Proposed Redfern Park Upgrade
Artist's impression of proposed Redfern park upgrade.
Work begins at Redfern Park
The $20 million facelift of Redfern Park and Oval is well underway.
From June, the oval and park will be a hive of activity and the City of Sydney will keep you informed of the ongoing works.
Building contractors Hansen Yuncken have now established themselves on-site and will soon begin preliminary earthworks for the new grandstand and oval.
Grandstand and Oval Works include:
- Creating more open space by removing the old grandstands, high concrete walls and fences (complete)
- Constructing a state-of-the-art sports field
- Improving spectator facilities by installing grass terraces and building a new grandstand
- Providing new training facilities for the South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club and playing facilities for local teams
- Building a new kiosk and room for club and community use.
The Park Works include:
- Planting new trees, shrubs and grass, including fig trees in the Southern half of the park
- Installing a new children’s playground and interactive water feature
- Upgrading all paths and kerbs
- Installing new lights and park furniture
- Restoring the park’s historic features such as the fountain and War Memorial.
During construction, access through the park will be limited. Alternative routes will be clearly marked.
Proposed Work Schedule:
Stage 1: June–October 2007
- Eastern half of the park adjacent to Elizabeth Street closed for upgrade
- Baby Heath Facility will remain open
- Children’s playground removed and new equipment installed The playground will remain closed until mid 2008.
Stage 2: November 2007–mid 2008
- Western half of park adjacent to Chalmers Street closed for upgrade
- Historic fountain and War Memorial restored.
For more information download the latest Construction News.
Sport and recreation for all the community
The plan for the new oval is based on the desire to create open, modern recreational facilities for use by all sections of the local community.
A central aim of the oval refurbishment is to provide active sporting, athletic and recreational opportunities for a broad range of community, school and sporting groups. As well the upgrade will open up the area around the playing field to provide much-needed open space for use by the general community.
South Sydney Rabbitohs are an integral part of the overall project. The upgrade guarantees a professional level training ground for the team, together with facilities such as change rooms, a weights room, meeting room and storage.
It will provide for a limited number of pre-season and exhibition matches, with perimeter fencing being investigated to protect the field.
The City will manage the new facility for the whole community, and provide a high-level of maintenance to ensure quality control of the training field.
The upgrade will provide:
- Removing old grandstands, high concrete walls and barbed wire in the park to unify it and create more open space
- Installing gentle grass terraces and a smaller state-of-the-art architect-designed spectator stand
- Creating new training facilities for the South Sydney Rugby League Football Club
- Incorporating a new café and community room for club and community use
- Creating a new children’s playground and interactive play water feature
- Planting new trees, shrubs and groundcover
- Upgrading all paths and kerbs
- Installing new lighting for the entire park and overall
- Restoring the historical elements of the park such as the fountain and the War Memorial.
New co-owner of Souths Rugby League team, Peter Holmes a Court, said the plan was a major step forward for the club
“Redfern Park is the home of the Rabbitohs. Always was. Always will be. It’s where our heroes played some of the most famous games. We are excited that the City of Sydney’s investment will make Redfern our new training ground ensuring we return home to Redfern by 2008 and are part of a new successful era for the club.”
The vision for the playing field part of the park will see the re-laying of the entire football field so that it meets elite sport requirements.
“Unfortunately, what we used to call Redfern Oval has fallen into total disrepair. But the Rabbitohs will be proud to call the new Redfern Park our home and training ground. It’s all about honouring the past and at the same time delivering first class facilities for our players.”
Artist's impression of proposed Redfern park upgrade.
Redfern Park Key Objectives
Protecting public land
Redfern Park is public land and the City of Sydney must responsibly ensure it provides the greatest benefit for the whole community. The community land classification and local recreational zoning are not compatible with commercial development or a major regional facility.
Upgrade Overdue
The strategy culminates years of debate,
and provides action after years of talk.
Redfern oval is currently unsafe, unsightly
and under-used, due the South Sydney
District Rugby Leagues Club’s failure to do
maintenance and upgrade work required
under its lease from Council.
Expanding Recreational Space
Parkland in Redfern is limited, with an average of 0.55 hectare per 1000 people, compared with an average of 2.85 hectares per 1000 people across the City. Redfern and Waterloo have a rapidly increasing population that is predicted to rise from 15,000 to 40,000 by 2015.
