Eels Seek Pearce's Return Amidst Challenging Season
Parramatta Eels reportedly asked retired player Mitchell Pearce to return due to current season struggles. Pearce has refused, but the club seeks help.
#Eels #MitchellPearce #NRL #Parramatta #RugbyLeague
https://newsletter.tf/parramatta-eels-contact-retired-mitchell-pearce/
The Parramatta Eels tried to bring back retired player Mitchell Pearce. This is a big sign of their struggles this season.
#Eels #MitchellPearce #NRL #Parramatta #RugbyLeague
https://newsletter.tf/parramatta-eels-contact-retired-mitchell-pearce/
NRL Pre-Season Challenge: Eels Face Early Test Amidst Star Recruit Uncertainty
Parramatta Eels face the 2026 NRL Pre-Season Challenge. A new player's fitness is a concern as they prepare for tough games.
#NRL #Eels #RugbyLeague #PreSeason #Parramatta
https://newsletter.tf/eels-pre-season-challenge-injury-worry-2026/
The Parramatta Eels are starting their pre-season games for 2026. They have a worry about a new player who might be injured. This could affect their team plans early on.
#NRL #Eels #RugbyLeague #PreSeason #Parramatta
https://newsletter.tf/eels-pre-season-challenge-injury-worry-2026/
@ajsadauskas Some more history:
"FEW commuters sipping on their morning coffee and waiting for a train would realize they are standing on one of the most historic railway sites in Australia.
"Parramatta railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Western line and it was once the gateway to inland NSW when monster steam locomotives ruled the rails.
"In the modern era, Parramatta’s 1859 station building has now become one of the most if not the most important NSW railway heritage station due to its age and status.
…
"The colonial first line connected Sydney and Parramatta near Granville and opened in 1855. It was extended to the current Parramatta station four years later.
"Prior to the Main Western line being quadrupled from Granville to Westmead in 1985, the station consisted of four platforms, platforms three and four on the main line and one and two on a loop.
"The station is the earliest surviving example of John Whitton’s work since the past demolition of Campbelltown Railway Station took place, removing that station as the oldest example of his work in NSW.
…
"Residential settlement in the area was also encouraged by the newly extended railway line and the subdivision of central land grants. By the 1880s the local population of Parramatta area was beginning to rise and a building boom evolved to cater for this need.
"In response to the population growth and increase for the transportation of people and goods, the line between Granville and Parramatta was duplicated in 1879 to provide room for more paths for trains and services.
"As a result this also saw Parramatta station upgraded in 1882. With a duplication on the Blacktown section completed in 1886 this also saw the Parramatta Signal Box opened to handle more traffic.
"From the late 1880s and into the 1890s , the commercial centre of Parramatta moved southward to the area immediately surrounding the Railway Station.
…
"During the 1940s the next major period of development of Parramatta railway station took place which saw the quadruplication of the railway line and construction of Platform Four.
"This new platform built at a time of war, served the new Defense site at St Marys as well as Army personnel from nearby Lancer Barracks.
"Since the mid-1940s a number of minor modifications have occurred to the overall station layout. The next major improvement work including a wider pedestrian subway, ramps and centralized ticketing facilities coincided with the construction of the Western Concourse in 1985. An eastern side concourse located underground was opened in 1996. The western concourse was renewed in 2006."
https://parramattatimes.com.au/news/parramatta-standing-on-a-slice-of-railway-history/
#rail #rails #train #trains #railway #railways #Parramatta #NSW #Australia
I'm all for arts festivals including food as a focus of their exhibitions 😋
And it looks like the 2026 NSW Biennale will deliver:
"The Biennale will expand its footprint in Western Sydney this year, including Penrith Regional Gallery for the first time and bringing back Campbelltown Arts Centre. There will also be public programs across inner city and greater Sydney, including Centenary Square in Parramatta, Fairfield City Museum & Gallery and Redfern Town Hall. White Bay Power Station, a popular addition to the Biennale last year, will this year feature large-scale sculptural and installation works by artists including Nikesha Breeze (US) and painter Nancy Yukuwal McDinny (Garrwa/Yanyuwa).
...
"Highlights announced on Tuesday include a giant functioning clay oven at White Bay Power Station in Rozelle, created by Argentinian sculptor Gabriel Chaile, which will be activated for the Biennale’s opening weekend and at key moments through the festival to serve visitors Peruvian cuisine. Also for food lovers is a large vat of tabbouleh, created by Lebanese artist Mounira Al Solh as part of a community-based performance in Granville.
"The Biennale will also include a rare presentation of the landmark 80-square-metre Ngurrara Canvas II, made by the Ngurrara artists of the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia in support of their 1996 native title claim. The spectacular painting, created by more than 40 artists, toured Australia in the decade after it was created and has been exhibited internationally – but its Biennale presentation, at the Art Gallery of NSW, will be its final outing before returning to the artists’ country permanently."
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/feb/03/sydney-biennale-2026-hoor-al-qasimi-unveils-expansive-program-for-25th-edition
#art #arts #NSW #Sydney #Campbelltown #Parramatta #Penrith #food #Granville #ausart #ausarts #auspol
IMHO, this is another stupid move by Chris Minns.
The Minns government is breaking up phase two of the Parramatta Light Rail extension.
Phase one to Wentworth Point will be built first.
