Delights of Parramatta

Louise and I took a mid week excursion to Parramatta. ( Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney about 20 kilometres west of the CBD). We went by river cat, hence making the voyage in the same manner as Governor Arthur Phillip in the late 1700's. (our boat was possibly faster though).

Parramatta is taken from the word "Burramutta" which the local indigenous people used for the area and means "place where eels lie down". - Hahaha I wonder if the local footy team (the eels) knew about the lying down bit, when they named their team!

Parramatta was settled in 1788 when Governor Phillip organised the building of a country home for himself (Old Government House - which is now Australia's oldest building).(Interestingly, the only reason the house still stands today, is that it was leased from the government by The Kings School ( Australia's oldest and poshest boy's boarding school)from 1900 -1969 who renovated and maintained it - otherwise the building would have fallen derelict and been demolished which would have been a sad state of affairs for our national heritage.
Parramatta is also the place where Australia's first farms were established. We visited the fledgling Heritage Centre, where I was amused to see the Australian Government was as renowned for it's shoddy work in 1790 as it is today! Today, Parramatta is known for the Eels and for being the capital of Greater Western Sydney and a major satellite business district...
So I was quite interested to go there (never having been before).. My impressions ..the business district is smaller, drearier, quieter and less thriving than I had expected. BUT the gentrified Parramatta Park and Parramatta river walk were a delight:)

We enjoyed a lovely stroll on the path beside the river on which there is an entertaining visual representation of the history of Australia's settlement set in the pathway, then lunched here beside the river.

After lunch, we continued on our tour of the park, past the Boer War monument before taking a very, very long-winded and historically ambiguous tour of Old Government House conducted by two separate individuals (one for downstairs, one for upstairs) who managed to contradict each other's history lesson and thus rendered the whole exercise fruitless as far as I was concerned. If you're going to give out guided tours of historical sites, then it would be good to at least align one's facts!! - yes I'm pedantic about these things...
and... beefeaters would never stand for shoddy vague history lessons).

After our Government House tour, we coffeed @ Westfield (very tired and run down - the building - not us!!) , then returned to Sydney by train. - a most entertaining and illuminating day's outing!