Sydney Park

This article is about the park in Sydney. For Syd the Kid, see Sydney Park (entertainer). For other uses, see Sydney Park (disambiguation).

Sydney Park
Former Austral brick works at Sydney Park.
Location	St Peters
Nearest city	Sydney, New South Wales
Coordinates	33°54′38″S 151°11′05″E / 33.9105284°S 151.1846209°E / -33.9105284; 151.1846209Coordinates: 33°54′38″S 151°11′05″E / 33.9105284°S 151.1846209°E / -33.9105284; 151.1846209
Area	44 hectares (110 acres)
Created	11 February 1991 (1991-02-11)^[1]
Operated by	Sydney City Council
Open	24 hours
Status	Open all year
Public transit access	St Peters railway station

Sydney Park is a large recreational area in the inner-city area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The parkland is located in the suburb of St Peters,^[1] sitting along the borders of Alexandria, Newtown and Erskineville.

Sydney Park is 41.6 hectares (103 acres) in area,^[2] which makes it the third largest park in inner-city Sydney. The park comprises large open recreation spaces with distinctive hills that provide 360 degree views over Sydney, a children's playground, wetlands, a sports oval (Alan Davidson Oval), a children's bicycle track, sculptures, a heritage area featuring the remains of the brickworks that formerly occupied part of the site, and the AIDS Memorial Grove.

History

Prior to British settlement, the north-western part of the present park area would have been a forest of turpentine and ironbark trees, grading down towards the south-eastern area, situated on Botany Sands, which would have been swamp, marsh and heathland associated with the waterway that became known as Shea’s Creek. The woodland area was first cleared by Thomas Smyth, a marine sergeant with the First Fleet, who planted fruit trees and grain crops.

The north-west part of the park is situated over a bed of Wianamatta shale which became a valuable source of brick-making clay. Brick manufacture on the site was a major industry by the 1870s when machine manufacture was introduced. Bricks made here were widely used around Sydney’s suburbs for more than 100 years and the first batch of machine-made bricks was used for the construction of the Farmers’ Building on the corner of Market Street, Sydney. Josiah Gentle opened the Bedford Brickworks in 1893. In 1933, it was taken over by Austral Bricks, who had a large brickworks in Cowper Street, Marrickville. They operated the site until the brickworks closed in 1970. Their Marrickville site was closed down in 1983. Other parts of the Alexandria site were used for a variety of industrial purposes including manufacturing, warehousing and gas storage. The brickworks are heritage-listed.^[3] They are also used by homeless people.

From 1948 to 1976, the massive clay pits that had been excavated were used as a municipal waste tip. After the closure of the tip, the area was reclaimed by placing layers of soil and building rubble over the refuse dump to create the present parkland profile.^[4]

A 360° panorama from one of the hilltops at Sydney Park.

Art and heritage

Sydney Park features public sculpture including Michael Snape's "The Trail" 1990 which is displayed on top of the hill in the north-western corner of the park, the corner opposite to St Peters railway station. This corner, where King Street, Newtown turns into the Princes Highway, features the remains of the chimneys and brick kilns from the old brickworks site. These chimneys have been kept as heritage items and are a dominating feature of this area.

Sports and recreation

The Alan Davidson Oval is located in the northern section of the park. The oval is used for cricket and Australian rules football. It is the home ground of the South Sydney District Cricket Club and Newtown Swans Junior Australian rules football team.^[5]

Sydney Park's bicycle track with traffic lights, road signs is great for children

The park is also the home of the St Peters Parkrun, a weekly free 5 km run, held every Saturday morning around the bike trails and paths of the park.

Culture and events

Sydney Park has played an important role in various youth subcultures since its redevelopment - generally without official approval. Throughout the 1990s and to the present day the park is used reasonably regularly for the 'Punks Picnic' - a gathering initially of anarcho-punks from Newtown and neighbouring suburbs. From 1992 to 1994 the park was also used by the Vibe Tribe for a series of free open-air rave parties that formed an important part of the Sydney electronic music scene throughout the 1990s. The last of these Freequency was violently shut down by over 40 riot police. Since then, in an effort to avoid such "anti-social behaviour" and illegal gatherings, the South Sydney Council (and now City of Sydney Council) has allowed and promoted community arts festivals on the site. In recent years, the park has become home to Sydney's Earthdance event, joining simultaneous dance parties in more than 50 countries to mark the International Day of Peace each September. The park has also become the host for the touring Soundwave Festival having its first show there in 2007 and returning in 2008.

