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| Rumsey Rose Garden historical information plaque, located in Rumsey Rose Garden |
For generations the Rumsey Rose Garden site was part of the home territory of the Burramatta clan of the Darug Aboriginal people. With the establishment of the colonial settlement of Rose Hill it became the site of a busy government lumberyard. In 1790 Lieutenant Watkin Tench recorded that 24 convict carpenters and 16 convict sawyers were employed here.
When the lumber yard was relocated by Governor Macquarie in 1815, this area became part of the entry to the Governor's private Domain, with a guard house built at the gate.
In the 1880s the Macquarie Street Gatehouse was built to replace the guard house, and the Rose Hill Bowling Club established a club house and bowling greens, croquet lays and tennis courts. The buildings were demolished in the 1980s.
The Rumsey Rose Garden was established when Heather and Roy Rumsey donated their collection of heritage rose species to the City of Parramatta and was opened in 1995.
To read more about the history of Parramatta Park download Shaping the Domain: The Macquarie Legacy at Parramatta Park or go to www.ppt.nsw.gov.au/education
