As an early surviving passenger railway station in New South Wales, Parramatta Railway Station's long-standing use as a railway station, together with its extant complex of railway buildings and infrastructure, evidence the development and history of the New South Wales railway network from 1859 to the present, making it an outstanding and Exceptional item of State heritage significance.
The site is associated with the traditional land of the Burramatta people. The site also has associations with Dr D'Arcy Wentworth, being part of his original estate in Parramatta, which was chosen as the new location for a station on the extension of the Western Line to Blacktown.

The design and planning of the site as a whole, reflects the curve of the line and the narrowness of the rail corridor. Individual elements, including island platform buildings, signal box, side platforms, the former goods shed, subway access and associated railway mechanisms, exemplify the technical and architectural achievements of the New South Wales railways, and demonstrate the evolution of the site in response to the growth of the Parramatta township. The site includes individually significant buildings, some of which are rare or unique examples of their type, that together form a group of Exceptional significance.

The siting of the station evidences the role of the railway paralleled with the development of the town of Parramatta and the shift in focus from the use of the river for transportation. Parramatta Railway Station in its setting, is an important civic precinct in the townscape of Parramatta, historically related to heritage items in its vicinity and through views from and to its setting, to the wider city.

As a major transport interchange and suburban railway station on the busy Western, and Cumberland Lines of the CityRail suburban railway network, the site and its setting are focal points of commuter activity, which is likely to be held with regard by train passengers and the local community, which it has continued to serve since its opening in 1860.
The site contains elements that relate to the many phases of its history and demonstrate the evolution of the station. Investigation and analysis of these elements may provide information about the evolution and occupation of the site that is not available from other sources.

The site, excluding the Eastern and Western Concourses, has potential to contain archaeological remains relating to the development of the Parramatta Railway Station and the New South Wales railways, including former structures, railway lines, sidings and other infrastructure associated with the former goods yard. The site also has potential to contain evidence associated with original drainage and water storage systems, and the former pedestrian subways. While evidence of the evolution of Parramatta Railway Station is likely to dominate the archaeological resource, the Parramatta Railway Station site also has potential to contain archaeological evidence associated with the development and occupation of the site prior to 1859, including remains of allotments and buildings along the former western extension of Argyle Street (c1840s-1859) and the former southwestern extension of Lancer Barracks (c1804-1859).

Reference : Godden Mackay Logan Pty Ltd, Parramatta Railway Station Site Conservation Management Plan, report prepared for Parramatta Rail Link, October, 2003. (Section 6.4).
Same statement used in Godden Mackay Logan Pty Ltd, Parramatta Railway Station Combined Services Route Archaeological Research Design and Heritage Impact Statement, report prepared for Rail Infrastructure Corporation, December, 2003. (Section 5.2).

Source:

NSW Heritage Branch

Location:

Great Western Railway, Parramatta, NSW

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