Want to know why there's a sculpture of a bus in the middle of Parramatta Square?
In 1981, the Parramatta Eels won the grand final in the predecessor to the National Rugby League.
Many fans gathered at the team's home ground, Cumberland Oval (which was on the site of CommBank Stadium) and the celebrations got a bit rowdy.
And by "got a bit rowdy", I mean they burnt the stadium down to the ground.
Without a stadium, the following season the team held its meetings in a secondhand 1960s Leyland Worldmaster bus.
But that's not the only piece of local history commemorated by this sculpture by Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro, titled "Place of the Eels".
One side of the bus is inscribed with the words "Flying Pieman". It's a reference to a local baker named William Francis King, who used to sell pies to people boarding the ferry to Parra at Sydney's Circular Quay in the 1870s.
After the ferry left, Mr King reputedly packed up his pie cart, then ran the 30-odd kilometres to Parramatta by foot. He would then set up his cart at Parramatta Wharf in time to sell more pies to passengers as they disembarked the ferry.
The other side of the bus is inscribed with the name "Rosie Bint Broheen". In 1922, Rosie became the first Lebanese woman to buy land in Parramatta.
The sculpture also includes some hidden messages, in reference to the Parramatta Industrial School for Girls, which was a notorious children's welfare institution that operated from 1887-1974. It was home to many members of the Stolen Generations.
#history #Parramatta #urbanism #art #UrbanArt #Australia #StreetArt #sculpture #NRL
In 1981, the Parramatta Eels won the grand final in the predecessor to the National Rugby League.
Many fans gathered at the team's home ground, Cumberland Oval (which was on the site of CommBank Stadium) and the celebrations got a bit rowdy.
And by "got a bit rowdy", I mean they burnt the stadium down to the ground.
Without a stadium, the following season the team held its meetings in a secondhand 1960s Leyland Worldmaster bus.
But that's not the only piece of local history commemorated by this sculpture by Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro, titled "Place of the Eels".
One side of the bus is inscribed with the words "Flying Pieman". It's a reference to a local baker named William Francis King, who used to sell pies to people boarding the ferry to Parra at Sydney's Circular Quay in the 1870s.
After the ferry left, Mr King reputedly packed up his pie cart, then ran the 30-odd kilometres to Parramatta by foot. He would then set up his cart at Parramatta Wharf in time to sell more pies to passengers as they disembarked the ferry.
The other side of the bus is inscribed with the name "Rosie Bint Broheen". In 1922, Rosie became the first Lebanese woman to buy land in Parramatta.
The sculpture also includes some hidden messages, in reference to the Parramatta Industrial School for Girls, which was a notorious children's welfare institution that operated from 1887-1974. It was home to many members of the Stolen Generations.
#history #Parramatta #urbanism #art #UrbanArt #Australia #StreetArt #sculpture #NRL
