Australia. The Parramatta area was also the site of John Macarthur's pioneering of the Australian wool industry at Elizabeth Farm in the 1790s.
Governor Arthur Phillip built a small house for himself on the hill of The Crescent. In 1799 this was replaced by a larger residence which, substantially improved by Governor Lachlan Macquarie from 1815 to 1818, has survived to the present day, used as a retreat by Governors until the 1850s with one Governor (Governor Brisbane) making it his principal home for a short period in the 1820s. The house, Old Government House, is currently a historic site and museum within Parramatta Park and is Australia's oldest surviving public building.
In 1803, a famous incident occurred in Parramatta, involving a convicted criminal named Joseph Samuel, originally from England. Samuel was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging, but the rope broke. In the second attempt, the noose slipped off his neck. In the third attempt, the new rope broke. Governor Phillip was summoned and pardoned Samuel, as the incident appeared to him to be divine intervention.
Heritage
Parramatta has many buildings on the Register of the National Estate, including: Elizabeth Farm House, Experiment Farm Cottage, Lancer Barracks, Parramatta Town Hall, the former Post Office in Church Street, Centennial Clock, Lennox Bridge, St John's Cathedral, St John's Cemetery, St Patrick's Cathedral, Parochial School in Elizabeth Street, Arthur Phillip High School, Brislington in Marsden Street, Hambledon Cottage in Hassall Street, former King's School Group, Roman Catholic Cemetery in North Parramatta, Parramatta Psychiatric Centre (Cumberland Hospial), Parramatta Park � including Old Government House, All Saints Church Group.
Parramatta Gaol is Australia's oldest prison. The Gaol was formally proclaimed on 2 January 1842 with progressive opening of wings up until approximately 1910. It was closed from 1918 to 1922 and again
