Parramatta (; ) is a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
and major commercial centre in
Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the
Sydney CBD, on the banks of the
Parramatta River.
It is commonly regarded as the secondary
central business district of metropolitan
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
.
Parramatta is the municipal seat of the
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
of the
City of Parramatta
The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a Local government in Australia, local government area located to the west and north-west of Sydney CBD in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between th ...
and is often regarded as one of the primary centres of the
Greater Sydney metropolitan region, along with the
Sydney CBD,
Penrith,
Campbelltown, and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. Parramatta also has a long history as a second administrative centre in the Sydney metropolitan region, playing host to a number of government departments, as well as state and federal courts. It is often colloquially referred to as "Parra".
Parramatta, which was founded as a British settlement in 1788, the same year as Sydney, is the oldest inland European settlement in Australia and serves as the economic centre of Greater Western Sydney. Since 2000, state government agencies such as the
New South Wales Police Force and
Sydney Water have relocated to Parramatta from Central Sydney. The
151st meridian east runs directly through the suburb.
History
Aboriginal
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
suggests human activity occurred in Parramatta from around 30,000 years ago.
The
Darug people who lived in the area before European settlement regarded the area as rich in food from the river and forests. They named the area Baramada or Burramatta ('Parramatta') which means Eel ("Burra") Place ("matta"), with the resident Indigenous people being called the
Burramattagal. Similar Darug words include Cabramatta (Grub place) and Wianamatta (Mother place). Other references are derived from the words of Captain
Watkin Tench, a white British man with a poor understanding of the Darug language, and are incorrect. To this day many eels and other sea creatures are attracted to nutrients that are concentrated where the saltwater of
Port Jackson meets the freshwater of the
Parramatta River. The
Parramatta Eels rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
club chose their symbol as a result of this phenomenon.
British colonisation
Parramatta was colonised by the British in 1788, the same year as Sydney. As such, Parramatta is the second oldest city in Australia, being only 10 months younger than Sydney. The British colonists, who had arrived in January 1788 on the
First Fleet
The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...
at
Sydney Cove, had only enough food to support themselves for a short time and the soil around Sydney Cove proved too poor to grow the amount of food that 1,000
convicts
A convict is "a person found Guilt (law), guilty of a crime and Sentence (law), sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a commo ...
, soldiers and administrators needed to survive. During 1788, Governor
Arthur Phillip had reconnoitred several places before choosing Parramatta as the most likely place for a successful large farm. Parramatta was the
furthest navigable point inland on the Parramatta River (i.e. furthest from the thin, sandy coastal soil) and also the point at which the river became freshwater and therefore useful for farming.
On Sunday 2 November 1788, Governor Phillip took a detachment of marines along with a surveyor and, in boats, made his way upriver to a location that he called The Crescent, a defensible hill curved round a river bend, now in
Parramatta Park. The Burramattagal were rapidly displaced with notable residents Maugoran,
Boorong and Baludarri being forced from their lands.
As a settlement developed, Governor Phillip gave it the name "Rose Hill" after British politician
George Rose. On 4 June 1791 Phillip changed the name of the township to Parramatta, approximating the term used by the local Aboriginal people.
A neighbouring suburb acquired the name "Rose Hill", which today is spelt "
Rosehill".

In an attempt to deal with the food crisis, Phillip in 1789 granted a convict named
James Ruse the land of
Experiment Farm at Parramatta on the condition that he develop a viable agriculture. There, Ruse became the first European to successfully grow grain in Australia. The Parramatta area was also the site of the pioneering of the Australian wool industry by
John Macarthur's
Elizabeth Farm in the 1790s.
Philip Gidley King's account of his visit to Parramatta on 9 April 1790 is one of the earliest descriptions of the area. Walking four miles with Governor Phillip to Prospect, he saw undulating grassland interspersed with magnificent trees and a great number of
kangaroos and
emus.
The
Battle of Parramatta, a major battle of the
Australian frontier wars, occurred in March 1797 where
Eora leader
Pemulwuy led a group of
Bidjigal warriors, estimated to be at least 100, in an attack on the town of Parramatta. The local garrison withdrew to their barracks and Pemulwuy held the town until he was eventually shot and wounded. A year later, a government farm at
Toongabbie was attacked by Pemulwuy, who challenged the
New South Wales Corps to a fight.
