Wentworth Park: Friends of Wentworth Park

History of Wentworth Park

Wentworth Park has been integral to life in Sydney and area for more than two hundred years. The form and use of the 1785 Park was significantly different from the Park of the 1900s. Photos of the Park from around 1895 show the old mill building near the site of the existing Bandshell. There is anecdotal evidence that ships anchored as far up Wentworth Creek as the site of the existing rail bridge. Construction of the bridge would have limited passage up Wentworth Creek and reduced the use of the creek for transportation. This was probably the single most significant alteration to the Creek. While the area in the early 1800s was certainly different from today, photographs from the early 1900s show a Park that current residents of Sydney would recognize.

The modern history of the Park shows fewer changes than previous years. During the 1960s, the Kiwanis Club built the Bandshell, the first major change to the Park since the turn of the last century. In 1985, the Kiwanis Club sponsored a bicentennial redevelopment of Wentworth Park to celebrate 200 years of use. The redevelopment included the addition of the Ann Terry Memorial Plaza, relocation of the war memorial and construction of a Gazebo. More recently, gabion baskets were installed to limit erosion of the banks along the waters edge.

In the past seven years the Municipality has not programmed the band shell. Several alternative music concerts have been arranged at the band shell; however, it has not been well used for over eight years. Large performances are more easily accommodated on the waterfront.

Wentworth Park is both a neighbourhood Park and one of the seven components of the Greenlink Sustainable Park and Trail System proposed by the Greenlink Park Society. It is a key link between the Sydney waterfront boardwalk and the Wentworth Brook Trail, connecting downtown Sydney with six neighbourhood Parks.