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Aerial photo of Kensington Racecourse and Randwick Oval to the east. Now the University of New South Wales

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Full titleAerial photo of Kensington Racecourse and Randwick Oval to the east. Now the University of New South WalesDate13th May 1943DescriptionKensington Racecourse and Randwick Oval, aerial view 13/5/1943 With north to the top. The entire area is now the University Of New South Wales. The photo shows the area boundered by Anzac Parade (west), High Street and Randwick Racecourse (north), Wansey Road (northeast), Botany Street (east) and Barker Street (south) The army was occupying the racecourse during the Second World War as a military camp.

'There were two main artillery camps outside of Sydney – Randwick Racecourse and Kensington Racecourse. Randwick Racecourse was the short home of the 3rd Battalion of Infantry. Charles Bean writes:
“The infant 3rd Battalion at first found no tents on Randwick Racecourse. The men therefore slept on
the wooden terraced steps of the grandstand, in their clothes, with a blanket and their civilian
greatcoat over them.”

The nearby Kensington Racecourse became the site of training for the battalion in the country districts. According to Bean, officers were sent to meet the trains and conduct the country recruits to Kensington Racecourse, where the battalion was camped in tents.

Kensington Racecourse was used in both World Wars to house troops and horses. In the 1950s, it was acquired by the government to build Sydney’s second university, the University of New South Wales (UNSW). The suburb is now full of high-density student housing, interspersed with heritage-listed family homes.' (Source: 100 years on: WWI army camps by Alice Bradley.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/100-years-on-wwi-army-camps/)

'Kensington racecourse is a now-closed pony racecourse on the current site of the University of New South Wales in the suburb of Kensington, Sydney, Australia. The course was in operation between 1893 and 1942, and during the Boer War and First and Second World Wars, it was taken over as a military camp. A migrant hostel was located on the site in the late 1940s. Construction of the University began in 1951' (Wiki)

In 1890, a private syndicate leased a site beside the Randwick course and established the Kensington Racecourse (with racing beginning in 1893). The smaller operation at Kensington did not compete directly with Randwick Racecourse, as it mainly ran mid-week meets for ponies rather than horses over a shorter distance. It also hosted various related sports, such as polo, and occasional celebrations, such as Randwick Jubilee Celebrations of 1909'
(Source: 'Randwick: A Social History', page 50)

'On 15 June, 1893, pony and Galloway racing was inaugurated at Kensington...in 1944, when the government refused to renew the lease...it was taken over by military authorities and afterwards an immigration barrack was located there. After the war, a plan was hatched, but came to nothing, to demolish Sydney Hospital in Macquarie Street and build a new one on the site. The University of New South Wales in now located there.'
(Souce: 'Randwick: A History', by Pauline Curby, pages 94-97)
Original Photograph Size; 300 DPI
This image was part of the Randwick Social History Project, it can be found on page 40 of Randwick; A social HistoryCurated CollectionsRandwick Social History ProjectHorse RacingLocationsRandwick (N.S.W.)Kensington (N.S.W.)Kingsford (N.S.W.)StreetsAnzac Parade (Kensington, N.S.W.)Anzac Parade (Kingsford, N.S.W.)Barker Street (Kensington, N.S.W.)Botany Street (Randwick, N.S.W.)Botany Street (Kingsford, N.S.W.)High Street (Randwick, N.S.W.)Geo Tags^[1]Organisations (Detailed entries)Kensington Racecourse (Kensington, N.S.W.)Royal Randwick Racecourse (Randwick, N.S.W.)SubjectsHistoric sitesStablesHorse racingRace horsesArmed forcesArmyCampsParksOpen spacesAerial photographsFile FormatJPEGIdentifierD00060Request accessClick here to purchase a high-res file quoting the Identifier above

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Aerial photo of Kensington Racecourse and Randwick Oval to the east. Now the University of New South Wales

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Aerial photo of Kensington Racecourse and Randwick Oval to the east. Now the University of New South Wales