Parramatta Ferry Wharf is the commuter wharf

Wharf

A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...

 serving the city of Parramatta

Parramatta, New South Wales

Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...

 in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It serves the Parramatta route, which operates express between the next wharf downstream, Rydalmere and Circular Quay. It is the farthest point of travel for all Sydney Ferries

Sydney Ferries

Sydney Ferries is an agency of the New South Wales Government Department of Transport, providing ferry services on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River in Sydney, Australia....

 routes from Circular Quay, being next to the weir

Weir

A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...

 at Parramatta which would prevent travel further upstream.

History

There has been a wharf at Parramatta since shortly after the settlement at Parramatta was established. The wharf is located next to the Queens' Wharf Reserve and the Gasworks Bridge, which was close to the site of the first official landing place at Parramatta, when Governor Phillip and a small number of marines arrived in 1788 to establish a second settlement in Parramatta. The first steam ferry to operate between Sydney and Parramatta was named Surprise, it beginning service on 2 June 1831. The original wharf was built by convicts from gum tree logs, and reconstructed in sandstone in 1835. Paddle steamers would come up the river with their goods and their passengers from Sydney.

From October 1883, a steam tramway connected the wharf at Redbank, near where Duck River meets Parramatta River, with the town, extending along George Street to Park Gates. The tramway closed on 31 March 1943. The trams conveyed both passengers and goods, serving a number of industries from sidings off the main line.

After a brief hiatus from service in the upper river, due to silting and pollution in the river, ferry services returned to Parramatta in 1993, with two new wharves at Rydalmere and Parramatta reopened.

Jetties and services

Services to Parramatta are not as frequent as those in the inner harbour, however, the wharf generally receives one service per hour. Services generally run back to Circular Quay until the late afternoon or early evening.

Wharf 1

• Parramatta Ferry - express services to Circular Quay

Bus services

The wharf has no adjoining interchange, but a stop exists nearby in Charles Street, which is served by Parramatta's free shuttle bus to Parramatta railway station. The wharf is only a short walk from Parramatta Station, where passengers may transfer to trains on the , and .

Neighbouring wharves