(1824 and 1999)
Click the photo to return to historical images index.
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St John's church dominates the centre of Parramatta. Government House is at the far left. About 100m out of frame, further to the left, was the Parramatta Observatory. This was where James Dunlop compiled his famous list of deep-sky objects and catalogue of stars of the southern sky. This work was done between 1822 and 1826, and was well underway when Lycett painted this vista. Samuel Marsden's parsonage is at far right. The artist, Joseph Lycett, took a few liberties with the roadways and with other details (according to maps of the time). Pitt Row, Campbell, Macquarie and O'Connell Streets are clearly shown. A few others (Argyle, Harris) have been merged or left off. Maybe it is a trick of perspective from the 1820s. This was painted less than fifty years after the establishment of the colony—175 years ago. |
Keep scrolling down for a 1999 version of the same vista.
| Trees obscure Old Government House. Our school oval hides Pitt Street (Pitt Row).
Our Library is in front of Campbell Street (the basketball courts continue along the
same alignment), and a multitude of modern boxes stand in the way of most of St John's...
but they're all there! ...save of course for Samuel Marsden's parsonage. You can,
however, see the top of 15 Campbell Street at far right. That building stands a little to
the SE of the site of the now-gone administrative centre of the Australian Church of England. But wait! There is one artefact ("man-made object") which is visible in both Lycett's painting of 1824 and the photo of 1999. Can you see it? Click here for the answer. |
Here you can see a full 360° panorama from almost the same vantage point.
© PHS 20/7/99