Governor Arthur Phillip built a small house for himself on the hill of The Crescent. In 1799 this was replaced by a larger residence which, substantially improved by Governor
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...
from 1815 to 1818, has survived to the present day, making it the oldest surviving Government House anywhere in Australia. It was used as a retreat by Governors until the 1850s, with one Governor (
Governor Brisbane) making it his principal home for a short period in the 1820s.
In 1803, another famous incident occurred in Parramatta, involving a convicted criminal named
Joseph Samuel, originally from England. Samuel was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging, but the rope broke. In the second attempt, the noose slipped off his neck. In the third attempt, the new rope broke. Governor King was summoned and pardoned Samuel, as the incident appeared to him to be
divine intervention.
In 1814, Macquarie opened a school for Aboriginal children at Parramatta as part of a policy of improving relations between Aboriginal and European communities. This school was later relocated to
"Black Town".
Post-federation
Parramatta was gazetted as a city on 19 November 1976, and later, a suburb on 10 June 1994.
The first significant skyscrapers began to emerge in Parramatta in the late 1990s and the suburb transformed into a major business and residential hub in the early 2000s. Since then, the suburb's growth has accelerated in the past decade.
On 20 December 2024, the first stage of the Parramatta Light Rail was completed.
Climate
Parramatta has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
: ''Cfa'') with mild to cool, somewhat short winters and warm to usually hot summers, alongside moderate rainfall spread throughout the year.
Summer maximum temperatures are quite variable, often reaching above , on average 13.1 days in the summer season, and sometimes remaining in the low 20s, especially after a
cold front or a
sea breeze, such as the
southerly buster. Northwesterlies can occasionally bring hot winds from the
desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
that can raise temperatures higher than mostly from November to February, and sometimes above in January severe heatwaves. The record highest temperature (since 1967) was on 4 January 2020. Parramatta is warmer than
Sydney CBD in the summer due to the
urban heat island effect and its inland location. In extreme cases though, it can be warmer than Sydney, especially when sea breezes do not penetrate inland on hot summer and spring days. For example, on 28 November 2009, the city reached , while Parramatta reached , almost higher. In the summer, Parramatta, among other places in western Sydney, can often be the hottest place in the world because of the
Blue Mountains trapping hot air in the region, in addition to the UHI effect.
Rainfall is slightly higher during the first three months of the year because the anticlockwise-rotating
subtropical high is to the south of the country, thereby allowing moist easterlies from the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...
to penetrate the city. The second half of the year tends to be drier (late winter/spring) since the
subtropical high is to the north of the city, thus permitting dry westerlies from the interior to dominate. Drier winters are also owed to its position on the
leeward side of the
Great Dividing Range, which
block westerly cold fronts (that are more common in late winter) and thus would become
foehn winds, whereby allowing decent amount of sunny days and relatively low precipitation in that period. Thunderstorms are common in the months from early spring to early autumn, occasionally quite severe thunderstorms can occur. Snow is virtually unknown, having been recorded only in 1836 and 1896 Parrammatta gets 106.6 days of clear skies annually.
Depending on the
wind direction, summer weather may be
humid or
dry, though the humidity is mostly in the comfortable range, with the late summer/autumn period having a higher average humidity than late winter/early spring.
Commercial area
Church Street is home to many shops and restaurants. The northern end of Church Street, close to
Lennox Bridge, features ''al fresco'' dining with a diverse range of cuisines. Immediately south of the CBD Church Street is known across Sydney as 'Auto Alley' for the many car dealerships lining both sides of the street as far as the M4 Motorway.
Since 2000, Parramatta has seen the consolidation of its role as a government centre, with the relocation of agencies such as the
New South Wales Police Force Headquarters and the Sydney Water Corporation
from
Sydney CBD. At the same time, major construction work occurred around the
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
with the expansion of Westfield Shoppingtown and the creation of a new transport interchange. The western part of the Parramatta CBD is known as the
Parramatta Justice Precinct and houses the corporate headquarters of the
Department of Communities and Justice. Other legal offices include the
Children's Court of New South Wales and the Sydney West Trial Courts,
Legal Aid Commission of NSW, Office of Trustee and Guardian (formerly the Office of the Protective Commissioner), NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, and the
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Nearby on Marsden Street is the
Parramatta Courthouse and the
Drug Court of New South Wales. The Garfield Barwick Commonwealth Law Courts Building (named in honour of
Sir Garfield Barwick), houses courts of the
Federal Magistrates Court and the
Family Court of Australia. The NSW Government has also announced plans to secure up to 45,000 m
2 of new A-grade leased office space in Parramatta to relocate a further 4,000 workers from the Sydney CBD.

