Burwood was land of the Wangal people, however the area became known as Burwood after Captain Thomas Rowley named his 1799 land grant Burwood, after Burwood Farm on which he had lived in Cornwall. Burwood Villa was built on this land grant just west of what later became Burwood Park in 1814 by Alexander Riley.
The area which became Burwood Park, known as Edrop’s Bush and later Edrop’s Paddock was described by C.A. Henderson as he had seen it in 1855:
“Edrop’s Bush, consisting of fifteen acres of the original forest…was the home of many birds. Any birds coming to the district would naturally make for so fine a shelter. …. I saw a kookaburra dart down on a snake here and carry it to the top of a tall tree, then drop it, and repeat the process. The Kingfishers had a nest here in an old leaning apple-tree..”
In 1880 a land acquisition act was passed enabling local Councils to acquire land for public parks. In October 1882, this 15-acre (6 hectare) area on the western side of Burwood Road was resumed as a park by Burwood Council. The prize-winning design adopted for the Park’s development by Burwood Council was roughly in the form of a Union Jack. This became one of Sydney’s finest 19th century urban parks. In 1887 cricket pitches had been laid out in the park.In 1894, 50 trees were sent by the Sydney Botanic Gardens for planting in the park.
Later changes to the park included: the building of a memorial to William Paisley, Mayor of Burwood, who had been murdered in 1894; the erection of a bandstand in 1902 to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII; the construction of a bowling club on part of the park, which opened in November 1904 (now a community meeting room and child care centre); the construction of tennis courts in 1921; the construction of a war memorial arch opened by the Governor General on Anzac Day in 1923, and, on the western edge of the park, a monument to Burwood Villa following the demolition of the villa in 1937.
In the early 20th century incidents of “larrikinism” in the park were reported in the newspapers. In 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, a Labor party meeting attended by the then Federal ALP leader attracted over 5000 people to the cinema in Burwood Road opposite the park and spilled over into Burwood Park. Park improvements were made as unemployment relief work in 1932 and 1933. In 1948 every Sunday the Burwood band played at the Burwood Park bandstand.
Today the park is an urban refuge for possums and many birds including corellas, ducks and even rosellas, as well as being an important urban public park providing regional open space.
