Henson Park

Sports field in New South Wales, Australia

Henson Park

Aerial view from the north east

Location| Marrickville, New South Wales
Coordinates| 33°54′16″S 151°9′30″E﻿ / ﻿33.90444°S 151.15833°E﻿ / -33.90444; 151.15833
Owner| Inner West Council
Operator| Inner West Council
Capacity| 20,000[1]
Surface| Grass
Construction
Broke ground| 1933
Opened| 1933
Tenants
Newtown (NSWRL) (1937–1983)
Eastern Suburbs (NSWRL) (1987, 1990)
Newtown (NSWRL) (1990–present)
Greater Western Sydney Giants (AFLW) (2022)
Sydney Swans (AFLW) (2023–present)

Henson Park is a multi purpose sports ground in Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia.

## History

[edit]

Henson Park was established in 1933 on the site of Daley's brick pit, Thomas Daley operated the Standsure Brick Company from 1886 to 1914.[citation needed] The brickworks occupied 9 acres (3.6 ha) and employed approximately 60 people. When the brickworks closed the pits filled with rain and ground water. The largest waterhole was known as "The Blue Hole" and was 40 to 80 feet in places (12.2 to 24.4 metres). Marrickville Council purchased the site in 1923 as it was a serious danger. Unfortunately nine young boys drowned in the old water hole. In 1932 a grant was received to level the ground and work commenced as part of the Unemployment Relief Scheme.[citation needed]

The oval is set within a shallow hollow, formed by the upper edges of the former brickpit. This is the only one of the many parks formed on the sites of former brickpits which has retained evidence of its former use in its shape.[citation needed]

Henson Park was named after William Henson, who was Mayor of Marrickville in 1902, 1906 to 1908 and his son Alfred Henson, who was an Alderman of Marrickville Council from 1922 to 1931.[citation needed]

It was officially opened on 2 September 1933 with a cricket match between a representative Marrickville Eleven team and a North Sydney District team, which included Donald Bradman. The Mayor of Marrickville, Alderman Rushton, bowled the first ball, and North Sydney won the match.[citation needed]

Cricket may have been the first sport played on Henson Park but the park is better known as a rugby league field. It is the home ground of Newtown Jets Rugby League Club, which is one of the founding rugby league clubs. Newtown still has a team in the New South Wales Cup. The first premiership game of Rugby League was played on 1 April 1936, when Newtown defeated University 20-0.[citation needed]

On 1 October 1961 it hosted the Grand Final of the NSW soccer championship between the Hakoah Club and Canterbury-Marrrickville (4-1). The attendance of 18,400 represented a new Australian record for club matches in this sport.[2]

Apart from football, the ground has had a long association with cycling. It was the principal cycling venue for the 1938 British Empire Games, as well as the venue for the games closing ceremony. The Sydney Morning Herald (14/2/1938) reported the awesome scene of athletes and officials from all the competing nations standing in ordered lines under their country's banner on Henson Park. During the games crowds regularly exceeded 40 000.

Hill on the eastern side

The velodrome surrounding the playing field was removed during the late 1970s and replaced by a grass running track used for local school athletics carnivals.[citation needed]

In round 5 (28 March) of the 1982 NSWRFL season, Newtown Jets drew nil all with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. It is the only nil all draw in competition history.[citation needed]

The last time Henson Park hosted a first grade rugby league match was on Sunday 26 August 1990. Eastern Suburbs hosted the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the final game of the season, and won the game 16-11.

In 2011/12, a $920,000 Henson Park upgrade was funded by the Australian Government Community Infrastructure Grants program. And was announced prior to the 2010 Australian federal election to upgrade facilities in the Park.[citation needed]

* Installation of electronic scoreboard.
* Replacement of asbestos roofing on grandstand and waterproofing and repainting of grandstand.
* Resurfacing of forecourt of grandstand to provide ramp access.
* Refurbishment of public toilets and the canteen.

Further upgrades were completed in 2022 (see Australian rules football section).

