It is a safe bet that no suburb in Sydney, and possibly Australia, has had such a diverse and varied history as Homebush. Originally named Liberty Plains by the then Colony’s first free settlers who were granted land in what later became known as Homebush. The vast wetlands around Homebush saw it struggle with agriculture and eventually became home to brickworks, abbatoirs and a waste dump. These industries along with upstream chemical dumping sadly saw contamination of the river and surrounding wetlands. However, in the 1980’s when Sydney won the bid to host the year 2000 Olympics Homebush was marked for development of the Olympic site and in the ensuing years saw a significant development and clean-up of the area.

The Olympics was a remaking of Homebush and surrounding suburbs as Homebush now boasts several sporting and entertainment arena’s along with a vast amount of outdoor public space. Bicentennial Park encompasses 40 hectares of open parklands and is bordered by the renewed wetlands in Parramatta River. Sydneysiders come from afar to cycle, walk or jog along its pathways, play on the adventure playground, splash in the water play area, take a moment to watch birds in the waterbird refuge or enjoy the views over the wetlands to the city from the top of the Treillage Tower. After all that activity you’re bound to be hungry so take advantage of the BBQ facilities or the café located within the park.