The Ultimate Guide to Parramatta’s Foundation Day for Historical Lovers

Get ready to unlock the mysteries of Parramatta’s past at Foundation Day. Parramatta holds a deep historical and cultural significance with beautifully restored heritage buildings and sites added to the National Heritage List and UNESCO World Heritage. North Parramatta Precinct is particularly significant as the home to the Parramatta Female Factory, the earliest surviving convict women’s site in Australia. Of the 24,960 convict women transported to Australia, an estimated 5,000 went through the Paramatta Female Factory. These women bought over 180 trades with them and become some of the businesswomen, farmers, workers, teachers and mothers of our country.

On Saturday 2 November, the North Parramatta’s heritage site will be transformed into a lively open day welcoming historical enthusiasts, community members and families to come together to discover and experience the history of the second oldest city in Australia.

Here is everything you need to know about Foundation Day 2024.

Tours

One of the most anticipated activities at the event are the walking tours around the North Parramatta Precinct. Enjoy a unique tour experience to visit the historical buildings and sites while learning about the inspiring and touching of stories of the 5,000 convict women on their survival and legacy.

After exploring the historical site on foot, enjoy a scenic horse and carriage ride around the North Parramatta Precinct. Not only can you take in the sights of the iconic historical buildings and Foundation Day festivities, but you also get to directly experience one of the most common modes of transport used in the 1800s.

Explore Parramatta’s heritage collection

Join PHIVE, Macquarie University and Pedestal 3D teams to unlock the mysteries of the past in the Western Sydney Start Up Hub Foyer. Take a look at digital replicas of Parramatta’s historic artefacts and compare them to the real-life artefacts from Parramatta’s collection.

You can also uncover Parramatta’s rich history via the interactive touch wall display at the Western Sydney Start Hub foyer and deep dive into the personal stories, events and facts about the historic North Parramatta precinct. 

Lancer Barracks, Parramatta will bring their heritage fleet of armoured fighting vehicles for display and discussion. Between WW1 and 2, mechanisation had arrived resulting in the British Empire’s first Motorised Machine Gun Regiment. The State Heritage-listed military vehicles that will be on display had been used at different times during the Regiment’s history and most restored to full mobility.

For a break between the event festivities, take a seat and discover prominent Parramatta People through a series of short documentaries. The short films with feature historic figures such as Baludarri, Betty Eckles, Billy Heart, George Salter, James Houison & Matron Gordon.

Learn from historical experts

Join a talk to discover and learn about Parramatta’s past directly from historical and archival experts.

• 3D Digitisation of Parramatta’s History:
  Michael Rampe is the Learning Design Production Lead in the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University and the founder of Pedestal 3D and Rampe Realistic Imaging. Michael works at the intersection of state of the art imaging, technology, learning and GLAM across a very wide range of disciplinary areas where he will explain the digitisation project, the aims, and some of the methods used to create the state of the art digital replicas of the cultural heritage of the City of Parramatta.
• Ghosts in the Walls: Kamballa and the Parramatta Lunatic Asylum - Sandie Jessamine (Lost Voices)
  Hear a profile of a young girl who was held at the Parramatta Lunatic Asylum (information from NSW State Archives) and an overview of teenage girls with mental illness held at Kamballa, including Sandie Jessamine herself. The talk will also focus on how the memory of place exists as ghost fragments and the energy of traumatic memory and states of mental illness continue to reside in places where they occur.
• Foundations To Success - Parramatta The Cradle City Of Firsts - Gary John Carter
  Join Gary Carter as he officially launches his new book which gives an introduction to 100 local Parramatta achievements. Join Gary for a chat and a signed copy of his book in the Parramatta Female Factory Friends Research Centre after his talk.

How to get there

As there will be limited parking at the Fleet Street North Parramatta site, carpooling is recommended, or even better, go for the eco-friendly approach and take the bus where you can enjoy the short, scenic walk to the site from the bus stop.

For those travelling from outside of Parramatta, take the train to Parramatta Station and take the 600, 601, 604, 606 bus directly to the O’Connell St after Albert St stop. Once alighted from the bus, turn right onto Albert St. Walk down a flight of stairs and you’ll arrive at Fleet St. Walk 1 minute down Fleet St and enter the Parramatta Female Factory Friends Entrance. The scenic walk takes approximately 5 minutes.

From free family activities, workshops, live music and food stalls, Foundation Day 2024 is an event that can’t be missed. Look forward to the unique and exciting chance to explore and be inspired by Parramatta’s history.