Prince Alfred Square

About

Prince Alfred Square is a 1.5-hectare (3.7-acre) park on the northern side of the Parramatta River in the central business district of Parramatta. It is one of the oldest public parks in New South Wales and is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register. St Patrick's Cathedral is located directly opposite the square to the west. The park site was the site of Parramatta's second gaol (1804–1841) and first female factory (1804–1821). Prisoners were transferred to the new Parramatta Gaol upon opening in 1842 and the gaol was subsequently demolished. It was authorised as a "village green" for the people of Parramatta by Governor Bourke on 27 November 1837, and was referred to as the old Gaol Green or Hanging Green by local townspeople. A perimeter fence was subsequently erected and games such as cricket were played. The oldest plantings in the park include Moreton Bay figs, a camphor laurel and a bunya pine that date from the mid Victorian period (c.1869–70s). It was named "Alfred Square" in 1868 to commemorate the visit of Prince Alfred, Australia's first Royal visitor, during which he visited Parramatta. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 28 August...

Occupation of Parramatta by the Aboriginal peoples

Aboriginal people have occupied the Parramatta region for tens of thousands of years. Evidence of their occupation can be found in the form of rock shelters with deposits, open campsites, middens, axe-grinding groove sites, scarred trees, hand stencils and drawings. In pre-colonial times, Parramatta would have been very attractive to Aboriginal people as the landscape would have supported a wide variety of plant and animal life. The City of Parramatta is located on Parramatta River at what is effectively the head of Sydney Harbour. Permanent fresh water was available in the river upstream of the tidal limit and fresh water would also have been available from creeks and surface waterholes, in more clayey parts of the sand terrace. Aboriginal people living in this location would have had access to freshwater and saltwater food resources such as: ducks, eels, shellfish, crayfish, fish and turtles. Terrestrial resources in the Parramatta area included woodland and grassland mammals such as: kangaroos, possums and flying foxes. The grassy woodlands would also have provided access to smaller animals and insects and to native fruits, berries, seeds, yams and roots.

Parramatta CBD, at the time of European settlement, is thought to have been the territorial lands of the Burramattagal (also spelt Boromedegal, Boora me di-gal, Booramedegal and Burramedigal). The Burramattagal appear to have belonged to a larger cultural group that extended across western Sydney, although exact language group affiliations of pre-contact groups in the Parramatta region is open to some debate. Much of our knowledge about the traditional life style of Aboriginal people living in the Parramatta CBD area is reliant on archaeological investigation, as the Burramatta People (as a distinct population group) disappeared very soon after European settlement of the area.

European settlers, attracted to Parramatta for its fertile soils and its suitability for water transport, began arriving in the region in the late 18th Century. Parramatta quickly became the focus of residential, commercial and industrial development. The establishment of the town of Parramatta and cultivation of the surrounding land, would have resulted in many Aboriginal sites being disturbed or destroyed without being recorded. To date only a relatively few Aboriginal sites have been recorded in the Parramatta local government area.

This area is indicated as the site of Governor Phillip 's government farm "Land in Cultivation" on a plan of Parramatta c. 1790. The Government Farm was run by superintendent Henry Dodd, and produced some of the first successful crops in the colony. It is uncertain how long this portion of land remained under cultivation before it was chosen as the site of Parramatta's permanent gaol in 1802.

In 1796, Governor John Hunter was committed to building much-wanted gaols in Sydney and Parramatta. Lack of masons and the need for urgent action convinced him to build in double log and thatch and he issued a "General Order" which required every settler and householder to furnish and deliver "ten logs weekly each". The first formal gaol in Parramatta was in George Street was probably complete by May 1797. The construction of the 100 ft long building was basic but the plan, with individual cells for prisoners (twenty-two), was up with the latest English concept. It was destroyed by fire on 28 December 1799.

Construction of a new Parramatta Gaol finally began in August 1802. It was located on the north side of the river, slightly away from the town, on what is now the Prince Alfred Square/Market Street site. The plan was a modest variant of an army barrack; a symmetrical plan with a central transverse corridor and wards to the left and right and cells at both ends with external access. The rear wall of the gaol formed part of the perimeter wall so there was no external access. The construction of the gaol was the responsibility of Rev Samuel Marsden. Of all the early ashlar stone buildings in NSW, the second Parramatta Gaol was probably the one that deteriorated the most rapidly and required the most frequent repair and reconstruction.

At some time during construction, Governor King decided to add a "linen and woollen manufactory" to the gaol. The layout of the complex consisted of two functionally separate precincts; gaol to the south and factory to the north. Access to the second floor factory was via a yard that also contained auxiliary workrooms and sheds set against the perimeter wall, and was the domain of female convicts. The gaol and factory was completed in 1804. Poorly constructed of sandstone for the ground floor of the Gaol and timber upper floor for the Factory, with a sandstone perimeter wall. Sheds and subsidiary buildings used as work areas, particularly as "rope walks" for spinning flax rope.

The second floor of the second gaol built at that location " a two-storey stone structure consisting of two, 80 by 20 foot (5.5 by 6 metre) rooms " was allocated to female convicts and was called "The factory above the gaol". It was a wool and linen factory where women worked by day and it served as their refuge by night. From its inception, then, the factory was intended to be a place where women who had not been immediately assigned to masters upon arrival in New South Wales were gainfully employed in tasks that were beneficial to the colony, and where corrupting influences could be kept at bay. In reality, this space was inadequate for achieving all of its aims as the majority of factory women could not find shelter there.

Floggings took place within the gaol yard and executions took place outside the gaol, probably in the empty ground to the north of the complex. Stocks at the entrance were used to punish minor offenders. Hangings took place at the gaol from 1804 - c. 1829, including on 8 March 1804 three men identified as ringleaders in the Castle Hill convict rebellion (Battle of Vinegar Hill) - convicts Samuel Hughs, Samuel Humes and John Place, as well as free settler Charles Hill for his participation in the rebellion. Samuel Humes was also gibbeted, in which the body is hung in chains from the gallows as a deterrence to others.

The factory continued to function until December 1807 when both factory and gaol were damaged by fire.

The factory reopened in May 1809. The following decades included a series of reports regarding the structural deficiencies of the building.

A larger space for the women was not forthcoming until 1817 when Governor Macquarie started arranging the design and construction of a new purpose-built barracks for female convicts. In 1821 the women were transferred to the new Parramatta Female Factory designed by Francis Greenway and located further up the Parramatta River on land previously granted to Governor Bligh.

Before 1823 James Williamson had the area on a lease.

By 1830, Major Lockyer applied for land near the gaol on behalf of the School of Industry for the site of an institution, but Surveyor-General Major Thomas Mitchell opposed the alienation of the land for this purpose. In 1833, the gaol was described as in a "falling state". Rather than undertaking major work, the building was shored up until a new gaol could be built.

In 1837, Governor Bourke decided that the land should be measured for a reserve for the townspeople. It was authorised as a "village green" on 27 November 1837 and covered an area of more than three acres. Locals still referred to it as Gaol Green or Hanging Green.

From 1836–39 Lennox Bridge was built nearby, linking Church Street north and south.

In 1842 the new Parramatta Gaol opened and all prisoners are transferred from the old gaol.

The land was levelled and fenced but complaints were made in 1853 that this ground which was set aside as a promenade was being used as a rubbish dump. The difficulty of maintaining and developing communal spaces was soon to be improved by the introduction of the new Municipalities Act 1858, which localised government and gave the subsequent council the authority to allocate funds to improve community services and spaces. On 27 November 1861, the Municipality of Parramatta was proclaimed and by January 1862 Parramatta had its first mayor.