History
It was established in 1933 on the site of Daley's brick pit,Thomas Daley operated the Standsure Brick Company from 1886 to 1914. The brickworks occupied 9 acres (3.6 ha) and employed approximately 60 people. When the brickworks closed the pits filled with rain and ground water. The largest waterhole was known as "The Blue Hole"”and was 40 to 80 feet in places (12.2 to 24.4 metres). Marrickville Council purchased the site in 1923 as it was a serious danger. Unfortunately nine young boys drowned in the old water hole. In 1932 a grant was received to level the ground and work commenced as part of the Unemployment Reliel Scheme.
The oval is set within a shallow hollow, formed by the upper edges of the former brickpit.This is the only one of the many parks formed on the sites of former brickpits which has retained evidence of its former use in its shape.
Henson Park was named after William Henson, who was Mayor of Marrickville in 1902, 1906 to 1908 and his son Alfred Henson, who was an Alderman of Marrickville Council from 1922 to 1931.
It was officially opened in 1933 with a cricket match between a representative Marrickville Eleven team and a North Sydney District team, which included Sir Don Bradman. Although the Mayor of Marrickville, Alderman Rushton, bowled the first ball, North Sydney won the match.
Cricket may have been the first sport played on Henson Park but the park is better known as a rugby league field. It is the home ground of Newtown Jets Rugby League Club, which is one of the founding rugby league clubs. Newtown still has a team in the New South Wales Cup.The first premiership game of Rugby League was played on the 1 April 1936,when Newtown defeated University 20-0.
Apart from football, the ground has had a long association with cycling. It was the principal cycling venue for the 1938 British Empire Games,as well as the venue for the games closeing ceremony, The Sydney Morning Herald (14/2/1938) reported the awesome scene of athletes and officials from all the competing nations standing in ordered lines under their country's banner on Henson Park, During the games crowds regularly exceeded 40,000.
However, the velodrome surrounding the playing field was removed during the late 1970s and replaced by a grass running track used for local school athletics carnivals.
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