Unique IDAG-0175DescriptionIn 1946, Alderman E C O'Dea proposed the conversion of the Camperdown Cemetery into a park. The Newtown Municipal Council endorsed the proposal on 19 July 1946, and on 1 December 1947 the Department of Lands agreed to assist by providing the funds for the acquisition of lots 22/23 along Australia Street for an entrance to the proposed park.
The Camperdown Cemetery Act dedicated part of the Camperdown Cemetery as a public park to be called "The Camperdown Memorial Rest Park". The first Trustees, as defined under the Public Parks Act 1912, consisted of Rt. Rev. William George Hilliard, M.A., The Hon. Ernest Gerard Wright, M.L.C., Messrs, Alfred Ernest Fernon, William Francis Bodkin, George Henry Smith, and Percy Walter Gledhill, and were proclaimed on 28 January 1949.
In 1950, the law was amended to create the Camperdown Memorial Rest Park Trust replacing the public park Trustees appointed under the original Act. The new Trust consisted of seven members: five appointed by the Council of the City of Sydney and two appointed by the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney. Council appointed five aldermen as Trustees, namely: The Lord Mayor (Alderman E.C. O'Dea), Alderman A.J. Cahill, Alderman E.A. Dunn, Alderman K. E. Dwyer, MLA, and Alderman A. Greenup. Rev. William George Hilliard, M.A., and Mr. P.W. Gledhill were the other two trustees representing the Church of England Property Trust. Lord Mayor O'Dea was elected inaugural President of the Trust while Mr. J. Luscombe, the incumbent Town Clerk, was elected Secretary of the Trust. Council's role in the Trust was further strengthened with the designation of Council's Director of Parks and Recreations Department as Honorary Adviser to the Trustees. He later became the Secretary of the Trust.
All development and maintenance works for the Park were funded by the Sydney City Council until 1968 when the changes in the boundaries of local municipalities took place.
The Camperdown part of Sydney City was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Marrickville Municipal Council by the Local Government (City of Sydney Boundaries) Act 1967. In a Council resolution of 4 November 1968, it was resolved that since the Camperdown Memorial Rest Park was now situated within the area transferred to the Marrickville Municipal Council, an amendment to the Camperdown Cemetery Act, 1948-1950 transferring the "powers, authorities, duties and functions conferred and imposed upon the Council of the City of Sydney" to the Marrickville Municipal Council was appropriate.
The Camperdown Cemetery (Amendment) Act, 1970 released Sydney City Council from its obligations in relation to the maintenance and improvement of the Camperdown Memorial Rest Park.
Start date28th January 1949End date1st January 1970Relationship legacy dataRELATED TO: External committees FN-0028 (28/01/1949 to 01/01/1950)
RELATED TO: Parks and public spaces management FN-0014 (28/01/1949 to 01/01/1970)
RELATED TO: Resumptions of land FN-0009 (28/01/1949 to 01/01/1970)
RELATED TO: Sydney City Council OR-0001 (28/01/1949 to 01/01/1970) Source System ID175
Camperdown Memorial Rest Park Trust [AG-0175]. City of Sydney Archives, accessed 23 Dec 2024, https://archives.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/62629
