Brenan Park is a

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

situated in the western suburbs of Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. Primarily categorised as a sports field, the reserve contains an open

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

bushland In Australia, bushland is a blanket term for land which supports remnant vegetation or land which is disturbed but still retains a predominance of the original floristics and structure. Human survival in bushland has a whole mythology evolving ...

and recreational areas within the vicinity of native plants, such as

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...

trees. It is named after John Ryan Brenan, who founded the suburb of Smithfield in 1836. Artificially terraced, Brenan Park was established in the early 1980s and it is one of the largest reserves in the

City of Fairfield The Fairfield City Council is a local government area in the west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was first incorporated as the "Municipal District of Smithfield and Fairfield" on 8 December 1888, and the cou ...

, and one of the largest non-golf course green spaces in the Western Sydney region.

History

The shape of Brenan Park appears on the first survey design, in 1838, of the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

sketched for John Ryan Brenan. Brenan Park was planned to be a housing subdivision and a market area in 1938, with its triangular shape fashioned to take advantage of the topography and views of the surrounding district. The housing subdivision was never constructed. The site was used as a sewage disposal depot and landfill until 1980, where it was proclaimed as unhealthy building land in 1981. Subsequently, it was re-landscaped and eventually developed into a reserve.

Geography

The

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

is located in the suburb of Smithfield, and is bordered by

Cumberland Highway The Cumberland Highway is a long urban highway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The highway links the Pacific Highway (A1/B83) and Pacific Motorway ( M1) at Pearces Corner, Wahroonga in the northeast with the Hume Highway (A22/ ...

, Brenan and Bourke Streets, which all give good passive surveillance opportunities from close residences and contiguous roads. The park's surrounds are mainly single-story houses. Brenan Park is in an

elevated An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...

and weather-exposed location, with the highest areas being and those near the Cumberland Highway at . The elevated regions in the park are situated alongside Bourke Street, where they would provide a panoramic view of the greater western Sydney area and even the Sydney central business district.

Ecology

Indigenous trees and shrubs are abundant in the park, with dominant vegetation species being ''

Melaleuca quinquenervia ''Melaleuca quinquenervia'', commonly known as the broad-leaved paperbark, paper bark tea tree, punk tree or niaouli, is a small- to medium-sized tree of the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It grows as a spreading tree up to tall, with its trunk co ...

'' (near the tennis courts), ''

Eucalyptus moluccana ''Eucalyptus moluccana'', commonly known as the grey box, gum-topped box or terriyergro, is a medium-sized to tall tree with rough bark on part or all of the trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of se ...

'' (near the car park in Brenan Street), ''

Casuarina glauca ''Casuarina glauca'', commonly known as the swamp she-oak, swamp oak, grey oak, or river oak, is a species of ''Casuarina'' native to the east coast of Australia. It is found from central Queensland south to southern New South Wales. It has becom ...

'', '' Callistemon viminalis'',

Paperbark ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of ''Leptospermum''). They range in size f ...

, '' Acacia'', '' Lomandra'' and ''

Eucalyptus bosistoana ''Eucalyptus bosistoana'', commonly known as the coast grey box or Bosisto's box, is a tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, flaky bark at the base of its trunk, smooth cream yellow or grey bark above and sometimes thr ...

'', most of which have large canopies that provide shade. The boundary along the top part of Bourke Street and near Cumberland Highway is thickly planted with an

avenue Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, ...

of trees and shrubs, which provide a sense of entry to the park. The park is predominantly made up of

sod Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

and it lies on residual soils that are deep. Its trees represent a link to the

Cumberland Plain Woodland The Cumberland Plain Woodland, or Western Sydney woodland,

that covered most of Fairfield local government area before European settlement. There is a shrubby, dry

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

area to the south of the park, near Cumberland Highway. The corner of Brenan Street and Cumberland Highway provides good viewing site for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

as dozens of bird species flock to the area to feed.

Pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * Benedictine Ravens, ...

magpies Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

galah The galah (; ''Eolophus roseicapilla''), also known as the pink and grey cockatoo or rose-breasted cockatoo, is the only species within genus ''Eolophus'' of the cockatoo family. Found throughout Australia, it is among the most common of the c ...

s and

crested pigeon The crested pigeon (''Ocyphaps lophotes'') is a bird found widely throughout mainland Australia except for the far northern tropical areas. Only two Australian pigeon species possess an erect crest, the crested pigeon and the spinifex pigeon. The ...

s are common sightings in the park, and can be seen in flocks feeding off ground food, most especially pigeons and ravens. Bird feeding is not encouraged in the park.

Features

The park features six tennis courts, nine soccer fields (six which are full-sized), three cricket pitches, baseball and softball diamonds, three children's playgrounds, picnic areas (with barbeque), an

outdoor gym The outdoor gym is a gym built outside in a public park, with the all-weather construction of its exercise machines somewhat modeled on playground equipment. It is similar to the 1960s–1970s proliferation of fitness trails, which continue to ...

and a walking track (shared with cycling) that circuits the park. The park has open space which can be used for kiting and other activities when they are not being used for sport. The park is

floodlit A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...

and can be used at nights. Amenity blocks include a community hall, toilet facilities, kiosks and change rooms. The sports fields and the community hall are hired to a number of community groups, schools and clubs. These facilities have been used for COVID-19 testing.

Clubs

The sports fields are hired by these sporting groups: * Smithfield RSL Cricket Club * Smithfield RSL Soccer Club * Fairfield Patrician Brothers Soccer Club * Smithfield RSL Baseball Club

Gallery

Brenanparkbush.jpg, A bushland in the park's southern vicinity. Brenanparkcumberland.jpg, Cumberland Highway as seen from the Brenan Park walking track. Brenanparkslopes.jpg, A sloped shrubby area near the walking track to the south of the park.

References

{{Parks in Sydney, state=autocollapse 1981 establishments in Australia Parks in Sydney Nature reserves in New South Wales Protected areas established in 1981 Sports venues in Sydney Remnant urban bushland Parks established in 1981 City of Fairfield