Hi, it’s Adrian Bo here. And today, I’m back at the ‘Bra to talk more about some exciting visuals of the New Heffron Centre Development behind me here as well as relate the history of this piece of land that I doubt many people know. Last week I related the story about Des Renford, who’s name is proudly on the Aquatic Centre just over here next to me. Now, Randwick CC recently launched an amazing fly-through video of what the new Heffron Centre will look like. And frankly, it looks magnificent. Obviously, the whole project has been inspired by the Mighty Rabbitohs moving their base from Redfern to this very site. And based on this video, their training sessions will become a local spectacle and the facilities will be state-of-the-art and a fantastic injection to the local community. The facility will also allow The Rabbits to expand their “Souths Cares Community Outreach” programme, as well as share their function rooms and lecture theatre with the local community. The Outreach Programme has already helped get back 400 Aboriginal employment placements as well as helped nearly 8000 students through the Youth Mentoring and Health and Wellbeing workshops, so an expansion of this will be a great addition.

Heffron Park was originally part of the Botany Watershed, which was a network of swamps and marshland running from Botany Bay through to where Centennial Parklands now resides. The original landscape was covered in Banksia scrub with undulating sand dunes around the marshland. On European Settlement, the area was drained and eventually became what was known as the “Labour Farm”, which was a farming settlement that provided dormitory-style accommodation for older men to work the land growing wheat and vegetables to feed the growing Sydney population. It’s official title was the Labour Depot and Refuge though locals referred to it as the “Labour Farm”. It appears the Labour Depot and Refuge remained until World War II. During the Second World War, Heffron park was used as a navy storage facility, using the erection of woolstore buildings on the land and in fact the original Navy site layout has very much dictated how the park is laid out today. The internal concrete roads that became the Criterion Cycle track and the old woolstore buildings being redeveloped into the current or previous recreation centre, some of the concrete floor slabs forming part of the car park and netball courts.

After World War II, part of the park was used as a migrant hostel. Between 1947 and 1951, Sydney took in vast numbers of Migrants from continental Europe as well as Britain. The Woolstore buildings erected in the Second World War were converted to accommodation with a capacity of 1200. Then in 1959 Randwick CC were appointed the manager of the 44 hectares of land for public recreation. It wasn’t until 1972 that work commenced on the park during the Gough Whitlam era, which focused heavily on the development and preservation of public spaces like this. It was named after Bob Heffron, who was Premier of New South Wales until 1964. Now I’ve been selling property across Maroubra, Coogee, and Randwick and surrounding suburbs for over 30 years, including in the surrounding streets of Heffron Park where we are today. And until now I had no idea of how this amazing facility had evolved over the decades. I’m greatly looking forward to seeing the new Heffron Centre develop and enjoy my favourite team of the rugby league The Mighty Rabbitohs, reside here, and how it helps shape the local community moving forward. I hope you enjoy the wonderful blue skies and the cooler temperatures. Thus my scarf and jumper on today. And always remember, your home is worth more with Adian Bo.