by Cathy Jones
Arnotts Reserve is located between Parramatta Road and Allen Street Homebush. The Westconnex motorway flies over part of the Reserve. It is part of a larger corridor of open space close to Powell’s Creek.
Arnotts Reserve is located on the 1799 Thomas Rowley land grant, which totalled 750 acres and includes parts of current day Burwood and Strathfield. By 1928, the land on which Arnotts Reserve is built was owned by biscuit manufacturer William Arnotts, who operated a biscuit factory on the eastern side of Powells Creek. The Reserve was connected to the factory by a bridge and the land used for staff recreation which included a lawn bowling club. Arnotts Biscuit factory moved from the Homebush site in 1996 and the lawn bowling club has since been closed and removed from the site.
Ownership of the land transferred to the NSW Government. In 2015, the land transferred to Strathfield Council and the site has since been formatted into a park and recreation space.
