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 (a multi-sports facility and stadium) and an industrial precinct.[3]
The origin of the suburb name is from the suburb of Parramatta in the Sydney metropolitan area of New South Wales with a possible derivation from a hotel situated locally during the late nineteenth century.[5]
Real estate map of Walkerville (now Parramatta Park), the first suburb of Cairns, 1884
On 26 July 1884 auctioneer John McNamara offered the Walkerville Estate as the first suburb of Cairns, consisting of 400 lots, predominantly of 1 rood (11,000 sq ft; 1,000 m2). 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, there was the inducement of a free return trip to Cairns for buyers of 10 lots.[6][7][8][9]
St Joseph's Primary School opened on 1 July 1927 by the Sisters of Mercy. Mercy Sisters were part of the teaching staff of the school until 2015.[10][11] On Sunday 15 April 1928 BishopJohn Heavey officially opened the new Catholic church and school building.[12][13]
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".[15]
The Parramatta Park parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns was established in 1946.[16]
Demographics
In the 2016 census, Parramatta Park had a population of 3,508 people.[17]
In the 2021 census, Parramatta Park had a population of 3,621 people.[1]
Heritage listings
Grove Street Pensioners' Cottages
There is one heritage-listed site in Parramatta Park:
Parramatta State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at 122 Mulgrave Road (16°55′30″S145°45′48″E / 16.9251°S 145.7632°E / -16.9251; 145.7632 (Parramatta State School)).[19][20] 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).[21] 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).[22] It includes a special education program.[19]
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.[3]
^"Local Items". Cairns Post. Queensland, Australia. 3 July 1884. p. 2. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2020 – via Trove.
^"Advertising". Cairns Post. Queensland, Australia. 24 July 1884. p. 3. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2020 – via Trove.
^"NEW CHURCH OPENED". The Telegraph. No. 17, 275. Queensland, Australia. 16 April 1928. p. 20. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Parramatta Ceremony". The Catholic Advocate. Vol. XVII, no. 881. Queensland, Australia. 19 April 1928. p. 37. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.