Parramatta Square (previously known as Civic Place) is a civic precinct located in the heart of the city, adjacent to Parramatta Town Hall. The Parramatta Square construction works included a redevelopment of the Parramatta Civic Centre, construction of a new culture and arts centre, and the construction of a new plaza. The designs of the first two projects, a 65-storey residential skyscraper and an office building were announced on 20 July 2012. Concerns from
CASA about infringements into controlled airspace from the height of the residential tower resulted in 8 Parramatta Square being turned into a 55-story commercial building, rather than the originally proposed 65-storey residential tower. Parramatta Square became home to 3,000
National Australia Bank employees, relocated from the Sydney CBD. Other notable commercial tenants who have established a presence at Parramatta Square include
Westpac,
Endeavour Energy,
KPMG and
Deloitte.
Centenary Square, formerly known as Centenary Plaza, was created in 1975 when the then
Parramatta City Council closed a section of the main street to traffic to create a pedestrian plaza. It features an 1888 Centennial Memorial Fountain and adjoins the 1883 Parramatta Town Hall and
St John's Cathedral.
A hospital known as The Colonial Hospital was established in Parramatta in 1818. This then became Parramatta District Hospital. Jeffery House was built in the 1940s. With the construction of the nearby
Westmead Hospital complex public hospital services in Parramatta were reduced but after refurbishment Jeffery House again provides clinical health services. Nearby, Brislington House has had a long history with health services. It is the oldest colonial building in Parramatta, dating to 1821. It became a doctors residence before being incorporated into the Parramatta Hospital in 1949.
Parramatta is a major business and commercial centre, and home to
Westfield Parramatta, the
tenth largest shopping centre in Australia. Parramatta is also the major transport hub for Western Sydney, servicing trains and buses, as well as having a ferry wharf and future light rail and metro services. Major upgrades have occurred around Parramatta railway station with the creation of a new transport interchange, and the ongoing development of the Parramatta Square local government precinct.
Places of worship

Church Street takes its name from
St John's Cathedral (
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
), which was built in 1802 and is the oldest church in Parramatta. While the present building is not the first on the site, the towers were built during the time of
Governor Macquarie, and were based on those of the church at
Reculver, England, at the suggestion of his wife,
Elizabeth. The historic
St John's Cemetery is located nearby on O'Connell Street.
St Patrick's Cathedral (
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
) is one of the oldest Catholic churches in Australia. Construction commenced in 1836, but it wasn't officially complete until 1837. In 1854 a new church was commissioned, although the tower was not completed until 1880, with the spire following in 1883. It was built on the site to meet the needs of a growing congregation. It was destroyed by fire in 1996, with only the stone walls remaining.
On 29 November 2003, the new St Patrick's Cathedral was dedicated. The historic
St Patrick's Cemetery is located in North Parramatta. The
Uniting Church is represented by Leigh Memorial Church.
Parramatta Salvation Army is one of the oldest active
Salvation Army Corps in Australia. Parramatta is also home to the Parramatta and Districts Synagogue, which services the
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
community of western Sydney.
The
Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of
St Ioannis (St John The Frontrunner) Greek Orthodox Church was established in Parramatta in May 1960 under the ecumenical jurisdiction of the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia to serve the predominantly emigrating Greek population of Greater Western Sydney. Originally, the liturgies were held in the hall of St John's Ambulance Brigade in Harris Park until the completion of the church in December 1966 located in Hassall Street Parramatta. The parish sold this property in 2014 and is now located at the corner of George and Purchase Streets. The Parish Community of St Ioannis continues to serve over 5,000 Greek parishioners.
A
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
temple is located in Cowper Street, Parramatta. Parramatta's
Mosque
A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard.
Originally, mosques were si ...
is in an apartment building on Marsden Street, Parramatta. The district is served by
BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu temple located on Eleanor St, Rosehill, and a
Murugan Hindu temple in
Mays Hill, off Great Western Highway.
Parks
Parramatta Park is a large park adjacent to
Western Sydney Stadium that is a popular venue for walking, jogging and bike riding. It was formerly the Governor's Domain, being land set aside for the Governor to supply his farming needs, until it was gazetted as a public park in 1858. As the Governor's Domain, the grounds were considerably larger than the current 85 hectare Parramatta Park, extending from Parramatta Road in the south as evident by a small gatehouse adjacent to Parramatta High School. For a time Parramatta Park housed a zoo until 1951 when the animals were transferred to
Taronga Zoo.