## Sites

[edit]

### Charlie Meader Memorial Gates

[edit]

Henson Park, Charlie Meader Memorial Gates.

The Henson Park gates on the Centennial Street entrance were named as the "Charlie Meader Memorial Gates" in 2001 as a dedication to the memory and the recognition of Mr Meader's work as caretaker/groundskeeper of Henson Park for many years. Mr Meader joined Marrickville Council at the age of 16, and continued working there for another 53 years and was the longest serving council employee. Mr Meader was also the son of a former employee of the brick pit.

### Jack Chaseling Drive

[edit]

Jack Chaseling was one of the greatest of all Newtown Rugby League officials. He worked tirelessly for 32 years for the club. He was a delegate for the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and also served on many sub-committees with NSWRL. He was manager for the 1935 Australian Kangaroos tour of New Zealand. Marrickville Council acknowledged his work by naming the Sydenham Road entrance "Jack Chaseling Drive".

## Facilities

[edit]

King George v Memorial Grandstand

Henson Park has changed little since it was first opened.

* On the western side is the King George V Memorial Grandstand, which accommodates about 1000 people. During the 1980s, when the high-profile adman John Singleton was club's chief benefactor, attempts were made to take the traditionally working-class Bluebags up-market. The upper section, named the Jet Set Lounge, at one stage was enclosed with glass and waiters served members and their guests food and drinks.
* From the north west to the south-east side of the ground runs a grass hill – one of the largest in Sydney.
* From the south east to the west, there is a bitumen bank where cars can park. About 200 cars can fit and it has always been popular to watch matches from your car seat.
* There is also a brick scoreboard with a kiosk in the north-east corner.
* Media/Corporate centre also with a kiosk to the northern side of the King George V Memorial Grandstand.
* Full Stadium lighting was installed in the late 1970s for the benefit of night games and for significant games to be televised.

## Newtown Jets

[edit]

Since 1937, the ground has been primarily known as the home of the Newtown Rugby League Football Club nicknamed "The Bluebags", today known as the Newtown Jets. The Jets played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, a forerunner to the National Rugby League, until 1983 when they were dropped from the competition for financial reasons. However the club was re-established as a senior club in 1990 and returned to play at the ground. The Jets compete in the NSW Cup and were the feeder team for National Rugby League side the Sydney Roosters until the end of the 2014 season after the Roosters announced they were ending a nine-year relationship with the club.[3][4]

In 2015, Newtown signed a contract to become Cronulla-Sutherland's feeder side with the deal finishing at the end of the 2023 season.[5]

In 2019, Henson Park hosted a Magic Round which consisted of 3 Canterbury Cup NSW games played at the ground on the same day in Round 10 of the 2019 season.[6][7]

## Australian rules football

[edit]

Henson Park has been used for Australian rules football matches for several decades, with the first matches of the sport occurring in the 1940s.[8] AFL Sydney club the Newtown Breakaways have played some home matches at the venue since 2002,[9] and the venue has hosted several other matches, including the AFL Sydney finals, 2008 AFL Under 18 Championships and the Community Cup. In 2022 Henson Park hosted its first ever AFL Women's (AFLW) matches, the highest-level women's Australian rules football league.[9][10] Both Sydney AFLW clubs, the Sydney Swans and GWS Giants, play several of their home matches at the ground, which was upgraded in mid-2022 to refurbish the grandstand, install female-friendly amenities and additional changerooms, and construct a multi-purpose building for broadcast and match-day operations.[8][11] The Sydney Swans women's team set an Australian rules football record for the venue of 5,722 in Round 9 of the 2023 AFL Women's season.[12]

## Other sports

[edit]

Henson Park is also used occasionally for competition matches in soccer. The Argentine rugby union side used Henson Park as a training venue during the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

## Rugby league record scores

[edit]

