History
It was the site of the Williamstown Racecourse from 1864-1940, which was closed in 1940 to make way for an army camp during World War II. The site was extensively modified by land filling and site development; and known as the Altona Sports Park before its current name was adopted.
The remnants of the Williamstown Racecourse Grandstand and a palm tree at the entry to the Grandstand still remains. A 4-metre sculpture called Requiem for a Champion, created by the artist Yvonne George, featuring a bronze stint perched on top of a galloping horse, was installed to commemorate the location of the former Williamstown racecourse.
Read more about this topic: Altona Coastal Park
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“We don’t know when our name came into being or how some distant ancestor acquired it. We don’t understand our name at all, we don’t know its history and yet we bear it with exalted fidelity, we merge with it, we like it, we are ridiculously proud of it as if we had thought it up ourselves in a moment of brilliant inspiration.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
“The history of American politics is littered with bodies of people who took so pure a position that they had no clout at all.”
—Ben C. Bradlee (b. 1921)
“The history of the past is but one long struggle upward to equality.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)