An Art Gallery for Parramatta ..Please!!

A birds eye view of the grounds of Parramatta goal..redevelopment of this site would take less resources than trying to build a new gallery.. A birds eye view of the gaol                        These building are impressive and should be used for the good of the community My last trip to the Art gallery of New South Wales was about two years ago. The reason I haven't been since is that it takes all day.  Living in Parramatta it takes, on a good day, an hour and a half to drive in to Sydney. It takes about fifteen minutes to find parking at the only parking station nearby and it takes another ten to fifteen minutes to walk to the entrance.  To comfortably walk around an exhibit can take one to three hours depending on the exhibit, by then you need refreshments, so you compete with all the other spectators for a place at the only restaurant to build up your strength and refresh before you tackle the long trip back home. Sunday, the only day I have off is all but gone . I, along with the population of greater Sydney  would love to support the arts but we want them closer and I got to thinking. If Parramatta had an art Gallery where would it go.  The only logical place in my mind was to redevelopment of the old Parramatta gaol..Its perfect ..Its secure ..Its historical ...Its convict built.. Its on the river, it has development sites around it so if the government really got enthusiastic we could also have a botanical gardens. We may only get one shot at having a second campus, there is no other building that would serve as well and to build one anew would be too expensive.  It could be the jewel in the crown in Parramatta and for the west, we would no longer be thought of as the rank and file proletarian commoners to be entertained by sport, shopping malls and American pulp cinema...Its a crime that in a multicultural city like Parramatta we don't even  have a multicultural cinema.. It really is time for a second campus of the NSW art gallery and for good measure, perhaps a second campus of the museum as well ..In for a penny in for a pound I say!   Both the art gallery and the museum have enough stock in storage, they would not have to spend a cent on permanent exhibits. I also think the present curator Edmond Capon has done such a wonderful job with the art gallery of NSW that he would make a wonderful sucesss of one in Parramatta.It would make the perfect swan song to his career.  I know some of the locals will say ..."but we are going to have the  arts precient in the old Kings school building"  ..I know this and its a wonderful idea to bring local art to a local museum ..but the gold of the Pharaohs ..van Gogh,  Dagas,  da Vinci   Monet, Rubens, Constable,  Renoir and all the other great masters  will not be exhibited at the kings school ..it could never be secure enough...but the old prison that's another matter, if it will keep prisoners in it will keep thieves out.  If you take a walk around the old hospital grounds that surround the prison its possible to see what could be done with it.  The other side of the river that meanders past the gaol you can see Parramatta park and  old Government house.  Development of the gaol and the surrounding area would not only lift the profile of the area, it would create jobs,  education, tourism, entertainment. ( with all that we may not need a gaol.)  Its an easy bus run from the station up O'Connell st past the gaol and across to Church st. and back to the station.   I have spoken to many people about this project .. Teachers out here in the west, many who cannot get their students to the Art gallery because it takes too long would welcome it ..parents would love to expose their children to the great artists , but its not possible at all if you live west of Parramatta, its too far and too expensive. the ageing population who have been the ones to support the arts cannot travel to the city but with extra time on their hands and easy access would be constant patrons.   I have also spoken to and written to some of our esteemed politicians, those I have contacted think its a good idea, but they wont do anything about it unless there is a ground swell of support for the idea or they can get something out of it...I want people talking about it ,discussing it ..if you like the idea lets make it a reality...