Annual Meeting of the Aborigines at Parramatta

Earle, Augustus, 1793-1838.

The annual meeting of the Aboriginal tribes at Parramatta, New South Wales, the Governor meeting them [picture]

[1826?] 1 watercolour ; 17.1 x 26 cm. (National Library of Australia)

On the 28 December 1814 Governor Macquarie organised a meeting with local tribes at Parramatta to discuss the enrollment of children in a newly formed "Asylum for Native Children". At one o'clock Macquarie and his wife, accompanied by a number of civil and military officers, arrived at the market place adjacent to St John's Cathedral. After talking for an hour to overcome the suspicions of the local aborigines three children were finally yielded up to the project and a meal of roast beef and ale was provided to those in attendance.   

Wine, Tabacco, and Maize, 1791, Schaeffer's Farm, Parramatta

A later view of the original site of Schaeffer's farm showing 'Subiaco'

December 7, 1791, ... Went to Schaeffer’s farm. [see history of this site] I found him at home, conversed with him, and walked with him over all his cultivated ground. He had one hundred and forty acres granted to him, fourteen of which are in cultivation, twelve in maize, one in wheat, and one in vines and tobacco. He has besides twenty-three acres, on which the trees are cut down, but not burnt off the land. He resigned his appointment, and began his farm last May; and had at first five convicts to assist him: he has now four. All his maize, except 3 acres, is mean.

The HMAS Parramatta Memorials, One and Two.

The stern of HMAS Parramatta I which forms the Memorial
at Queens Wharf, Parramatta. Photo Peter Arfanis

With the upcoming HMAS Parramatta IV Freedom of the City Parade fast approaching it is worth paying a visit to the two HMAS Parramatta Memorials at the Queens Wharf, Parramatta.

The two HMAS Parramatta Memorials commemorate the service of all the ships to bear the name Parramatta in the Royal Australian Navy. The first of the ships was the torpedo boat destroyer which served with distinction in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean in World War I. The second ship, a sloop, served in the Far East, Red Sea and the Mediterranean. She was sunk by the German submarine U559 off Tobruk on 27th November, 1941. One hundred and thirty seven of her crew were lost in the action. Only twenty four crew survived. The third Parramatta, a destroyer escort, was commissioned in 1959 and  decommissioned in 1991. The fourth Parramatta was launched in the year 2000 and is still in service.

St John's Cathedral, Parramatta

St John's Cathedral, 1913, from publication Centenary Celebration's, Anglican Church, Australia, Heritage Centre Collections, Parramatta Council 

This site located just a few minutes from the Parramatta train station is the oldest church site in Australia in continuous use and is a significant component of the evidence of the early township of Parramatta.