Parramatta Ferry Wharf

Parramatta Ferry Wharf is the commuter wharf serving the city of Parramatta in Sydney Australia. It serves the Parramatta route, which operates express between the next wharf downstream, Rydalmere and Circular Quay. It is the farthest point of travel for all Sydney Ferries routes from Circular Quay, being next to the weir at Parramatta which would prevent travel further upstream.

History

There has been a wharf at Parramatta since shortly after the settlement at Parramatta was established. The wharf is located next to the Queens' Wharf Reserve and the Gasworks Bridge, which was close to the site of the first official landing place at Parramatta, when Governor Phillip and a small number of marines arrived in 1788 to establish a second settlement in Parramatta. The first steam ferry to operate between Sydney and Parramatta was named Surprise, it beginning service on 2 June 1831. The original wharf was built by convicts from gum tree logs, and reconstructed in sandstone in 1835. Paddle steamers would come up the river with their goods and their passengers from Sydney.

From October 1883, a steam tramway connected the wharf at Redbank, near where Duck River meets Parramatta River, with the town, extending along George Street to Park Gates. The tramway closed on 31 March 1943. The trams conveyed both passengers and goods, serving a number of industries from sidings off the main line.

After a brief hiatus from service in the upper river, due to silting and pollution in the river, ferry services returned to Parramatta in 1993, with two new wharves at Rydalmere and Parramatta reopened.