@jaystephens @ketanjoshi.co And then we have Australia's next great city, Parramatta.

It's a city that, roughly once a year, has a harbour...

This from Parramatta City Council itself: "From the earliest days, the changeable nature of the Parramatta River, and other waterways, has brought with it the risk of flooding.

"Today, our CBD is one of the most flash-flood affected areas in the country. Our challenge is to live with the river in all its various conditions."

https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/environment/connected-resilient-communities/flooding

And this from a top State Emergency Service official in 2019:

"A senior SES official has warned that Parramatta's CBD could be overwhelmed by a flash flood in as little as nine minutes, giving residents little time to evacuate.

"George Jeoffreys, senior manager for risk reduction and avoidance at the NSW State Emergency Service, cited the difficulty of predicting flash floods."

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nine-minutes-to-flee-parramatta-s-catastrophic-flash-flooding-warning-20190214-p50xtv.html

You had parts of Parramatta's CBD flood in 2020:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-10/parramatta-river-overflows-as-floods-grip-sydney/11948910

And 2021: https://www.smh.com.au/national/parramatta-river-breaks-its-banks-flooding-powerhouse-museum-site-20210320-p57ci5.html

And 2022: https://www.9news.com.au/wild-weather/weather-update-sydney-rain-smashes-summer-records-as-cleanup-from-deluge-continues/140583d2-0ea5-4fc9-a103-c9f5849da917

And 2024: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-05/nsw-queensland-wet-weather-forecast-flood-warning-live-update/103670440

And earlier this year: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-26/nsw-pseudo-monsoon-humidity-flooding-rains-qld-nsw/105095284

And of course there's pressure to put new high-rise developments right on the river edge: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-council-rejects-build-to-rent-tower-plan-over-flood-risk-20240108-p5evsm.html

@ajsadauskas@pixelfed.social Some background on this gallery.

Parramatta Park is a large 85 hectare (210 acre) urban park immediately west of the Parramatta CBD (circled in the map below).

To put that into perspective, it's around a quarter the size of Central Park in New York (which is around 341 ha or 843 acres).

The centrepiece of the park is Old Government House, which was home to 10 early Australian colonial governors from 1799–1847.

Following this, it was gazetted as a public park in 1858.

The park features the remains of an old observatory, significant sites for the local Darug Aboriginal community, and an old bath house.

With apartments and office towers rapidly sprouting up around Parramatta (https://pixelfed.social/p/ajsadauskas/791644000604289883), the park provides vital green space for the local community.

Today it features the 30,000 seat CommBank Stadium, a large public swimming pool, a rose garden, a wisteria garden, a large playground, open green space, an amphitheatre, and the Parramatta River.

You can see part 2 of this gallery here: https://pixelfed.social/p/ajsadauskas/801721419470531081 and photos from the rose garden here: https://pixelfed.social/p/ajsadauskas/802122056432470788

Below is a map of the park, along with the path I took through it.

@ajsadauskas@pixelfed.social I also have a photo gallery strolling around Church Street and the Parramatta CBD on Pixelfed here: https://pixelfed.social/p/ajsadauskas/680329838198753214

@si_irini #Parramatta #library

@Heliograph @eclectech Here’s the plaque situated in front of the same fig tree, thought to be planted over 150 years ago.

Plaque text: “Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus Macrophylla) planted 1844-1846
Believed to be the oldest fig tree in #Parramatta planted by George Oakes the original owner of Perth House.”

#Sydney history in #Parramatta

City of Parramatta acknowledges the Traditional Owners of this land, the #Dharug people. For over 60,000 years, the area comprising present day #Parramatta has been occupied by the #Burramattagal people, a clan of the Dharug, who first settled along the upper reaches of the #ParramattaRiver.
https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au › ...