Parramatta is known as the 'River City' as the
Parramatta River flows through the Parramatta CBD. Its foreshore features a playground, seating, picnic tables and pathways that are increasingly popular with residents, visitors and CBD workers.
Prince Alfred Square is a
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
park located within the CBD on the northern side of the
Parramatta River. It is one of the oldest public parks in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
with trees dating from . Prior to being a public park, it was the site of Parramatta's second gaol from 1804 until 1841 and the first female factory in Australia between 1804 and 1821.
Transport
In contrast to the high level of
car dependency throughout Sydney, a greater proportion of Parramatta's workers travelled to work on public transport (45.2%) than by car (36.2%) in 2016.
Rail
Heavy rail
Parramatta railway station is served by
Sydney Trains'
Cumberland Line,
Leppington & Inner West Line and
North Shore & Western Line
The North Shore & Western Line (numbered T1, coloured orange) is a commuter rail service operated by Sydney Trains, serving the North Shore, parts of the Inner West and Western Suburbs of Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the State ...
services.
NSW TrainLink operates intercity services on the
Blue Mountains Line as well as services to rural New South Wales. The station was originally opened in 1855, located in what is now
Granville, and known as Parramatta Junction. The station was moved to its current location and opened on 4 July 1860, five years after the first railway line in Sydney was opened, running from Sydney to Parramatta Junction. It was upgraded in the 2000s, with work beginning in late 2003 and the new interchange opening on 19 February 2006.
Light rail
The light rail
Westmead & Carlingford Line runs from Westmead to
Carlingford via the Parramatta city centre. A future branch will run to
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Parramatta, City of Parramatta Council. It i ...
.
Metro
The under construction Sydney Metro West will be a metro line run between the Sydney central business district and Westmead. Announced in 2016, the line is set to open in 2032 with
a station in Parramatta.
Bus
Parramatta is also serviced by a
major bus interchange located on the south eastern side of the railway station. The interchange is served by buses utilising the
North-West T-way to Rouse Hill and the
Liverpool–Parramatta T-way to Liverpool. Parramatta is also serviced by one high frequency
Metrobus service:
*
M91 – Parramatta to Hurstville via Granville, Bankstown and Peakhurst
A free bus Route 900 is operated by
Transit Systems in conjunction with the state government. Route 900 circles Parramatta CBD. A free bus also links
Western Sydney Stadium to Parramatta railway station during major sporting events.
Ferry
The
Parramatta ferry wharf is at the Charles Street Weir, which divides the tidal saltwater from the freshwater of the upper river, on the eastern boundary of the Central Business District. The wharf is the westernmost destination of
Sydney Ferries'
Parramatta River ferry services.
Road
Parramatta Road has always been an important thoroughfare for Sydney from its earliest days. From Parramatta the major western road for the state is the
Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the ...
. The
M4 Western Motorway
The M4 motorway is a series of partially Road pricing, tolled dual carriageway motorways in Sydney designated as route M4. The M4 designation is part of the wider A4/M4 (Sydney), A4 and M4 route designation, the M4 runs parallel and/or below ...
, running parallel to the Great Western Highway has taken much of the traffic away from these roads, with entrance and exit ramps close to Parramatta.
James Ruse Drive serves as a partial ring-road circling around the eastern part of Parramatta to join with the
Cumberland Highway to the north west of the city.
The main north-south route through Parramatta is Church Street. To the north it becomes
Windsor Road, and to the south it becomes Woodville Road.
Demographics
According to the
2016 census conducted by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...
, the suburb of Parramatta had a population of 30,211. Of these:
; Ethnic diversity: The most common country of birth in Parramatta is
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
representing 30.9% of the population, outnumbering Australian born residents at 24.8%. The next most common are
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
8.9%,
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
5.5%,
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
2.5% and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
1.3%. However, only 6.8% identify their ancestry as Australian; the other common self-identified ancestries were
Indian 27.3%,
Chinese 15.3%,
English 8.5% and
Nepali 5.5%. About one quarter (24.4%) of people spoke English at home; other languages spoken at home included
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
10.4%,
Mandarin 8.8%,
Nepali 5.3%,
Tamil 5.0% and
Telugu 4.3%.
; Religion: This question is optional in the Census. Of the people who answered it, the most common response was
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
33.6%; the next most common responses were "No Religion" 21.6%,
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
12.1%, Not stated 7.7% and
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
7.5%.
