Parramatta, along with sister ships and , were ordered on 13 March 1909; the first ships to be ordered for the Commonwealth Naval Forces, the post-Federation amalgamation of the Australian colonial navies.Stevens, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 18 The ship was laid down by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, at its shipyard in Govan, Scotland, on 17 March.Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 74 She was launched on 9 February 1910 by Margot Asquith, wife of British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith; the first new ship launched for the Australian navy.Stevens, in Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 19 Construction was completed on 10 September,Briggs, "Australia's First Destroyers", p. 162 and the ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Parramatta for the voyage out to Australia. Parramatta and sister ship sailed from Portsmouth on 19 September. Once the ships arrived in Broome in December, they were transferred to the control of the Commonwealth Naval Forces.Cassells, The Destroyers, p. 75
