My project will be a collaboration with the City of Parramatta’s Cultural Collection Services where I will be working closely with the Heritage Collection Services team to create an interpretive piece of writing that explores the central themes of this institution. This interpretive writing will be an informative educational piece for the public, where I will discuss both the historical facts but also how it connects to the individuals.
What drew me to this organisation is its strong focus on the local People and its recognition of the significant people and events from Parramatta’s past and how they are guiding the future. The recent opening of PHIVE in September 2023, in the heart of Parramatta’s CBD created a new “community, cultural and civic hub” for gathering. The aim of the City of Parramatta is to encourage the community to gather, learn, share ideas and develop mutual understanding.
The existing PHIVE interpretive themes, including ‘A Plentiful Place’, ‘A Gathering Place’ and ‘Parramatta People’ is central to the City of Parramatta objective of interpreting, documenting and celebrating Parramatta’s rich heritage. Parramatta’s initiative of the ‘Cultural Strategy (Creative Parramatta)’, officially adopted in 2025, advocates the importance of culture, which is readily expressed through public events, various art forms, and social practices with the aim of ‘defining our community’s values.’
Most recently, in August 2026, the City of Parramatta also officially adopted the Integrated Heritage Strategy. This initiative is a 10-year Roadmap for protecting, encouraging celebration, and promoting the histories of Parramatta, in particular, its First Nations, the Dharug People. In accordance with conserving the City of Parramatta’s significant people, heritage buildings, archaeology, natural landscapes and utilising public history to re-share with the community.
Linking back to my project, an interpretive piece of narrative about historically significant corporations and movements in Parramatta will contribute to this greater movement of inclusion in historical learning. A specific area of interest for me is the preservation of items where objects are the initial item of connection. Most recently, I developed an interest in researching collections and utilising archival materials and oral histories to uncover the provenance of items and its connection to individual stories.
The objectives and aims of the City of Parramatta drew me to this organisation. However what I was most interested in was the cultural and historical preservation of artifacts, the research done by the Heritage Collection Team (including, Cultural Collections Officers and Heritage Archivists) to uncover and develop a deeper understanding and also the assistance to community members who reach out to find out more about their family history or family heirlooms.
I hope to contribute to this purpose through creating a piece of public history that can encourage discussions and celebration. I hope my contribution becomes one of the many drops of the oceans that provides an informative, interesting and engaging way for the community to gather and learn more about the rich history of Parramatta.