; Age distribution: Parramatta has an over-representation of young adults when compared to the country as a whole. Parramatta residents' median age was 32 years, compared to the national median of 38. Children aged under 15 years made up 16.3% of the population (national average is 18.2%) and people aged 65 years and over made up 6.6% of the population (national average is 17.2%).
; Income: The average weekly household
income
Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...
was $2,092, compared to the national average of $1,746.
; Housing: The majority of dwellings in Parramatta (85.6%) were flats, units or
apartment
An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...
s; 7.7% were separate houses, and 5.7% were semi-detached (mostly
townhouse
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...
s). The average household size was 2.4 people. In 2021, 2.2% of households were public housing, compared to 6.3% in 2016.
Notable residents
*
Keith Agget (1931–2017), rugby league player
*
Bernie Banton (1946–2007), builder and social justice campaigner
*
Richie Benaud (1930–2015), cricketer and commentator
*
Allan Cunningham (1791–1839), explorer and botanist
*
Greg Dyer (born 1959), cricketer
*
Gerry Hazlitt (1888–1915), cricketer
*
Paul Hogan (born 1939), comedian and actor
*
Harry Hopman (1906–1985), tennis player
*
David Lennox (1788–1873), colonial bridge builder
*
John Lewin (1770–1819), first professional artist in New South Wales
*
Bruce Mann (1926–2007), rugby league player
*
George McIver (1859–1945),
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
writer
* Rev.
Samuel Marsden (1765–1838), known as the "flogging parson"
* Mary Cover Hassall (1799–1825), Methodist missionary to Tonga Island
*
Dowell Philip O'Reilly (1865–1923), poet and politician
*
Todd Payten (born 1979), rugby league player and coach
*
"Jock" Ross (born 1943), outlaw biker.
*
Nora Kate Weston (1880-1965), artisan
*
J. C. Wharton (1853–1929), editor of ''Parramatta Times'' (defunct) and a local history
Education
Parramatta is home to several primary and secondary schools.
Arthur Phillip High School was established in 1960 in its own right, in buildings which had been used continuously as a school since 1875 is the oldest continuously operating public school in Parramatta.
Parramatta High School was the first coeducational school in the Sydney metropolitan area established in 1913.
Our Lady of Mercy College is one of the oldest Catholic schools in Australia.
Macarthur Girls High School is successor to an earlier school 'Parramatta Commercial and Household Arts School'. Others schools include Parramatta Public School, Parramatta East Public School, Parramatta West Public School, and St Patrick's Primary Parramatta.
Several
tertiary education
Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education.
The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
facilities are also located within Parramatta. A
University of New England study centre and two
Western Sydney University campuses are situated in Parramatta. The
Western Sydney University Parramatta Campus consists of two sites: Parramatta South (the primary site) which occupies the site of the historic Female Orphan School and Parramatta North (the secondary site) which includes the adjacent Western Sydney University Village Parramatta (formerly
UWS Village Parramatta) an on campus student village accommodation. Whereby, the flagship Parramatta City Campus Precinct consists of two buildings: the Engineering Innovation Hub located at 6 Hassall Street and the Peter Shergold Building located at 1 Parramatta Square (169 Macquarie Street).
Alphacrucis University College is a Christian liberal arts college with a campus in Parramatta located at 30 Cowper Street. The
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
has also announced that it intends to establish a new campus in Parramatta.
Media
The ''
Parramatta Advertiser'' is the local newspaper serving Parramatta and surrounding suburbs.
On 16 March 2020, the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
opened a new Western Sydney
newsroom
A newsroom is the central place where journalists—reporters, editing, editors, and Television producer, producers, associate producers, news anchors, news designers, photojournalists, videojournalists, associate editor, residence editor, visu ...
in Horwood Place at Parramatta incorporating space for 12 staff and news production equipment with the capacity to broadcast
live radio program
A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode.
Radio netw ...
s.
According to the ABC, the opening formed part of its strategic goal to improve its presence in outer metropolitan areas.
Additionally, the ABC announced on 16 June 2021 its intention to relocate approximately 300 employees to Parramatta, which is part of a five-year plan which aims to have 75% of its content makers based away from the network's
Ultimo headquarters by 2025.
Culture and sport

As the centre of the
City of Parramatta
The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a Local government in Australia, local government area located to the west and north-west of Sydney CBD in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between th ...
, as well as the centre and second largest business district of Sydney, Parramatta hosts many festivals and events.
