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When Parramatta High School was built on a disused corner of Parramatta Park, no provision was made for school sporting grounds. The school used existing facilities in Parramatta (there were few) marching
down to the Cumberland Oval in Parramatta Park and the grounds of Rydalmere Psychiatric Hospital with a
horse and cart taking the equipment there and back. By the late 1950s, with student enrolments nearing 1000, it became imperative to have better access to sporting facilities. In an agreement with Parramatta City Council, the school pledged to raise 1000 pounds with the council providing 10,000 pounds to develop the empty paddocks at Pitt and Glebe Streets. In this aerial photograph taken from a kite you can see Ollie Webb Reserve in the top left hand corner of the image. Families were encouraged to donate one pound - a large sum in those days - and were issued with a certificate. It took some time to raise the money. Mr Cullen (a science teacher) - normally a fairly straight-laced chap - went to great lengths to encourage students to make a donation. A progress board recorded the amount collected. Eventually the 1000 pounds goal was reached and council set about the construction of what is now Ollie Webb Reserve and Jones Park. It was not until the 1970s, after another fundraising effort that a playing field was constructed next to the school itself, on park land. Click here to view a gallery of images taken from a kite in the park above the school. Read Heather McKay's (LC1960) recollections of the carnivals, along with Robin Elias' sketches here.
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