By Cathy Jones
Kessell Square is a public recreation area located between Shortland Avenue, Fraser Street and Marion Street. It is adjacent to the Marion Street Heritage Conservation Area, which primarily features interwar housing.
The park was dedicated for public recreation as part of the 1923 ‘Crown of Strathfield’ subdivision. This subdivision is part of the original 1841 land grant to Joseph Hyde Potts, Secretary of Bank of NSW. The ‘Crown of Strathfield’ subdivision created many streets including Marion St, Fraser St and Edgar St, which were named for members of the Potts family.
The ‘Crown of Strathfield’ subdivision includes a public recreation area, which was later dedicated as Kessell Square, named for Arthur Kessell, Mayor of Strathfield (1919-20). The late 1910s and 1920s were a period of rapid subdivision in Strathfield and Council’s planning policies required allocation of open space for purpose of public recreation, particularly in large subdivisions such as the ‘Crown of Strathfield’.
The photograph of Kessell Square is dated 1947 and featured on a Strathfield Council flyer opposing Council amalgamation.
Strathfield Heritage 