* 80 points: Parramatta 62 Newtown 18 (20 Aug 1978)
* 64 points: St George 47 Wests 17 (24 May 1959)
* 63 points: Manly 57 Newtown 6 (16 May 1976)
* 60 points: Newtown 43 Easts 17 (7 Apr 1956)
* 58 points: Newtown 44 Parramatta 14 (12 Jul 1970)
* 58 points: Chile 58 El Salvador 20 (11 July 2016)
* 55 points: Balmain 43 Newtown 12 (7 Aug 1977)
* 54 points: Easts 48 Illawarra 6 (16 Apr 1989)
* 54 points: Newtown 45 Easts 9 (22 Aug 1954)
* 54 points: Newtown 44 Canterbury 10 (2 Jun 1945)
* 54 points: Parramatta 42 Easts 12 (1 Jul 1990)
* 51 points: Newtown 51 Illawarra 0 (2 May 1982)
* 51 points: Newtown 48 University 3 (12 May 1937)

## See also

[edit]

* Sports portal

* List of AFL Women's venues
* List of rugby league stadiums by capacity

## References

[edit]

1. ^ www.austadiums.com
2. ^ Soccer Title To Hakoah In Heatwave Sydney Morning Herald 2 October 1961
3. ^ Sydney Roosters dump Newtown Jets as their feeder club Sydney Morning Herald 12 July 2014
4. ^ Newton Jets
5. ^ "Sharks to fly with the Jets until 2023". Cronulla Sharks. 17 May 2018.
6. ^ "Canterbury Cup NSW secures five year Grand Final stadium deal". www.nswrl.com.au. 7 March 2019.
7. ^ "Canterbury Cup NSW Rd 10 - scores, highlights, reports". New South Wales Rugby League. 18 May 2019.
8. ^ a b "Henson Park redevelopment gets green light". AFL NSW/ACT. 27 June 2022.
9. ^ a b "Henson Park: The historic community ground set for a bright future". The Inner Sanctum. 3 December 2021.
10. ^ "2022 AFL Women's season results". australianfootball.com.
11. ^ GWS Giants to play games at iconic Henson Park The Age 1 December 2021
12. ^ Surging Swans feel the love as crowd record falls by Martin Smith for AFL.com.au 29 October 2023

## External links

[edit]

* Henson Park at Austadiums
* Henson Park (innerwest.nsw.gov.au)

* v
* t
* e

AFL Women's venues

Current venues|

* Alberton Oval
* Arden Street Oval
* Bellerive Oval
* Blacktown ISP Oval
* Carrara Stadium
* Casey Fields
* Cazalys Stadium
* Eureka Stadium
* Frankston Park
* Fremantle Oval
* Great Barrier Reef Arena
* Henson Park
* Kardinia Park
* Lathlain Park
* Manuka Oval
* Moorabbin Oval
* North Sydney Oval
* Norwood Oval
* Olympic Park Oval
* Princes Park
* Reid Oval
* Springfield Central Stadium
* Unley Oval
* Victoria Park
* Whitten Oval
* Windy Hill
* York Park

Former venues|

* Adelaide Oval
* Bond University
* Box Hill City Oval
* Chirnside Park
* Docklands Stadium
* Drummoyne Oval
* The Gabba
* Glenelg Oval
* Hickey Park
* Hickinbotham Oval
* Leederville Oval
* Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex
* Marrara Oval
* Melbourne Cricket Ground
* Mildura Sporting Precinct
* Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex
* Morwell Recreation Reserve
* North Hobart Oval
* North Port Oval
* Perth Stadium
* Punt Road Oval
* Rushton Park
* South Pine Sports Complex
* Subiaco Oval
* Sydney Cricket Ground
* Sydney Showground Stadium
* Ted Summerton Reserve
* Thebarton Oval
* Traeger Park
* Trevor Barker Beach Oval

Grand final venues|

* Carrara Stadium (2017)
* Princes Park (2018, 2023, 2024)
* Adelaide Oval (2019, 2021, 2022 (S6))
* Springfield Central Stadium (2022 (S7))

Exhibition games|

* Adelaide Oval
* Docklands Stadium
* The Gabba
* Highgate Recreation Reserve
* Melbourne Cricket Ground
* Peanut Farm Reserve
* Sydney Cricket Ground

