I love taking my kids to this park. Locally situated in North Parramatta, it has undercover tables,…read morea park with swings/slides and lookouts, plenty of tree cover and open space and a bubbler for when you get thirsty. For the sports minded people, there is a half court basketball court and a half court netball court.

"Government Hoose uz mye hoose! And its duhmain uz mye duhmain, no' a public resort!"…read more Much to the ol' Scotch-tongued Guvnor Macquarie's chagrin, the everyday people of the colony did treat this place as a "public resort" or "Common" long before it officially became one (in 1858). In the 1820s, these colonists committed "various Depredations on the Trees...intended for Ornament," disfiguring and destroying them for firewood and bark to shingle their dwellings, dug sand for their mortar, and grazed their cattle right up until they were threatened with prosecution for such offences to the Guv's private property. No doubt it is because this 85-hectare heritage-listed park began as the Governor's private domain that, even today, one feels as though one is perambulating through an impressive, peaceful country estate, far removed from the bustle of the CBD rather than where one actually is: in the middle of it! Locals (including the cute and boisterous wildlife - corellas and cockatoos) are often to be found taking full advantage of this pastoral oasis, cycling, picnicking with family and frolicking along its river, beneath its handsome trees or in the vicinity of picturesque, colonial architectural gems including; the Georgian McMansion known as "Old Government House;" the Tudor revivalism of the George Street "Tudor" Gatehouse, (on the cusp of becoming a café / restaurant and reclaiming its status as the official entry point to the park in the near future); the Gothic design of the Macquarie Street Gatehouse (the perfect place for a high tea or a quick coffee and cake) and the considerably humbler convict-built Salter's Cottage, which eventually became the Governor's "Dairy Cottage" as well as the adjacent Ranger's Cottage. The Mays Hill Gatehouse has also just been newly restored and it is pretty as a picture. Believe it or no' (sorry, I momentarily slipped back into my Scottish accent) that is just for starters, because the park is a veritable hot bed of historicity!* Indigenous history is brought to the fore in a bush regeneration program currently underway within the park, which will restore a remnant of Sydney's Coastal River-Flat Forest. Introduced exotic trees and plants are being removed to allow native species to regenerate so visitors will experience the landscape as it was for the Darug people for at least 20,000 years. At the "Murray Gardens" you can stand in the very spot where convicts built their huts from 1788-1810 and at the "Rumsey Rose Gardens" see the heritage rose species on display as well as where cons once worked in the government lumberyard (1790-1815). Partial to a Georgian cannon? As am I! There are two at the stunning sandstone Boer War Memorial with numbers and such engraved on them in an old-timey hand, and not far from there you can stand at the site of Parramatta's first building, Governor Phillip's Redoubt, and see what remains of the Governor's Bath House (now a pavilion) and Observatory. There you'll see an obelisk marking the Observatory's "transit instrument." And, while it may be hard to believe, it is not the only obelisk around these parts. There's another one on "Oak Drive" which serves as a memorial to a Governor's wife who died in an horrific horse and carriage accident in 1847. The Female Factory Precinct, old Parra Gaol and the Old King's School are all very close to Parramatta Park, too. See? "Hotbed of historicity" was not mere hyperbole! And if you do get peckish or thirsty and you aren't in possession of a picnic, the afore mentioned heritage-listed Macquarie Street Gatehouse is a winner, as are Lachlan's café and restaurant at Old Government House and the Parramatta Park Café. Seriously, I can't think of another park in the wider Sydney area that has this much going for it! * You can learn a lot about the history of Parra Park simply by wandering around aimlessly and reading the abundant, well-researched signage at significant locations as you stumble upon 'em, pick up some self-guided tour brochures from the Parramatta Heritage Centre, or download the free historic walking tour app "DigiMacq," which I've already reviewed thoroughly on Yelp. * Review originally written and posted 4 May 2014. Info about Mays Hill Gatehouse restoration reflects more recent developments in 2015.

This small park is set in bushland. It offers playground equipment and swings for littlies, BBQ…read morefacilities and some tables & benches. There is a council owned tennis court in the precinct too. I must have driven past the end of the street a zillion times, but being on foot this morning I wandered across the road & enjoyed the shade & coolness that this tiny piece of bushland offered.

