Founded on the 2 November 1788, Rose Hill in New South Wales was the first inland colonial settlement, established by Governor Phillip. On the King's Birthday in 1791 it was renamed to become the town of Parramatta, after the indigenous Aborigines of the region, the Burramatta people, a clan of the Darug nation. Some of Australia's oldest buildings are in Parramatta. Old Government House is located close to the City centre at Parramatta Park and, apart from First Government House in Bridge Street Sydney, is the oldest public building (1799), while Elizabeth Farm, located in one of Australia's oldest suburbs, Harris Park, is the oldest private building in Australia.
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Before the English fleet came to Parramatta, Australian Aborigines were living there, and their way of living was very different from the English way. The area of Parramatta was known by the Dharug people as Burramatta or Baramada, "burra" meaning '"eel" and "matta" meaning "creek". The people who lived in the area called themselves the Burramattagal. Evidence of Aboriginal occupation exists within the Park along the ridgeline of the Crescent and around Domain Creek. Several scarred trees and artefact scatters have been located. They used the tree parts to build canoes. They ate animals like kangaroos, possums and also fruit, vegetables, mullets, perch, mud oysters and eels. A couple of years after the English came a small pox epidemic killed a large number of Dharug people, although the two events do not seem to be related.
1788 - Site of Rose Hill chosen by Governor Phillip, 24 April. Settlement at Rose Hill founded, 2nd Nov.
1789 - First wheat crop harvested at Rose Hill, November. James Ruse established his farm, lst Nov.
1790 - First burial in St. John's Cemetery. Town laid out, June.
1791 - James Ruse granted 30 acres (120,000 m2) upland. Experiment Farm, No. 1 grant, 30th Mar. Rose Hill renamed Parramatta, 4 June. Military barracks completed, May.
1793 - Elizabeth Farm House built.
1794 - First road constructed to Parramatta.
1796 - Log gaol built. First church opened, September.
1798 - First inns licensed.
1799 - First part Old Government House built.
1803 - First St. John's Church opened, 9 April.
1804 - New gaol completed.
1810 - First horse-race held, April. John Eyre's school opened.
1811 - Town extended by Macquarie.
1814 - School for aborigines founded.
1816 - New Parsonage built.
1818 - New Hospital erected. Orphan School completed.
1820 - Military barracks completed. Convict barrack erected. Towers of St. John's Church completed.
1821 - First Methodist Church built. Female Factory completed. Brislington built.
1822 - Agricultural Society established.
1823 - Observatory erected.
1825 - Foundation stone of the Darling Mills (Flour) laid on site of present Sydney Woollen Mills.
1832 - The King's School opened, 13 February.
1836 - The King's School building completed January.
1839 - Lennox Bridge, Parramatta completed.
1841 - Byrnes Bros. Flour Mills erected.
1843 - Parramatta's first newspaper "The Parramatta Chronicle" published. Second St. John's Church opened.
1855 - lst Railway opened to Parramatta Junction 26 September, now called Granville.
1856 - Railway extended through the county of Cumberland. Line from Granville to Liverpool opened in September.
1857 - Parramatta Park created.
1860 - Parramatta Rifle Corps formed. Parramatta Fire Brigade established. Railway opened through Parramatta to Blacktown, 4 July.
1861 - Borough of Parramatta proclaimed, November.
1870 - Parramatta Amateur Dramatic Society formed.
1872 - Congregational Church building opened 19 May.
1873 - Gas turned into town mains for first time.
1881 - Council Chambers erected.
1883 - Town Hall completed.
1889 - The King's School new chapel opened 8 February.
1890 - Friendly Societies form a Medical Institute
1900 - First motor car runs in Parramatta. Branch railway from Clyde Junction to Rosehill, later extended to Carlingford. Station serves Rosehill Racecourse.
1908 - New Friendly Societies Dispensary building opened, 2 December.
1910 - Sewerage scheme completed and taken over by Municipal Council, August.
1915 - Electric light used in town for first time. New High School Building opened, officially, 23 February.
1924 - New Masonic Temple opened, 21 May
1925 - New Presbyterian Church completed
1936 - Third St. Patrick's Church, opened, 26 May
1938 - Parramatta proclaimed a City, 27 October
1948 - First Greater City of Parramatta Council elected, December. (The Greater City of Parramatta was formed by the amalgamation of Dundas, Granville, Ermington, Rydalmere, and Parramatta.)
1955 - The completed maternity unit opened at Parramatta Hospital.
1958 - Meals on Wheels service established. Children's Library opened in Prince Alfred Park. A central library was established in Jubilee Hall within the Town Hall, which incorporated existing children's libraries at Dundas and Epping.
1959 - Opening of the Parramatta Leagues Club. A branch library opened at Granville.
1961 - David Jones' first suburban store opened.
1962 - Silverwater bridge opened.
1964 - Central Library Building opened in November.
1975 - Westfield complex opened as the largest shopping complex in the southern hemisphere. Survey of historic buildings in the Parramatta CBD completed.
1978 - Westmead Hospital opened.
1988 - Bicentenary of Parramatta's foundation. 50th anniversary of the declaration of Parramatta as a City. Position of Mayor of Parramatta raised by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the status of Lord Mayor in recognition of Parramatta's significance in the Greater Sydney metropolitan area. Opening of the Riverside Theatre complex in February.
1989 - Archaeological Management Plan of Parramatta CBD completed.
1993 - Rivercat Service to Parramatta inaugurated in December.
1998 - Opening of the Parramatta Heritage Centre in August.
2005 - Opening of new transport interchange at Parramatta.
A Rosella is brightly coloured parrot named after Rose Hill.
The name Rosehill was given to Rosehill Racecourse, and subsequently the associated station and the neighbouring suburb of Rosehill, an area to the east of Parramatta.