Sydney’s “second city,” Parramatta, occupies the land of the Burramattagal people, a clan of the Dharug. It was colonized in 1788, the same year as the first city. The invaders moved along the harbour to the head of the Parramatta River, where the fertile land was claimed as the site for the colony’s farm. Various artists recorded the early settlement in bucolic watercolour scenes from Mays Hill, the ridge that defined the southern reaches of the Governor’s Domain.
The city’s contemporary marauders tend to move along train and metro lines rather than waterways. Over the last two decades, Parramatta, city on the make, has sated itself on the largesse of powerful development sponsors. This has brought with it considerable errors of urban judgement but, also, an undeniable sense of dynamism and vitality.
Parallel to these forces, state and local governments