Price was amazing!! And it's not timed, place is open till late also so can have dinner and kids…read morecan go play... climb, slide or jump!

Never have I been so appalled at the lack of organisation, helpfulness and sheer friendliness of a…read moreparty venue. I had my daughters 2nd birthday party at Ultimate today, and the rudeness started from the moment we entered the building. I arrived early (15 minutes) to set up (arranged previously and apparently not an issue).. But instead of being greeted with good morning, the staff member grunted, "we don't open until 10". I was eventually directed to our party area, which was clearly in a shambles from a party the previous day. I had to rearrange the tables and chairs and rip down all the banners and signs from the previous party. All my guests arrived and the party got underway. 1 hour 20mins after the party started I was still waiting on the water/cordial (included with party) to arrive. The kids were thirsty from running around, and getting my hands on water seemed like the most difficult task of the day thus far. After asking 3 times, I attended the cafe counter to chase it up, only to be rudely advised that I should ask my party host. I had a party host??? Nobody introduced themselves as my party host, nobody introduced themselves full stop. We were pointed in the direction of our party area and that was the end of the interaction with staff. I had also ordered adult platters for the party. I had a large amount of adults due to it being a toddler party, and kids requiring adult supervision. I only received the cheese platter, which I was absolutely gobsmacked at how small it was for $40! Certainly not what I envisioned. I had also ordered wraps, but no idea what the actual story was behind their failure to be delivered to my party, as I received 4 different stories (excuses) from 3 different staff members. 1. We are Making the wraps now and they'll be out shortly. 2. The cafe that delivers our wraps didn't turn up 3. We ran out of wraps 4. (This is the clincher) I've been on the coffee machine all day and didn't have time to make your wraps!!!!!! So I book in a party 3 months in advance, pay per head and pay for adult platters as I'm STRICLY NOT ALLOWED to bring food into the venue, and your staff member/s were too busy making coffee (coffee?) to provide the pre-ordered food to my party!!!??? Absolutely atrocious!! Furthermore, no one bothered to advise me that the wraps weren't coming, we had to chase them up 20 minutes before the party was over as we wanted to cut the cake and have everyone fed beforehand. I didn't receive an apology, not a smile, nothing. Just a too bad and here's your platter refund. And just to top off an already fabulous day, a staff member came to shoo us out of the party area (fair enough as it was past 12pm), but instead of a nice, "hey guys, just letting you know your party is over could you please vacate the area," I was told we needed to get out as another party was starting in 10 minutes. Well let me tell you, when I finally drove off from the venue over an hour later, there was no party happening in that room. A little bit of plain old honesty would have done the trick. Unfortunately I had to apologise to my guests for the lack of food and organisation. It reflected really poorly on me when the kids were all asking for water and no amount of asking your staff, could get drinking water for toddlers. I understand there can be hiccups, But today was simply a joke. I spent the whole party completely stressed out, which is ironic considering I chose to have the party at ultimate so it would be easy and stress-free. The kids had a great time playing (of course) but that's where the fun ended. Renee

This is more of a sporting field than a park so if you're expecting a leisurely walk around this…read moreplace - forget it. Even if you start off nice and slow, you'll find yourself slowly picking up the pace and before you know it, you're doing some insane HIIT workout. They have an athletic track, a long jump, a batting cage and a ton of space to release that inner athlete. The Parramatta Little Athletics Club and the Parramatta City Track and Field Clubs reside here ... come summer and winter season, this park is packed to capacity with kids and adults running about the place throwing discs, javellins, shot puts and whatever other track and field event is out there. There is also a small playground for the little tackers watching their older siblings train. If track or field isn't your thing, a 1min walk in one direction will get you to the tennis centre or a 2min walk the opposite direction will get you to an off leash dog park ... soo many options ooooh what do you do? GO !!

Fantastic for entertaining kids of all ages. A soft play area for the babies - 1yr+…read more A massive climbing area with slides and tunnels and jumping castle obstacle course. Cafe for the adults - coffee is bad tho.. Good canteen food. I would recommend bringing food from home if you can.