parramatta became the main metropolis of NSW.

Parramatta Town Hall during the Rugby League season 2002

Today

Today Parramatta is the geographic and demographic centre of greater Sydney, it is a thriving urban area and a major regional centre for Western Sydney and NSW. Residential housing, industry, schools and commercial areas followed the development of the railway line and the major roads that traverse the catchment.

The catchment area of 108 km², is 70% urbanised and contains approximately 80,000 properties and a population of 220,500 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999). The cities of Parramatta and Blacktown are located at the perimeter of the catchment; Parramatta Central Business District being at the outlet, and Blacktown at the western extremity.

The long history of intensive use of the catchment has resulted in significant environmental management problems. Today factories, residences and commercial businesses cover the area, impervious surfaces such as roads, roofs and car parks result in more frequent flooding and all forms of land use, (residential, commercial, recreational and industrial), have caused severe deterioration in water quality.

Parramatta has one of the finest and most important collections of colonial heritage still standing.  Old Government House, Hambledon Cottage, Elizabeth Farm House and Experiment Farm, Lake Parramatta Dam wall and various weirs and parks indicate the presence and industry of the early colonists.

2.    Other Resources and Links

·           Upper Parramatta River Catchment Trust www.uprct.nsw.gov.au

·           Parramatta City Council www.parracity.nsw.gov.au

·           Baulkham Hills Shire Council www.baulkhamhills.nsw.gov.au

·           Holroyd City Council www.holroyd.nsw.gov.au

·           Blacktown City Council www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au

·           Olympic Co-ordination Authority www.oca.nsw.gov.au

·           www.teachingheritage.nsw.edu.au/a_forming/aboriginal.html