John Nobbs - A Granville Pioneer and Soccer Enthusiast

John Nobbs.
Engraving that appeared in the Town and Country Journal March 24,1888

John Nobbs is considered by many a pioneer of Granville. In the early days he was seen as the leading spirit of the district, his heart and faith was in Granville which he believed was the centre of the district. He threw himself into developing Granville to be an industrial powerhouse of Sydney, ensuring the district had the services and employment opportunities required for its population.

Parramatta No Longer a Town!

"NO longer a town! A City! That is the State Government’s present to Parramatta on its 150^th birthday..." proudly declared a Sydney newspaper.1 And what a timely gift it was for Parramatta, when in 1938, on the eve of Parramatta's 150th birthday celebrations, the Parliament of NSW bestowed on Parramatta the status of City.

Tablet on the front of Parramatta Town
Hall  commemorating the proclamation of
Parramatta as a City and its 150th
Anniversary. Photo Peter Arfanis

For Parramatta it was a coming of age, a symbolic event that elevated Parramatta from being a suburb to City. But even though the headlines claimed this was a "present" for Parramatta, its elevation was deserving and did not come without a fight. As if it was a test of the resolve of Parramatta's character numerous requirements and red tape threatened to derail Council's attempt to be declared a city.

The Cumberland Argus, a key agitator for Parramatta's elevation to city status wrote; 

Whatever red tape may have required, commonsense and justice demanded due recognition of Parramatta's historic importance and of the great part it played in laying, as it were, the foundation stone on which this great Commonwealth has been built.2

Four months earlier, when momentum was building for a decision to be made, the Cumberland Argus had dared the state's leaders to act when it declared;