Auto Alley, Church Street, Parramatta, 1968 (Source: City of Parramatta Community Archives)
Parramatta Road is Australia’s oldest highway. Tracing an ancient path used by the First Peoples of the area for generations, by the early-1790s the route had been adopted by British Colonists as the predominant land crossing between the settlements of Sydney Cove and Parramatta. The significance of the route was acknowledged more than 200 years ago when it underwent major improvements, with a widened and stone-paved road being opened by Governor Macquarie on 10 April 1811.
By the twentieth century Parramatta Road had come to be known for its abundance of motor vehicle-related businesses. This earned Parramatta Road, and Church Street at its Western end, the name ‘Auto Alley’. In more recent years, ‘Parramatta Road’ has become a byword for traffic congestion, pollution and urban decline.
Here, we explore and reflect upon the fascinating history and important future of Parramatta Road, with a focus on its Western end, through the lens of material held in the City of Parramatta’s historic collections.
Film footage of Parramatta Road, c. 1960s (Source: City of Parramatta Council Archives, PRS77)