Flora and fauna

The park area has been extensively replanted with a variety of native trees and shrubs. Stormwater retention ponds constructed in the eastern section of the site have been transformed into wetland habitats, partially recreating the original character of the eastern part of the site, and this has attracted a wide variety of bird and animal life including dusky moorhens, Australian magpies and pelicans.

Gallery

Sydney Park panoramic view in Easter 2014
Former brick works in Sydney Park
Sydney Park looking south
Sydney Park chimneys decorated at Christmas
Wetland featuring a boardwalk and viewing platforms
Sydney Park
The Trail

References

1 2 "Sydney Park, St Peters". Council of the City of Sydney. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
↑ Michael Leyland, Director City Projects and Property & Nicholas Male-Perkins, Development Manager (5 May 2014). "Plan of Management Sydney Park 2014 – Adoption" (PDF). www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au. Council of the City of Sydney. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
↑ State Heritage Register
↑ "Sydney Park, Alexandria". Council of the City of Sydney. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
↑ "Locations". Newtown Junior Australian Rules Football Inc. Retrieved 7 September 2012.

External links

Anne-Maree Whitaker (2008). "Sydney Park". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 29 September 2015. [CC-By-SA]

Sydney landmarks

Buildings / structures	Admiralty House Archibald Fountain Australia Square Cadmans Cottage The Cenotaph Chifley Tower Citigroup Centre International Convention Centre Deutsche Bank Place Dr Chau Chak Wing Building El Alamein Fountain Finger Wharf General Post Office (No. 1 Martin Place) Government House Governor Phillip Tower Harbour Bridge Hyde Park Barracks King Street Wharf Kirribilli House Long Bay Macquarie Lighthouse Mint Observatory Old Government House Opera House Parliament House Parramatta Gaol Regimental Square Queen Victoria Building St Andrew's Cathedral St Mary's Cathedral Sydney Tower Eye The Toaster Town Hall War Memorial Warragamba Dam World Square World Tower

Precincts	Barangaroo Central Park Chinatown Darling Harbour Green Square Kings Cross Martin Place Pitt Street Mall Railway Square The Rocks

Parks and nature	Auburn Botanical Gardens Balls Head Reserve Berowra Valley National Park Bicentennial Park Blue Mountains National Park Botany Bay National Park Centennial Park Central Gardens Nature Reserve Chinese Garden of Friendship Cronulla sand dunes Farm Cove Field of Mars Reserve Fred Hollows Reserve Garigal National Park Garawarra Conservation Area Georges River National Park Heathcote National Park Hyde Park Ku-ring-gai Chase Lane Cove National Park Macquarie Place Moore Park Prospect Hill Royal Botanic Gardens Royal National Park Sydney Harbour National Park Sydney Park The Domain Western Sydney Parklands

Cultural institutions	Art Gallery of New South Wales Australian Museum Australian National Maritime Museum Manly Art Gallery and Museum Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Sydney Powerhouse Museum Sea Life Sydney Aquarium State Library Sydney Conservatorium of Music Taronga Zoo

Sport	The Australian Golf Club Stadium Australia Rosehill Gardens Racecourse Royal Randwick Royal Sydney Golf Club State Sports Centre Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Football Stadium Sydney International Aquatic Centre Sydney International Regatta Centre Sydney Motorsport Park Sydney Olympic Park Wentworth Park

Transportation	Anzac Bridge Bradfield Highway Broadway Cahill Expressway Captain Cook Bridge Central Station Circular Quay City Circle Cross City Tunnel Eastern Distributor George Street Gladesville Bridge Gore Hill Freeway Liverpool–Parramatta T-way M2 Hills Motorway M4 Western Motorway M5 Macquarie Street North-West T-way Norton Street Opal card Oxford Street Pacific Highway Parramatta Road Pitt Street Princes Highway Pyrmont Bridge Roseville Bridge Southern Cross Drive Spit Bridge Sydney Airport Sydney Buses Sydney Ferries Sydney Harbour Bridge Sydney Harbour Tunnel Tom Uglys Bridge Warringah Freeway Westlink M7 William Street

Entertainment	Capitol Theatre Entertainment Centre Entertainment Quarter Fox Studios Australia Luna Park Lyric Theatre Plaza Theatre The Star State Theatre Sydney Super Dome Sydney Theatre Theatre Royal Wet'n'Wild

Beaches	Avalon Bondi & North Bondi Bronte Clovelly Coogee Cronulla Manly Maroubra Newport Palm Beach Tamarama

Islands	Bare Clark Cockatoo Fort Denison Garden Goat Rodd Shark Snapper Spectacle

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