Liverpool Apex Park

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On the surface, Apex Park in Liverpool looks like hundreds of others around Sydney. There is a small playground area with colourful play equipment and enough open space to kick a ball around. There is an old steam roller for kiddies to climb over as well as some pleasant well maintained gardens. There's even a free BBQ with covered tables and seating.

But appearances can be deceiving as Apex Park has a long dark history.

The kiddies and families who come to Apex Park today to play, run, laugh and enjoy themselves are doing so over the bodies of Liverpool's original pioneer settlers.



From 1811 to 1821, this was the location of Liverpool's first graveyard. At least 122 people are buried here. The first recorded burial is that of Thomas Tyrell, aged five, who drowned in the nearby George's River on May 19, 1811. James Eustice was a soldier stationed in Liverpool and was killed by Aborigines in 1814. The recorded causes of death included five by drowning, four by shooting or murdered, three from burns, three 'felled by a tree' and two from a 'bite of a snake'.

In 1821 it was decided to cease burials as the site was considered too damp and boggy. The area was left to decay and was soon a jumble of overgrown weeds. It wasn't until 1956 however that the site was finally cleaned up by the good people of the Liverpool Apex Club and transformed into a passive recreational area.



Today, the park is surrounded by apartment blocks and is popular with the many residents who are largely unaware of its grim past.

It's rumoured that the ghostly laughter of a child can be heard echoing across the neighbourhood late at night. Surely it can only be the eternally young Thomas sliding down the Apex Park slippery dip.



#fun_for_children
#liverpool
#parks
#picnic_spots
#playgrounds
#west
%wnsydney