4 minute read
Protect
Enriching the Layers of Parramatta
The National Trust recently held a Community Forum in Parramatta to discuss the important history and heritage of that city and the way that it can be meaningfully retained into the future. This is an edited extract of the keynote speech delivered by the National Trust's Conservation Director, David Burdon.
When I consider the rich series of layers in Parramatta, I am reminded of the words of that great urbanist Jane Jacobs when she said: “Designing a dream city is easy; rebuilding a living one takes imagination.”
Parramatta is very much a living city and, despite the destruction that has occurred, there is still an extraordinary array of heritage for us to see today. Setting aside places such as Hambledon Cottage and Elizabeth Farm, a short walk around Sorrell Street in North Parramatta reveals a wonderful array of beautiful historic houses. Just as we have preserved the streets of Paddington, Glebe and Surry Hills to make a ‘city of villages’ around Sydney, for the same reason, we must also preserve these parts of North Parramatta and Harris Park.
When the National Trust prepared its first register of historic sites in NSW in 1946, seven of the 39 listings were in Parramatta, including Experiment Farm and Old Government House, which the Trust has since saved and restored. We currently have nearly 270 items listed in the Parramatta Local Government Area, or at least we thought we did – our Parramatta Branch recently conducted a review and found 26 had been demolished. With many more places under threat, if we are not careful, it will be a death by a thousand cuts. It is not just our historic buildings that are under threat, but also our public spaces and places. With an increasing population in need of more quality green space, this most important of public assets needs to be valued now more than ever. Parramatta’s Prince Alfred Square is a wonderful historic square fronting a cathedral and a theatre, yet there is a proposal that will cover half of it in shadow from tall towers to the north. Just as there are strict controls regarding the overshadowing of Sydney’s Botanic Gardens, Hyde Park and the Domain, these sorts of impacts upon valuable public spaces in Parramatta need to be stopped before it is too late. Parramatta deserves more than half a park.
The same threat exists for Centenary Square, with St. John's Anglican Cathedral and the Town Hall. This incredibly important place was the setting for the Aboriginal and European Annual Meeting Days, which occurred here between 1814 and 1837. The record of the 1826 meeting is fascinating. After a short speech guests sat in a semi-circle on the ground in tribal groups and were served boiled beef, soup, and plum pudding. Each group was represented by a leader, including Bungaree from Broken Bay; Dual from Appin, who accompanied Hamilton Hume to Berrima; and Jubbinguy, who had been captured and imprisoned by Governor Macquarie in 1816. It is remarkable
Below, clockwise from top The Annual Meeting of the Native Tribes at Parramatta New South Wales by Augustus Earle c.1826 (image courtesy of National Library of Australia); proposed towers flanking St John’s Cathedral at Parramatta (image via ArchitectureAU); St. John’s Anglican Cathedral today, showing the same grounds where the annual meeting days took place in the early nineteenth century (photo by National Trust).
Opposite David Burdon, National Trust Conservation Director (photo by National Trust). how little this place has changed since then and how it has continued to be a real cultural melting pot. Yet here again we will have a tower placed to the north that will involve the demolition of the 100-year-old church hall and will cast an afternoon shadow on the two landmark church spires incorporated into the design at Mrs Macquarie’s suggestion.
So what can be done for the heritage of Parramatta? It could start with little things such as applying a coat of paint or the retention of an old house, but perhaps we should dream a little bigger. The government could simply purchase the Roxy and turn it into a wonderful theatre to sit alongside Sydney’s Capitol and State theatres, or we could look at the Female Factory and realise that it could be to Parramatta what The Rocks is to Sydney. Our cities are enriched as we add layers to them, and it is only through a process of gradual restoration, not incremental demolition, that Parramatta can retain any sense of history, variety and human scale. We should embrace its rich heritage, not isolate it. This will give us the fine grain, the variety, the places that are fit for people. We need to think a little harder about what we have now, and what we can have in the future because it really is a nowor-never moment for this very important place in terms of protecting its heritage.
Watch the video of David's Forum presentation at bit.ly/3Skfhui
