Parramatta Park is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

in the

Cairns Region The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional city of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shires of Douglas and Mulgrave. ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. In the , Parramatta Park had a population of 3,508 people.

Geography

Parramatta Park is the suburb immediately west of Cairns City (the Cairns central business district). The northern part of the suburb is residential. The southern part of the suburb has a number of schools, the Cairns Showgrounds,

Barlow Park Barlow Park is a multi-sports facility and stadium in Parramatta Park, Queensland, Parramatta Park, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The Park is home of Cairns District Rugby League, Far North Queensland Rugby Union, Cairns District Rugby Union, C ...

(a multi-sports facility and stadium) and an industrial precinct.

History

Parramatta Park is situated in the Yidinji traditional Aboriginal country. The origin of the suburb name is from the suburb of

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

metropolitan area of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

with a possible derivation from a hotel situated locally during the late nineteenth century. On 26 July 1884 auctioneer John McNamara offered the Walkerville Estate as the first suburb of Cairns, consisting of 400 lots, predominantly of . The estate was promoted as being close to the terminus of the Herberton railway line and as a "paradise of health". To attract buyers from

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, there was the inducement of a free return trip to Cairns for buyers of 10 lots. Parramatta State School was opened on 24 January 1927. St Joseph's Primary School opened on 1 July 1927 by the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

. Mercy Sisters were part of the teaching staff of the school until 2015. On Sunday 15 April 1928

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

John Heavey John Alphonsus Heavey (1868-1948) was a Roman Catholic bishop in Queensland, Australia. He was the Vicar Apostolic of Cooktown and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Cairns. Early life Heavey was born on 13 November 1868 in Roundwood, County Wi ...

officially opened the new Catholic church and school building. St Augustine's College opened on 9 February 1930 by the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brother ...

. On 17 June 1932 the Cairns City Council asked unemployed vagrants living in Parramatta Park, to leave the grounds for the duration of the Cairns show. They refused to go and by July 1932 the town's people were getting frantic and angry because they could not set up for the show. On 17 July 1932 police were called in to forcibly remove the men from the park, many towns people also took part in the hostilities and a riot broke out. A number of people were injured and the majority of the vagrants were “run out of town”. The Parramatta Park parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns was established in 1946. In the , Parramatta Park had a population of 3,508 people.

Heritage listings

* 28D Grove Street: Grove Street Pensioners' Cottages

Education

Parramatta State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at 122 Mulgrave Road (). In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 379 students with 46 teachers (39 full-time equivalent) and 40 non-teaching staff (24 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 316 students with 46 teachers (39 full-time equivalent) and 34 non-teaching staff (20 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. St Joseph's School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 13 Loeven Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 389 students with 28 teachers (23 full-time equivalent) and 19 non-teaching staff (12 full-time equivalent). St Augustine's College is a Catholic secondary (7-12) school for boys at 251 Draper Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 748 students with 64 teachers (61 full-time equivalent) and 36 non-teaching staff (31 full-time equivalent). Boarding facilities are available. There is no government secondary school in Parramatta Park. The nearest government secondary school is Cairns State High School in neighbouring Cairns North to the north-east.

Amenities

St Joseph's Catholic Church is on the corner of Draper and Loeven Streets (). Services are also held in the chapel of St Augustine's College and at Trinity Chapel in Mercy Place aged care facility (formerly Bethlehem Home) in Gatton Street, Westcourt. These are within the Parramatta Park Parish of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns is a diocese of the Catholic Church located in the state of Queensland, Australia. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. The diocese was erected as a vicariate apostolic in 1877 and was ...

. The Cairns Showground is at the corner of Severin Street and Mulgrave Road ().

References

Attribution

This article contains material fro
From the vault – Parramatta Park Riot, Cairns 1932

State of Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

(

Queensland Police Service The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

) 2020, released under CC-BY-2.5 licence
archived
1 December 2020).

External links

* {{Queensland-geo-stub