Parramatta River Info-Popup Historic Notes: Parramatta River
Parramatta is the original land of the Darug people. The foreshore of Parramatta was of great importance to the Darug people as it was where the salt water from the sea and the fresh water of the river met and where the meeting place of the Burramattagal people was. The Burramattagal were a clan of the Darug people who inhabited the foreshore of Parramatta. The name means ‘where eels lie down (to spawn or mate)’ and is also where Parramatta got its name. This phrase referred to the period when the eels travelled up the river to spawn and many were caught in the open at low tide. If you look in the river today you can still catch sight of eels, especially on the stretch of the river that traverses O’Connell Street.