Growing up in the Auburn area during the 1940s and 1950s Parramatta was our ‘special occasion’ place to visit. I can remember coming to Parramatta Park for picnics with the different groups to which I belonged. In my teens, Parramatta on a Saturday was something to look forward to. Visiting large shops like David Jones near the river and having a milkshake in their café were special treats. After marrying in 1968 we made our home in the Parramatta LGA. Parramatta shops became our shopping centre each week.
Late in the 1990s I started tracing my family history with a brother who had become unemployed. Originally we went to Lidcombe Library then when I changed my employment I started going to the Parramatta Library to research. Then the Local Studies Library at the Heritage Centre opened and I researched my family history there several times a week. In 2000, having changed from a 5 day a week position to a 2 day a week position I was invited to become a volunteer at the Local Studies Library helping people with their family history. I found that I enjoyed helping and I was soon attending the Centre most days even in the afternoon after work.
Helping with the artefacts from the many archaeological digs being carried out in the Parramatta area, which were received into the Heritage Centre, assisted me with the researching of the many exhibitions organized. We started cataloguing the items and photographing them to try to make it easier to find many of the significant items held in the collections. This I really enjoyed and continued at the Heritage Centre for the next 10 years. I found my time dealing with the items taught me more about the Parramatta area and its colonial past.
I soon found myself putting together an exhibition on Burnside Homes, North Parramatta. My father had been a small child when he lost his parents and was admitted to the homes with his infant brother. He had many fond memories of his time there so was one of the people featured in the exhibition.
Following one of the exhibitions, “Women Transported, life in Australia’s Convict Female Factories” I found myself doing research of all the women who passed through the Parramatta Female Factory. This I have continued until this day and still enjoy finding our more and more about Parramatta in its infancy. During COVID I have more time to pursue these fascinating women and their stories. How they became the mothers of Australia.
I still go to the Local Studies Library and I am willing to help anyone with their family history and pass on the knowledge I have learned from the family history courses that I have enjoyed doing. COVID has put a stop to my volunteering for the moment; I am looking forward to restarting as soon as possible.
Along with volunteering at the Heritage Centre I started at Hambledon Cottage, Parramatta, as a Schools Guide. Showing the school children the history of Parramatta and seeing them relate to the different items held there is a wonderful experience for me. I am also waiting patiently for the return of my days with the children.
Anne Mathews, Parramatta Heritage Centre, City of Parramatta, 2021