Riverside Theatres is a performing arts centre located on the northern bank of Parramatta River. The city hosts the following events:
* January –
Sydney Festival and Australia Day
* February – Lunar New Year and
Tropfest
* April – Anzac Day
* July – Winterlight and Burramatta Day (Naidoc)
* October – Parramasala and Parramatta Lanes
* November – Loy Krathong, Christmas in Parramatta and Foundation Day
* December – New Year's Eve
Parramatta Park contains Old Government House and thus Parramatta was once the capital of the colony of
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
until Governors returned to residing in Sydney in 1846. Another feature is the natural amphitheatre located on one of the bends of the river, named by Governor Philip as "the Crescent", which is used to stage concerts. It is home to the
Dairy Cottage, built from 1798 to 1805, originally a single-room cottage and is one of the earliest surviving cottages in Australia.
The remains of Governor Brisbane's private astronomical observatory, constructed in 1822, are visible. Astronomers who worked at the observatory, discovering thousands of new stars and
deep sky objects, include
James Dunlop and
Carl Rümker. In 1822, the architect S. L. Harris designed the Bath House for Governor Brisbane and built it in 1823. Water was pumped to the building through lead pipes from the river. In 1886, it was converted into a pavilion.
Cultural events
* The
Rosehill Race Course holds various race meets throughout the year, including: Derby Day, Golden Rose Day, and Rosehill Gardens Race Day.
* The Parramatta Farmers Markets occurs every Friday, and has local produce.
Sporting teams
Parramatta is the home of several professional sports teams. These teams include the
Parramatta Eels of the
National Rugby League and
Western Sydney Wanderers of the
A-League. Both teams formerly played matches at
Parramatta Stadium that has since been demolished, and replaced with the 30,000-seat
Western Sydney Stadium. Parramatta Stadium was also home to the now dissolved
Sydney Wave of the former
Australian Baseball League and
Parramatta Power of the former
National Soccer League. The newly built Bankwest Stadium opened its gates for the community on 14 April 2019 with free entry for all fans. Located on O’Connell Street, the stadium is in proximity of the Parramatta CBD. The opening sporting event was the 2019 Round 6 NRL clash between Western Sydney rivals the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers on Easter Monday 22 April. The Eels won the match by a score of 51–6. It is being predicted that the new stadium will boost Western Sydney economy by contributing millions of dollars to it.
Entertainment
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
's “Union of the Snake” music video with Russell Mulcahy was filmed in 1983 at Parramatta using 35mm film.
The 2013 superhero film ''
The Wolverine'' used the intersection of George Street and Smith Street as a filming location to depict Tokyo, Japan.
Heritage listings
Parramatta has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* 1 and 3 Barrack Lane:
Warders Cottages
* 39 Campbell Street:
Lennox House
* 195 Church Street:
St John's Cathedral
* 349–351 (adj) Church Street:
Lennox Bridge
* 353 Church Street:
Prince Alfred Square
* 541 Church Street:
Oddfellows Arms Inn
* Fleet Street:
Parramatta Female Factory and Institutions Precinct
* 10 George Street:
Brislington
* 65–69 George Street:
Roxy Theatre
* 85 George Street:
Perth House
* 88–92 George Street:
88–92 George Street
* 182 George Street:
Harrisford
* Great Western railway:
Parramatta railway station
* Horwood Place:
Redcoats Mess House
* Linden House, 2 Smith Street:
New South Wales Lancers Memorial Museum Collection
* 1 Marist Place:
Murphy House
* 45 Macquarie Street:
Parramatta Archaeological Site
* Marsden Street:
Parramatta Hospital Archaeological Site
* 8 Melville Street:
Macarthur House
* O'Connell Street:
Old King's SchoolMarsden Rehabilitation Centre [former King's School] : conservation plan
City of Parramatta Library
* O'Connell Street: Old Government House
* 1 O'Connell Street: St John's Anglican Cemetery
* 12, 14, 16 O'Connell Street: Travellers Rest Inn
* 25 O'Connell Street: Avondale
* 40–42 O'Connell Street: Roseneath Cottage
* Corner O'Connell Street and Dunlop Street, North Parramatta: Parramatta Correctional Centre
* 54 Sorrell Street: Endrim
* 43a Thomas Street: Broughton House
See also
* List of tallest buildings in Parramatta
* Parramatta cloth
* Story Factory
References
External links
Parramatta City Council website
Parramatta Park website
Parramatta & District Historical Society Inc website
Dictionary of Sydney entries
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