Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
acres) of land at Parramatta on
which to start a farm, along
with a hut, grain for
sowing, vital farming
tools, two sows and
six hens. He success-
fully planted and
harvested a wheat
crop with his wife
Elizabeth's help.
She was the first
female convict to
be emancipated in
New South Wales.
In 1791, they were
rewarded with a grant of 12
ha (30 acres), the colony's first
land grant. Arthur Phillip,
governor of the day, called it
Experiment Farm.
In 1793, Ruse sold this farm
to surgeon John Harris for £40.
The date of the cottage is not
certain, but it is believed to
be early 1830s. The woodwork
is Australian red cedar and
the cottage is furnished accord-
ing to an 1838 inventory.
European building in Australia.
Over the next 50 years, it
developed into a substantial
home with many features of a
typical Australian homestead.
Simply furnished to the period
of 1820-50, with reproductions
of paintings and other posses-
sions, it is now a museum that
strongly evokes the original
inhabitants' life and times.
of the other nine graves is
unknown. The first recorded
burial was of a child
on 31 January 1790.
One prominent grave
is that of churchman
Samuel Marsden,
who earned the title
of the “flogging
parson” during his
time as magistrate
general because of
his harsh judgments.
The merchant Robert
Campbell
(see p66)
and the father of explorer
William Charles Wentworth
(see p136),
D'Arcy Wentworth,
are also buried here.
Medicine chest (c.1810),
Experiment Farm
Old Government
House
f
Parramatta Park (entry by Macquarie
St gates), Parramatta.
Tel
9635
8149.
The kitchen, Hambledon Cottage
Hambledon
Cottage
a
Cnr of Hassall St & Gregory
Place, Parramatta.
Tel
9635 6924.
10am-
4:30pm Tue-Fri, 10:30am-4pm Sat,
Sun & most public hols.
Parramatta.
#
¢
Good
Fri, 25 Dec.
www
.oldgovernmenthouse.com
&
7
limited.
8
St John's
Cemetery
d
O'Connell St, Parramatta.
Tel
9635
5904.
Parramatta.
#
11am-4pm
Thu-Sun.
¢
Good Fri, 25, 26 Dec.
The central block of Old
Government House is the
oldest intact public building in
Australia. This elegant brick
structure, plastered to resemble
stone, was built by Governor
Hunter in 1799 on the site of
a cottage constructed in 1790
for Governor Phillip. Wings to
the side and rear were added
between 1812 and 1818. The
Doric porch, added in 1816,
has been attributed to Francis
Greenway
(see p114).
Australia's finest collection of
early 19th-century furniture is
now housed inside.
&
7
8
Parramatta.
6
7
This delightful cottage, with
its walls of rendered and
painted sandstock, was built
in 1824 as the retirement
home for Penelope Lucas,
governess to the Macarthur
daughters. It is set in a park
containing trees brought to
Australia from as early as
1817 by John Macarthur.
Visitors can see rooms
restored to the period of
1820-50. An 1830 Broadwood
piano is one of the furniture
exhibits. The kitchen has
walls of convict-made bricks
and contains original
appliances and utensils.
This walled cemetery - the
oldest European cemetery in
Australia - houses the graves
of many convicts and settlers
who arrived on the First Fleet
in 1788. The oldest grave that
can be identified is the flat
sandstone slab simply
inscribed, “H.E. Dodd 1791”.
Henry Edward Dodd, known
to be Governor Phillip's butler,
was the tenth person buried in
the cemetery, but the location
Experiment Farm
Cottage
s
9 Ruse St, Parramatta.
Tel
9635 5655.
10:30am-3:30pm
Tue-Fri, 11am-3:30pm Sun & public
hols.
Harris Park.
#
¢
Good Fri, 18-31 Dec.
&
6
7
(Groups must book in advance).
www
.nationaltrust.com.au
8
When his sentence expired
in 1789, convict farmer James
Ruse was given 0.6 ha (1½
The drawing room of Old Government House, Parramatta
