The story of this place
In 1789, Governor Phillip assigned convict James Ruse the first land grant in Australia—a small plot at Parramatta to prove whether a settler could support himself through farming. The 'experiment' succeeded. Ruse grew corn and vegetables, demonstrating that the colony could become self-sufficient. In 1792, he was granted the land permanently and became one of the first emancipists (freed convicts) to own property. The current Indian bungalow-style cottage was built by surgeon John Harris in the 1830s, but the site marks where one man proved that Australia's poor soil could sustain European settlement.