* v
* t
* e

Newtown Jets

Est. 1908 at Newtown Town Hall, Sydney, New South Wales

The club|

* Players
* Coaches

Home grounds|

* Henson Park
* Erskineville Oval

Culture|

* The Final Winter

Important figures|

* Frank Farrell

League|

| Current|

NSW Cup

|

Past|

NSWRL

Premierships (3)|

* 1910
* 1933
* 1943

Seasons|

Other
competitions|

| Current|

NSW Cup

|

Past|

Amco Cup
Ron Massey Cup
Jersey Flegg Cup
S. G. Ball Cup
Harold Matthews Cup

Affiliations|

| Current|

* Newtown Jetettes
* Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

|

Past|

* New Zealand Warriors
* Sydney Roosters
* South Sydney Rabbitohs

* v
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* e

National Rugby League grounds

New South Wales|

* Brookvale Oval
* Stadium Australia
* Sydney Football Stadium
* Western Sydney Stadium
* Penrith Stadium
* Campbelltown Sports Stadium
* Hunter Stadium
* Leichhardt Oval
* Kogarah Oval
* Shark Park
* Wollongong Showground

Queensland|

* Robina Stadium
* Dolphin Stadium
* North Queensland Stadium
* Lang Park
* Sunshine Coast Stadium

Victoria|

* Melbourne Rectangular Stadium

ACT|

* Canberra Stadium

Western Australia|

* Perth Rectangular Stadium

New Zealand|

* Mount Smart Stadium

Papua New Guinea|

* PNG Football Stadium

Semi-permanent grounds|

* Adelaide Oval
* Alec Inch Oval
* Anzac Oval
* Allegiant Stadium (USA)
* Christchurch Stadium (NZ)
* Barlow Park
* Belmore Sports Ground
* Carrington Park
* Coffs Harbour International Stadium
* Clive Berghofer Stadium
* Waikato Stadium (NZ)
* Glen Willow Oval
* Central Coast Stadium
* Casey Fields
* Docklands Stadium
* Leprechaun Park
* Latrobe City Stadium
* McDonalds Park
* McLean Park (NZ)
* Melbourne Cricket Ground
* Mackay Showground
* Maitland Sportsground
* Perth Stadium
* Port Macquarie Regional Stadium
* Rotorua International Stadium (NZ)
* Salter Oval
* Scully Park
* Wellington Regional Stadium (NZ)
* Sydney Cricket Ground
* North Hobart Oval
* Marrara Oval
* The Gabba
* Wade Park

Former grounds|

* Apex Oval
* Bennett Oval
* Birchgrove Oval
* Browne Park
* Carlaw Park (NZ)
* Carrara Stadium
* Cazalys Stadium
* Chatswood Oval
* Concord Oval
* Cumberland Oval
* Drummoyne Oval
* Earl Park
* Eden Park (NZ)
* Eric Weissel Oval
* Erskineville Oval
* Forsyth Barr Stadium (NZ)
* Henson Park
* Hindmarsh Stadium
* Hurstville Oval
* Lancaster Park (NZ)
* Lathlain Park
* Lavington Sports Ground
* Lidcombe Oval
* Manuka Oval
* Marley Brown Oval
* North Sydney Oval
* Olympic Park Stadium
* Owen Delany Park (NZ)
* Parramatta Stadium
* Pioneer Oval
* Pratten Park
* Princes Park
* QEII Stadium
* Redfern Oval
* Seagulls Stadium
* Seiffert Oval
* Stadium Mackay
* Subiaco Oval
* Sutherland Oval
* Sydney Football Stadium (1988)
* Sydney Showground Stadium
* Sydney Showground
* Sydney Sports Ground
* Townsville Sports Reserve
* Trumper Oval
* WACA Ground
* Wentworth Park
* Willows Sports Complex
* Yarrow Stadium (NZ)

* v
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North East Australian Football League

