Arcadia’s book, “Parade Ground to Playground” shares the remarkable history of the site of Newmarket Randwick. The book shares its evolution to a thriving local precinct, brought to life with beautiful Richard Briggs illustrations and photography by Brett Boardman and Paul McMillan.
In 2015, Arcadia was given the responsibility by Cbus Property to work with our country’s leading architects to build a “new neighbourhood that will take on the spirit of the predecessors of this remarkable site.”
Newmarket was home to the Australian thoroughbred industry since the mid-1800s. Since 1906, the Inglis family lived at Newmarket, also the same year the first horse was sold on site under the beautiful Moreton Bay fig tree that remains the focal point for the new neighbourhood. Every horse ever sold was sold under that tree and in later years, the Sales Ring was built so the sales could be held in comfort. For more than a hundred years the Newmarket Sales Ring hummed with activity as everyone in the thoroughbred industry came to attend the annual sales.
When Arcadia first visited the site in 2015, memories of Alex Longley’s childhood visits to the Easter horse sales sparked an idea – to maintain the lively atmosphere once created by these sales.
As the design team worked to create hundreds of new residences on the site, all agreed that retaining elements Newmarket’s past was going to be the reason that people would embrace the new neighbourhood. Sharing the moments of history that are essential to Newmarket’s history has created a feeling of connection to draw the community into the space.
Of course, the tree had to continue its role as the mature sentinel, watching over the new incarnation of Newmarket as people continued to meet at the Sales Ring.
This book shares the story of how the team has created a new neighbourhood through the reinterpretation of the unique site history. We’re so proud that this project has won so many design awards, but the ultimate reward for us is to see how the residents of Newmarket and the community of Randwick have embraced the open spaces as part of their every day lives.
The next chapter of the Newmarket community is moving in, with the completion of Young & Fennelly apartments. We are proud that this book has been included in the welcome hampers, so that each resident will learn about the layers of design thinking and narrative present in their new neighbourhood, increasing their feeling of belonging and connection.
