The original inhabitants of the region, the Parramatta people, actively managed the open grasslands and huge river red gums at the head of the harbour for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. But the settlement at Parramatta was desperately needed by the new arrivals, as agriculture at Garden Island failed and the fledgling colony of Sydney was starving. The fertile flood plains of the upper Parramatta River saved the colony. Governor Arthur Phillip explored the area in May 1788,...