Clubs|

| Final season|

* Aspley
* Brisbane reserves
* Canberra
* Gold Coast reserves
* Greater Western Sydney reserves
* Redland
* Southport
* Sydney reserves
* Sydney University

|

Former|

* Ainslie
* Belconnen
* Broadbeach
* Greater Western Sydney
* Labrador
* Morningside
* Mount Gravatt
* NT Thunder
* Queanbeyan
* Sydney Hills
* Tuggeranong

Seasons|

* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020

Main grounds|

* Blacktown International Sportspark
* Fankhauser Reserve
* Graham Road Oval
* Henson Park
* Metricon Stadium
* South Pine Sports Complex
* SCG
* Sydney Showground Stadium
* Manuka Oval
* Tidbold Park

Former grounds|

* Alan Ray Oval
* Bruce Purser Reserve
* Cazalys Stadium
* Cooke-Murphy Oval
* Dairy Farmers Park
* Dittmer Park
* Drummoyne Oval
* Esplen Oval
* Football Park
* The Gabba
* Giffin Park
* Greenway Oval
* Gungahlin Enclosed Oval
* Kombumerri Park
* Kippax Oval
* Leyshon Park
* Macpherson Park
* Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex
* Newcastle Oval
* North Dalton Park
* Northline Oval
* Ray Mitchell Oval
* Robertson Oval
* Salk Oval
* Sherwood Oval
* Sir Bruce Small Park
* Stadium Australia
* TIO Stadium
* Tony Ireland Stadium
* Tramway Oval
* University Oval

Related articles|

List of records

* v
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Greater Western Sydney Giants

* History
* Current squad
* Players
* Captains
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* Kevin Sheedy Medal
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* Leading goalkickers

* AFL coach: Adam Kingsley
* AFL captains: Toby Greene

* AFLW coach: Cameron Bernasconi
* AFLW captain: Alicia Eva

AFL home grounds|

* Sydney Showground Stadium (2012–)
* Manuka Oval (2012–)

AFLW home grounds|

* Blacktown ISP Oval (2017–)
* Henson Park (2022)

Seasons (15)
(club articles in bold)|

| NEAFL (1)|

* 2011

|

AFL (14)|

* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
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Reserves seasons|

| NEAFL (8)|

* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020

|

VFL (5)|

* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
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Related articles|

* Australian rules football in New South Wales
* Netball team
* Sydney Derby
* 2016 AFL First Preliminary Final

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Sydney Swans

* History
* Premierships
* Records
* Players
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* Awards
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* Leading goalkickers
* Nickname: Swans

* AFL co-captains: Callum Mills/Dane Rampe/Luke Parker
* AFL coach: John Longmire

* AFLW co-captains: Maddy Collier/Brooke Lochland/Lauren Szigeti
* AFLW coach: Scott Gowans

AFL home grounds|

* Lake Oval (1897–1941, 1947–1981)
* Princes Park (1942–1943)
* Junction Oval (1944–1946)
* Sydney Cricket Ground (1980–)
* Stadium Australia (2002–2016)

AFLW home grounds|

* Henson Park (2022–)
* North Sydney Oval (2022–)
* Sydney Cricket Ground (2022–)

VFA Premierships (5)|

* 1881
* 1885
* 1888
* 1887
* 1890

VFL/AFL Premierships (5)|

| as South Melbourne (3)|

* 1909
* 1918
* 1933

|

as Sydney Swans (2)|

* 2005
* 2012

Runner-up (13)|

| as South Melbourne (8)|

* 1899
* 1907
* 1912
* 1914
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1945

|

as Sydney Swans (6)|

* 1996
* 2006
* 2014
* 2016
* 2022
* 2024

Seasons (141)
(club articles in bold)|

* 1879
* 1880
* 1881
* 1882
* 1883
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* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Related articles|

* Leopold Football Club
* Match of the Century (1886)
* The Bloodbath (1945)
* Sydney Derby
* West Coast Eagles rivalry
* Victory March

Known as South Melbourne Football Club from 1874–1982; known as Swans Football Club in 1982
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