The Parramatta Local Court and the History of Parramatta

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Why is Parramatta the Next Big City?

Parramatta is about 23km away from Sydney’s central business district.

The estimated residential population of Parramatta is around 243,000 people, while Sydney’s estimated metropolitan population is about 5 million.

There are plans to be able to transport people between Parramatta and CBD Sydney more efficiently by creating a new rail line estimated to cost ten million dollars. The new line is expected to transform Parramatta into the second biggest city in Sydney.

The Stadium in Parramatta was demolished last year in two thousand and seventeen to be replaced with a new Western Sydney Stadium- located near the Parramatta river across from the historic Parramatta Park.

The new Parramatta stadium will provide undercover seats for up to thirty thousand people; it will have 5 levels of space, with large screens, wifi and broadcasting facilities; it will have more sophisticated security with improved pedestrian areas; and it will produce around twelve hundred more jobs during its construction and up to nine hundred jobs after completion.

Parramatta’s Indigenous Ties and History

The Darug people are the traditional custodians of the Parramatta land.

Parramatta land was occupied by the ‘Burramattagal’ people, who are a clan of the Darug people. They had occupied the land of Parramatta for over sixty thousand years.

This indigenous clan had initially settled along the Parramatta River and share a close connection with it. The Parramatta river is where the Burramattagal people would hunt for fish and eels.

The name Burramattagal is said to mean ‘place where the eels lie down to breed’- where the Parramatta river is.

In 1788 Parramatta was visited by Governor Phillip who brought with him a fleet of convicts from England. From then, Parramatta was subject to development where it was used for farming to provide food for the new English colony.

Sadly, this led adversely effected the Burramattagal people who had lived on this land for the past 60,000 years.

The Darug people still live in Parramatta, La Perouse, Blue Mountains and the Greater Western Sydney areas.

Parramatta is and always has been a significant place to meet for the Aboriginal people.

Lots of Aboriginal people were taken to Parramatta where they were underpaid in building infrastructure and domestic chores. This led to a large Aboriginal population in The Western Sydney Areas.

The intersection of George Street and Marsden Street, Parramatta is the Sydney West trial courts

The History of Parramatta Local Court House in Sydney’s West

The Parramatta Local Court is located at 12 George St, Parramatta.

It is opened from 9am to 4:30pm on weekdays, and is closed on weekends.

Next to the local court in Parramatta there is also the sitting Parramatta Supreme Court, and Parramatta District Court all located within the Parramatta Justice Precinct, also known as the Sydney West Trial Courts and the legal aid Commission of NSW.

Not far from these courts along George Street, Parramatta is the Parramatta Children’s Court and the Garfield Barwick Commonwealth Law Courts Building which comprises of the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia and the Parramatta Family Court.

Governor Phillip visited Parramatta in 1788, who established the bench of Sydney Magistrates which consisted of over one hundred and fifty courts who head civil, family and criminal matters.

The current Parramatta Court house is an upgrade of the existing one which was initially built during the 70’s.

The first ever court house in Parramatta was built in 1791, opened by Governor Arthur Phillip. This was demolished due to the building bad conditions. The court was rebuilt in 1837, designed by Mortimer Lewis, and it was expanded in 1853- constituting the 2^nd time it was built.

The 3^rd Parramatta court house was built and opened in 1896. As it wasn’t adequate, the 4^th Parramatta court house was opened in 1974 by Governor Sir Roden Cutler.

The Parramatta Justice Precinct comprising of the Sydney West Trial Courts and Children’s Court represents the 5^th Parramatta court house- which is still operational to date. This complex was designed and built by Brookfeld Multiplex, being a project worth $300m.

The now standing Parramatta Local Court house on 12 George St, Parramatta is an adult court which hears both civil and criminal cases 5 days a week, including:

Traffic charges of drink driving, dangerous driving, negligent driving and drug driving charges.
Assault cases, involving common assault, actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, wounding and apprehended violence order (AVOs).
Sex charges, including sexual assault, indecent assault, child sex charges.
Firearms and weapons charges.
Fraud and larceny charges.
Drug cases, including drug possession and drug supply charges.
Licence appeals.
Mental health section 32 applications.

Parramatta Law Firm

Our team of criminal lawyers in Parramatta are available 24/7.

Our criminal and traffic lawyers appear in all courts with specialist criminal lawyers in our Parramatta office located across from the Parramatta Local Court- within a 1 minute walk away right next to the Parramatta Justice Precinct.

Our lawyers are committed to serving Sydney’s West by providing a free first consultation and fixed fees for most cases.

Published on 11/12/2018