Rabbitohs Home
The City is committed to continuing the traditional association between Redfern and the Rabbitohs. The upgrade offers Souths a professional standard playing surface and facilities to allow the oval to be used as their preferred training ground and for a limited number of pre-season and exhibition matches.
Opening For All
An oval managed by Council will meet a broad range of recreation and sporting needs. The upgrade does not exclude anyone, particularly the Rabbitohs. The facilities will be available to junior and senior football teams and other sports activities, including the renowned Koori Cup, which the City proudly sponsors.
NRL Needs
The site is not suitable for a stadium of over
20,000 needed for NRL games; and it would
not be viable if built for crowds of 12,000
to 15,000, required for some NRL home
games. The Rabbitohs have not played a
match at Redfern Park since 1996 and have
never played an NRL game there.
Aussie Stadium
A massive stadium is not needed as Aussie Stadium is less than two kilometres away. The Sydney Cricket Ground and Sports Ground Trust has voted to support the Rabbitohs returning to play at Aussie Stadium.
Survey Findings
The City’s research has found that, while there is strong support for the Rabbitohs, more than 80 per cent of residents want Redfern Park accessible for active sporting and general recreational use. Residents are concerned about noise, congestion and loss of amenity from a large stadium in a built-up area.
Environmental Impacts
Significant environmental limits exist due to the surrounding residential area and a water table around two metres below the playing surface. Traffic from a large stadium would create unsustainable impacts on adjacent roads and for on-street parking, as routinely experienced with the Moore Park stadia.
PCYC Proposal
PCYC plans to increase recreational
opportunities in Redfern are welcome, but
do not require buildings on Redfern Park.
Redeveloping the existing site, owned by
the State Government, is a better option that
would provide a greater overall benefit for
the area.
Background
For over 10 years, consultations and studies have been done to plan a redevelopment. The City is now proceeding with a strategy that culminates years of community debate on the project.
Following a series of stakeholder
consultation, the former South
Sydney City Council prepared three
redevelopment concepts for the oval.
After the amalgamation of the City and South Sydney Councils, the new City of Sydney Council approved public exhibition of the three options in August 2004.
The City engaged consultants to undertake further consultation, prepare exhibition materials, report on the consultations and recommend future directions.
Public exhibition occurred from 8
November to 10 December 2004
on the City of Sydney website and
at Council neighbourhood centres.
Advertisements were placed in the press and the proposals were placed on the City of Sydney web site. A letter box drop of 8,500 flyers was conducted in the Redfern / Waterloo area.
A community forum attended by
around 200-250 people was held on
24 November 2004 at Redfern Town
Hall. At the forum, Mr George Piggins,
Chairman of the SSDRLFC presented
a fourth option. The Lord Mayor
approved exhibition of this proposal
with the three options developed by
South Sydney City Council.
During 2005, the City has met with
representatives of South Sydney
District Rugby League Club, South
Sydney Leagues Club, residents, the
Indigenous Land Corporation, the
CFMEU and PCYC NSW.
History of Redfern Park
1885
The original site was proclaimed for the purpose of public recreation and named Redfern Park. Cricket and rugby union are played.
1888
Civil engineer Charles O’Neill designs the formal park layout. Formal landscaping includes a fountain, the money for which is donated by prominent local resident, John Baptist. Today it is known as the Baptist Fountain. Plants are supplied by the Royal Botanic Gardens.
1890s
Further improvements are made with the installation of the elaborate gates on Redfern Street and wrought iron work. Cricket and rugby continue to be played.
1903
Victor Trumper plays one of the most famous innings in Australian cricket history with 335 in three hours. A window that was broken by a huge drive for six remained unrepaired for over 60 years as a tribute.
1948
The South Sydney Rugby League team starts to play home games at Redfern Park. Their first match there is a 19 all draw with Easts.
1987
The ground record crowd of 23,257 enters the ground for a Souths v Manly match.
1992
Prime Minister Paul Keating delivers his famous Redfern Park speech to commemorate International Year of the World’s Indigenous People.
1996
Souths play their last first-grade match at Redfern. They beat the South Queensland Crushers 48-16.
Downloads
- Construction Newsletter June 2007 | PDF 706Kb
For more information
Garth Shayler
Specialist Project Manager
Tel: 02 9265 9398
Email: gshayler@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Last Updated: Tuesday 26 February, 2008
