Johnson visited Parramatta fortnightly and held services under a tree on the river bank near the present day ferry terminal at the end of Smith Street.

"[5] On 10 March 1794, the Reverend Samuel Marsden, who had been appointed Assistant Chaplain, arrived in Parramatta and relieved Johnson of the care of these Western settlements.

[8] This reference has caused confusion to historians due to an editor's note (most likely erroneous) which states that this temporary church was "Built where St John's now stands.

The timber church was located across George Street on the south-east corner of the intersection, in fact where the hotel that bears the name Woolpack stands today.

Work proceeded slowly, so when a number of "glaring untruths" were published by "some persons in the Colony for sinister ends,"[15] apparently including the suggestion that there was already a church in Sydney, Governor King was prompted to set the record straight in a letter to Sir Joseph Banks on 21 August 1801: "Nor have we an Elegant stone Church built at Sydney…- one of brick and stone will be finished in the course of the year at Parramatta and the foundation of one at Sydney is just begun.

"[15] In 1802, David Collins published a "Plan & Elevation of a Church Built at Parramatta [sic] New South Wales during the Government of John Hunter Esqr 1800.

Construction of a brick barrel drain from the 1820s onwards from the market place opposite the church (now the site of Parramatta Town Hall) to the river greatly improved the drainage of this vicinity.

[23] No other reference to this event can be found but, on 1 August 1810, Governor Macquarie instructed Lieutenant Durie, commandant at Parramatta, to detail Richard Rouse to make temporary repairs to the church, as directed by Marsden, that could be completed "with little labour and Expense.

[28] Elizabeth Macquarie showed Lieutenant John Cliffe Watts, aide-de-camp of the 46th Regiment, a watercolour of the church at Reculver and asked him to design some towers for St.

[5] Also in the portfolio is an excellent water-colour of St Mary's Church by Watts with a note in Macquarie's hand that he laid the foundation stone on 23 December 1818.

[42] Cyril Blacket appears to have completed the design after he borrowed Houison's plans and matched his detail so that the new work blended in successfully.

[2][52] During the 1960s, in the process of re-coating the towers, workmen found that in the course of original construction, rough bush poles inserted into the brickwork had provided scaffolding.

Also St. John's now reflects the rich cultural diversity of the City of Parramatta with services being conducted in four languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Farsi.

[2] The extensive church grounds (which are open to the public) are largely landscaped with flower beds, lawns, hedges and several established trees.

A number of hybrid plane trees (Platanus x hybrida) also mark the north-running alignment of Church Street south to the cathedral.

A mature Norfolk Island hibiscus / white oak / cow itch tree (Lagunaria patersonia) is also to the cathedral's south-east, in lawn.

[2] The mouldings on the western door are repeated in part on all of the internal woodwork, reredos, communion table, pulpit and round the external stonework of the windows.

[2] Inside the Cathedral, the reredos repeats the chevron and ball flower designs and also includes billets, which are small cylindrical blocks set in a hollow.

[2] The Cathedral's present day interior contains church furniture, furnishings and stained glass windows as well as a number of memorials and items of historical significance.

[2] The St. Johns Cathedral, Parramatta logo was re-designed by Gordon Moyes eldest Grandson, Michael Schepis, Creative Director at Handle Branding, in 2022.

[2] St John's Anglican Cathedral was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 5 March 2010 having satisfied the following criteria.

It also has associations with colonial architects John Houison and Cyril Blacket and with the regiment of Royal NSW Lancers stationed in Parramatta.

[2] Reverend Samuel Marsden, resident of Parramatta from 1794 to his death in 1838 and the first rector of St John's, was long associated with this church and is regarded by Anglicans as one of their founding ministers.

[2] The design of St John's demonstrates the importance Macquarie placed on constructing civic buildings of style that would both improve and civilise the convict colony of NSW.

[2] The overall design is a fine example of the Victorian Romanesque style utilising the towers of the previous chapel on the site to frame the western front and to visually anchor the building.

Their extant fabric and visual impact demonstrate Macquarie's grand scheme to enhance the built form and aesthetics of the colony as well as his programme of re-vitalising convict society through religion as well as education.

[2] St John's Cathedral has local heritage significance as a landmark site of community esteem in the Sydney's second city and demographic centre.

The Cathedral is a prominent landmark located in park-like grounds that are daily traversed by Parramatta's large population of commuters en route to the bus and rail interchange.

[2] Any surviving archaeology from the 1803 church would provide rare and significant evidence of the earliest establishment of Christian worship in the penal colony of NSW.

As such they have rarity at state level as the oldest remaining part of any Anglican church in Australia and as rare extant examples of the legacy of Governor Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie to the built environment of NSW.