Meanwhile, the section from Wentworth Point to Olympic Park, which is likely to be *heavily* used, is going to be delayed.
Which means it won't (at least initially) connect with the new Olympic Park metro station.
And, rather than doing the sensible thing of extending it further from Olympic Park to Strathfield via DFO Homebush, a further extension to Strathfield is not currently on the agenda.
Building it in two stages likely to cost more overall as well.
"The final 10 kilometres of the Parramatta light rail line will now be built in two sections after the Minns government approved construction of the first stretch from Camellia to the fast-growing suburb of Wentworth Point, which will start by the time of the state election in March next year.
"In a marked departure from previous plans to build it in one go, the government has confirmed that it will construct the section between Sandown Boulevard in Camellia and Footbridge Boulevard in Wentworth Point, which is expected to take several years to complete.
…
"Staging the build of the 10-kilometre line between Camellia and Olympic Park will reduce the amount of funding required for the entire project over the next few years. However, delaying construction of part of it risks making the entire line more expensive in the longer term."
https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/revealed-long-delayed-sydney-light-rail-line-will-now-be-built-in-two-sections-20260121-p5nvv2.html
#tram #lightrail #Urbanism #UrbanPlanning #Parramatta #auspol #nswpol
Long feature article in the SMH about Parramatta Square, with a lot to unpack.
"All of these things happen within a few minutes: a shirtless man riding a skateboard jumps onto a bench and performs a triple somersault; four women in traditional Chinese dresses dance to music blasting from a portable speaker; two Mormons engage in conversation with a man in shorts; strangers – some kitchen staff from the nearby Indonesian restaurant, some in suits – compete at council-provided table tennis tables; about eight government bureaucrats, school students and corporate workers gather around a giant chessboard, appraising each other’s moves; five schoolgirls, some in hijabs and all in Adidas flats, eat ice-cream; and I am approached by a neatly dressed man who invites me to listen to a presentation about God the Mother.
...
"What started as an urban renewal project costing $2.7 billion worked – now Parramatta Square is just urban."
Definitely agree that, especially on weekdays, it's a very vibrant space and an example of urban renewal done well.
"It’s a question brought to the fore by an innocent enough change in tenancy: the main cafe that used to occupy space at the base of the public library is being replaced by the cult American chicken shop Wingstop.
"At Publique, the bistro-style cafe that spread its Prague chairs along the open sides of the French-designed “public living room”, library visitors and tourists, the down-and-out and university students, would all rub shoulders with the lanyard class of state bureaucrats and corporate officers in nearby buildings.
"Wingstop, with 3000 stores worldwide, is unlikely to attract such a crowd. But the change at the square’s flagship venue represents a shift in approach from the council: a daytime-focused venue that mainly attracted people working will turn into a nighttime-focused eatery aimed at young people, especially students.
...
"But Wingstop will be able to do what Publique never managed: stay open late, and on weekends. When the office workers leave and university students go home, Parramatta Square turns eerie. On weekends, the library is often the only place open during the day."
Yes, that space *should* have remained a café.
And, more importantly, Publique *should* have opened on weekends.
Phive, the library building, is absolutely packed with students on a weekend.
If it were open on weekends, many would buy coffees. Food too, if it's tasty abd affordable.
But Publique closed on weekends, in the misguided view that only office workers want coffee.
And then because all the cafés are closed by 1:30pm on weekends, there's less reason /to/ visit on weekends.
(Ironically, the few that are open later do an amazing trade.)
"Zoom out beyond the three-hectare site, and you’ll get a glimpse of the forces that will change how we experience the square.
To the west, land owned by St John’s Cathedral was last year rezoned to allow for the multi-storey development of church premises, with more than 2500 square metres of public space.
"And to the north, machinery is heaving around the site of the future Metro West station precinct, which will practically double the space in the area, with four towers stretching up to 38 storeys.
"Among the towers will be swathes of new public space, also forming part of the new Civic Link strip to connect the CBD to the river."
One of the issues with the Parra CBD at the moment is that so much of it is still under construction.
The other thing that it's sorely missing is arts and cultural spaces, especially a decent sized art gallery and live music venues.
The Parra Powerhouse and a rebuilt Riverside Theatre could help on that front. But I'd look to add a good main history museum, major public art gallery, and reopen the Roxy as an art gallery.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fried-chicken-corporate-towers-and-the-search-for-western-sydney-s-heart-20251230-p5nqpz.html
#Parramatta #WesternSydney #Sydney
Invasion/Survival Day Events Across Australia
Ballarat Survival Day Dawn Ceremony 2026
Survival Day Walk 2026 Mackay – Yuwi Country
Invasion Day 2026 – We Have Survived! – Sunshine Coast
Day of Survival and Strength – Gimuy/Cairns
Survival Day Morning Reflection – Dja Dja Wurrung Country
Invasion Day 2026: Free Speech Black Liberation – Magan-djin
Invasion Day march and rally – Gadigal Coutry/Sydney
Invasion Day Rally 2026 – Djilang
Invasion Day 2026 – Nipaluna/Hobart
Survival Day 2026 – Honouring Culture, Strength, and Community
Invasion Day Rally 2026 – Naarm/Melbourne
Invasion Day 2026 – Limilinaturi/Devonport
Invasion Day Rally 2026 – Boorloo
Invasion and Survival Day Picnic
