[3] The park is a part of the territory of the Darug people, who called it Burramatta, and has remnants of the Cumberland Plain Woodland.

The remains of aboriginal occupation can be seen within the park and various artifacts of the era have been retrieved from the vast green space.

In 1860 the extension of the Main Western railway line divided the park and necessitated the demolition of Governor Macquarie's stables.

An attempt to revive the circuit failed in 1958 due to an intervention by the Commissioner of Police over safety concerns.

[9] The formal entrance to the park (normally open only to pedestrians) is the grand gatehouse facing George Street.

[10] The centrepiece of the park is Old Government House, which sits at the top of a hill overlooking a bend in the Parramatta River.