Fleet Street Heritage Precinct

31/08/2026

27/08/2026

EDITORIAL: Visitors contribute well over $20B to Greater Sydney's other C*D, thanks to it's globally significant ~9km long cultural ribbon stretching all the way from Woolloomooloo to Darling Harbour - incorporating dozens of world class destinations, venues, museums, theatres, galleries and collecting institutions, linked by grand public and publicly-owned spaces.

Imagine how much Parramatta's visitor economy would grow were we to create a comparable ~3km long cultural ribbon of enhanced public and publicly-owned spaces and destinations along the upper Parramatta River, stretching from the Charles Street Weir in the southeast, to the confluence of Toongabbie and Darling Mills Creeks (and Parramatta Gaol) in the Northwest.

Why have our State (Donna Davis MP) and Federal (Andrew Charlton MP) representatives, both formerly vocal supporters of broader UNESCO World Heritage recognition for this place and opponents of the proposed rezoning, changed their tunes on both fronts since being reelected? Why have we abandoned the WHL application? Why have we approved yet another rezoning? Where is the accountability? Where is the vision and aspiration?

Slicing up the north end of this remnant historical landscape of unparalleled significance and opportunity will go down as one of the greatest planning mistake in the history of this settlement, come town, come city, come C*D - and squander Parramatta's chance to become a truly great regional centre for Entertainment, Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Education in Western Sydney.

LNP, or Labor. It's second best for the west, no matter who's in charge... or what they say.

Visitors contribute $3.3 billion annually to Parramatta's economy, with the City outperforming Greater Sydney in visitor spending and tourism employment growth.

Parramatta is proposing to explore a dedicated visitor booth in the C*D to help people navigate the City’s diverse range of attractions as it becomes Greater Sydney's fastest-growing visitor destination.

Council will now proceed with a feasibility study to identify a suitable location with PHIVE and Parramatta Square earmarked as potential options.

The feasibility study will also explore partnership opportunities with government agencies, tourism bodies and local businesses to support the visitor booth.

A feasibility report is expected to come back to Council for consideration by March 2027.

25/08/2026

Aug 2017 -

22/08/2026

21/08/2026

RAHS Special Lecture – Unravelling the story of Elizabeth Fulloon and the Parramatta Female Factory, 1824–1827

We are pleased to welcome Heather Garnsey to History House and online for a RAHS Special Lecture on 19 August 2026 at 1 pm.

Heather will speak about Elizabeth Fulloon, the first female Superintendent of the Parramatta Female Factory.

Described by Governor Darling as ‘a woman of extraordinary bodily strength and energy of character’, Elizabeth Fulloon was a 43-year-old recently widowed mother of five when she arrived in NSW to take up her role at the Parramatta Female Factory.

How did the wife of a London schoolmaster become the Factory’s first female Superintendent? How should we remember her time there, and was she really responsible for the infamous 1827 riot?

📅Wednesday, 19 August 2026, at 1:00 pm.
📍History House, 133 Macquarie St, Sydney, and online for remote viewers.
🎟Free. All welcome! Booking recommended.
👉 https://www.rahs.org.au/shop/tickets-unravelled-elizabeth-fulloon/

07/08/2026

1920s buildings and older across ‘our’ Cumberland East Campus, downgraded to “moderate significance”, are planned for demolition in the Proposed Rezoning. The Friends of Callan Park opposed residential development infill for many years, and for that matter the WSU Rydalmere campus (in the immaculate Heritage Landscape has excluded all residential and commercial infill.

One of the most powerful parts of this story at Callan Park is the transformation itself.

Built in the early 1920s as part of Australia's first repatriation hospital for returned WWI soldiers, Repatriation Ward B (Building 497) is being carefully restored and adapted for a new purpose.

The heritage building will enter a new chapter as the clubhouse for , honouring its past while serving the community for years to come.

Stay tuned for its transformation!

07/08/2026

https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/draftplans/made-and-finalised/parramatta-north-precinct?

06/08/2026

Don’t believe the spin. The story hasn’t changed.

Since 2015, the North Parramatta Residents Action Group - NPRAG has been fighting to protect the Parramatta North Heritage Precinct, including the full Cumberland East (Asylum) Campus curtilage.

Sadly, whether it’s a Liberal or Labor Government seems to make little difference. Respect for Parramatta’s nationally and state significant heritage has been consistently lacking.
The Minns Government is promoting this as delivering "20 hectares of open space" - but much of that open space already exists today as part of the heritage precinct. Presenting it as a new public benefit ignores the reality that this historic unique landscape has long been accessible and is central to the significance of the site.

What is new is the proposal to introduce around 2,000 apartments into one of Australia’s most significant heritage precincts. Once this cultural landscape is fundamentally altered, it cannot be restored.

The Minns Government’s actions show that heritage conservation is not being given the priority it deserves. For more than a decade, NPRAG has advocated for a future that respects Parramatta’s extraordinary Aboriginal, colonial and institutional history. That fight continues because our heritage and green space deserves better than political spin it deserves genuine protection.
With the NSW Heritage Minister Penny Sharpe planning to kill off the 1977 Heritage Act and and replace with a more housing focussed Act this government is on fast track to surpass the Askin years.
Paul Scully MP
Steve Kamper
Andrew Charlton MP
Donna Davis MP
Chris Minns
Martin Zaiter
National Trust Australia (NSW)
Australian Institute of Architects, NSW Chapter
AILA NSW Australian Institute of Landscape Architects

33 hectares of the Parramatta North precinct will be transformed into a thriving, mixed-use community adjacent to one of Australia’s most important heritage sites.