page_title: Ashfield, New South Wales
section_title: Parks
hierarchical_section_title: Ashfield, New South Wales / Landmarks / Parks
caption_attribution_description: English: Cricket at Pratten Park with Thirning villa and Ashfield commercial centre in the background
context_page_description: Ashfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about 8 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district.
  Ashfield's population is highly multicultural. Its urban density is relatively high for Australia, with the majority of the area's dwellings being a mixture of mainly post-war low-rise flats and Federation-era detached houses. Amongst these are a number of grand Victorian buildings that offer a hint of Ashfield's rich cultural heritage.
context_section_description: Ashfield Park on Parramatta Road is one of the largest urban landscapes in inner west Sydney. It features big phoenix palms, a war memorial, a children's playground with a statue of Mary Poppins, a monument to International Mother Language Day built by former artist-in-residence Ian Marr and the Bangladeshi community, a statue of Philippines national hero Jose Rizal, a sporting field and one of Sydney's oldest bowling clubs. The park, which is just over 6 hectares in area, was proclaimed in 1885 when it was claimed at the time you could 'see all the way to Martin Place'.
  The area's major sporting ground is Pratten Park, home of the Western Suburbs grade cricket club in summer and used by the Canterbury District Soccer Football Association in winter. There are also tennis courts and a bowling club adjacent to the main oval. Thirning Villa, located within the park, is home to the Ashfield District Historical Society and an artist in residence sponsored by the local council.
  The other sporting field in the area is at Hammond Park on Frederick Street. It predates both Ashfield Park and Pratten Park having begun life in 1877 as a private cricket ground. In 1888, it was intended to be the setting for the first descent of a parachute from a hot air balloon in Australia. Unfortunately, the parachutist (JT Williams) missed the mark and landed in Homebush, roughly 4 km away. This park was also the site of an ice skating rink in the late 1800s.
  The other parks of note in the area are Yeo Park on the southern edge of the suburb and featuring a National Heritage listed band rotunda, and Explorers Park on the corner of Parramatta Road and Liverpool Road, built to commemorate the point where many early British explorers began their journeys west and south. It also features engraved images from early indigenous people in Sydney.
caption: Cricket at Pratten Park with Thirning Villa on the far side of the ground and Ashfield town centre behind that.
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