Duck River (New South Wales)

The Duck River is a perennial stream and southern tributary of the Parramatta River, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.HistoryThe Darug people of the Burramattagal clan were the original inhabitants of the land at the head of the Parramatta River. The southern riverbank was a vital source of their food and living resources. In their seasonal rotation of campsites around their territory, the clan would have found that the abundant fish, shellfish, birds, reptiles and marsupials contributed greatly to their daily quest for food. The agreed boundary between the Burramattagal country and their neighbours, the Wategora clan, is believed to have been the Duck River.On 22 April 1788 Governor Arthur Phillip and his party of officers and marines journeyed inland by boat from Sydney Cove to find better farmlands for the new settlement. At the head of the navigable river they landed on the shore near Clyde of what he named Duck River due to the abundance of ducks in the area. They left their boats to explore the area but could not penetrate the thick bush.In the early 1800s John Macarthur extended his land grants and his Elizabeth Farm holdings to gain the complete river frontage between the township of Parramatta and Duck River.