Full description
Wentworth Park Background
Under the Blackwattle Bay Land Reclamation Act of 1873 land at Blackwattle Bay was to be reclaimed from Port Jackson and "a portion not less than a fourth part of the entire area" was to be "set apart and dedicated in perpetuity for a park or place of public recreation". (1) The Blackwattle Bay Land Reclamation Act Amendment Act of 1878 provided for the whole area reclaimed to be dedicated in perpetuity as a park or place of public recreation and extended the provisions of the Public Park Act of 1854 to the reclaimed area. (2) On 26 July 1878 when trustees were appointed, the "reclaimed land at the head of Black Wattle Bay was to be known in future as Wentworth Park". (3) The park was named in honour of the politician William Charles Wentworth (1790-1879). (4)
The Wentworth Park Validation Act 1912 (Act No.54, 1912) described the lands vested in the trustees for Wentworth Park and dedicated for public use and recreation, subject to the Public Parks Act, 1902 (Act No.40, 1902) as follows: "County of Cumberland, Parish of Petersham: Commencing at the intersection of the northerly prolongation of the eastern side of Cowper-street with the southern boundary of Wentworth Park, as enclosed; and bounded thence by a further prolongation of that side of that street to high-water mark of Blackwattle Bay, as shown on plan quoted below; thence by that boundary westerly, to the point of commencement, as shown on plan catalogued Ms. 1,239 Sy. in the Department of Lands." (5)
Wentworth Park, located at Glebe and comprising lands described in the 1873 Act along with additional lands, was dedicated as a Public Park under the Public Parks Act of 1884 on 10 November 1885. (6)
Wentworth Park Trust
On 26 July 1878 the Trustees under the Public Parks Act of 1854 appointed were: the Honourable Sir George Wigram Allen; the Honourable Geoffrey Eager; Charles Moore, Esquire, Director of the Botanical Gardens; James Merriman, Esquire, Mayor of the City of Sydney; Michael Chapman, Esquire; and John Henry Seamer, Esquire. (7)
The Wentworth Park Trust was constituted as a corporation on 24 December 1986 by the Minister for Lands under section 37Q of the Crown Lands Consolidation Act 1913, (8) and subsequently operated under sections 92 and 93 of the Crown Lands Act, 1989 (9) and the Crown Land Management Act 2016. (10)
On 16 February 1990 the name of the trust for the reserve known as the Wentworth Park (Greyhound Racing Complex), being part of the area at Glebe proclaimed for public park, was altered to the Wentworth Park Greyhound Racing Complex Trust. (11)
In 1990 trusteeship of the outer areas of the Park, both north and south of the Sporting Complex, passed to the Council of the City of Sydney (as Trustees of Crown Land). In 2009 the Minister returned a portion of the southern outer park to the control of the Trust. (12)
On 14 August 1992 the name of the trust for the reserve known as the Wentworth Park (Greyhound Racing Complex) was altered to the Wentworth Park Sporting Complex Trust. (13)
The Wentworth Park Sporting Complex's major use was for greyhound races conducted by the NSW Greyhound Breeders Owners and Trainers Association (GBOTA) and the NSW National Coursing Association (NCA). The NCA relocated its racing operation to Newcastle in 2008 and since discontinued its racing operations. The Complex was also used for sport, functions and community events. (14)
The term of the final Trust Board expired on 26 May 2016. From 27 May 2016 pursuant to the Crown Lands Act 1989 (Act No.6, 1989), the Minister responsible for Crown Lands appointed an Administrator in the absence of a Trust Board. (15)
Wentworth Park Sporting Complex Land Manager
In July 2016 the NSW Premier had announced that greyhound racing would cease statewide from 1 July 2017. Concurrent with this was the appointment of an administrator in place of the Trust Board in May 2016. On 11 October 2016, Government reversed its decision to ban greyhound racing in NSW. (16) With the implementation of the new Crown Land Management Act 2016 (Act No.58, 2016) Wentworth Park Sporting Complex Trust became Wentworth Park Sporting Complex Land Manager. (17)
As of 2024 the Wentworth Park Sporting Complex Land Manager remained an administrator. (18)
Endnotes
1. Blackwattle Bay Land Reclamation Act of 1873 (Act 36 Vic. No.10).
2. Blackwattle Bay Land Reclamation Act Amendment Act of 1878 (Act 41 Vic. No.22), s.2.
3. NSW Government Gazette No.227, 26 July 1878, p.2918.
4. Anne-Maree Whitaker, Wentworth Park, Dictionary of Sydney, 2008, http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/wentworth_park, (accessed 24 January 2019).
5. Wentworth Park Validation Act 1912 (Act No.54, 1912), s.4 and Schedule C.
6. NSW Government Gazette No.530, 10 November 1885, p.7218.
7. NSW Government Gazette No.197, 24 December 1986, p.6368.
8. Wentworth Park Trust, Annual Report 2012, p.9, available on Wentworth Park Sports website, http://wentworthparksport.com.au/ (accessed 23 January 2019).
9. Wentworth Park Sports website, Fundamental Principles, http://wentworthparksport.com.au/fundamental-principles/ (accessed 23 January 2019).
10. Wentworth Park Trust, Annual Report, 2018, p.9, available on Wentworth Park Sports website (accessed 23 January 2019).
11. NSW Government Gazette No.24, 16 February 1990, p.1412.
12. Wentworth Park Sports website, https://wentworthparksport.com.au/history-of-the-park/ (accessed 08 November 2022).
13. NSW Government Gazette No.99, 14 August 1992, p.5763.
14. Wentworth Park Trust, Annual Report, 2018, pp.8-9, available on Wentworth Park Sports website (accessed 23 January 2019).
15. Wentworth Park Sporting Complex Land Manager, Annual Report
2018-2019, p.3; Crown Land Management Act 1989 ss.92 and 93.
16. Wentworth Park Sporting Complex Trust, Annual Report, 2016-2017, p.6.
17. Wentworth Park Sporting Complex Land Manager, Annual Report 2018-2019, p.7; Wentworth Park Sporting Complex Land Manager, Annual Report 2019-2020, p.6; Crown Land Management Act 2016, Part 3 ss.3.2 and 3.3; Commenced 1 July 2018 (2018 No 225 NSW Legislation Website, 1 June 2018).
18. NSW Government Gazette No.339, 4 August 2023, [n2023-1337].
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