In October 1968, the first shoots of Little Athletics in NSW appeared when competition at the first Centre, Randwick Botany, commenced. Two years later, during the summer of 1970/71, the interest was growing with another seven Centres opened their doors, Blacktown, Sutherland, Eastern Suburbs, Deniliquin, Murrumbidgee (Narrandera/Leeton), Manly Warringah and Hornsby. On December 8, 1970, NSW Little Athletics was formed.
While Randwick Botany was clearly the pioneer Centre , Hornsby picked up the baton and ensured NSW quickly grew into the leading Little Athletics State in Australia.
Hornsby was fortunate to have the guidance of Graeme and Margaret Allen, who had recently come to Sydney from Nunawading, Victoria, for Hornsby to adopt the Victorian “Billingham” model with Clubs forming the Centre. This model enabled Hornsby to grow to 1,297 children registered in the third year of operation and so become a most successful Centre dominating the State Championships and Relays Championship point scores.
At the Association’s first AGM in 1972, Grahame Down was appointed Chairman, Board of Management, charged with the operational responsibilities of the Association. On the death of the Association Secretary, George Soper, Graeme and Margaret Allen filled the secretarial duties pending the appointment of a Secretary. Later Grahame Down became Association Treasurer and Stan Hamley who was initially appointed Assistant Secretary, then in 1973 became Financial Affairs Board Member.
For the third official State Team, Hornsby provided seven of the 20 selected athletes. Hornsby dominated the State Championships point score for a decade. Another administrator of the Centre was Arnold Hunt, who was Chairman of LANSW for a decade in the 1980s and 1990s. Others from the Centre to make contributions to LANSW included Bob Quail, Vic Sparks, Keith Garling and Col Joyce
Individually, the Centre had some of the very finest athletes in NSW history. One was Graham Garnett, a current leading coach who, nearly five decades later, still holds state records set in 1973 as an U7. Another was Darren Clark who would go on to make an Olympic final and set the still current Australian 400 metres record.
Over time the centre split up amongst Northern Districts Athletics and Cherrybrook Athletics, with numbers falling from the early 2000s.
Fast-forward to the Covid Era of 2020, under the leadership of Alice Clayton, Grant Carlton and Maddy Smith, the club took advantage of parents and kids being frustrated at having been in lockdowns and when restrictions eased, training for juniors commenced along side a very popular "Parent Squad". Within weeks, the oval was back alive not just with juniors, but with a growing squad of over 30s. The club affiliated with Athletics NSW to become a OneSport club. The masters quickly became a force to be reckoned with, bringing a jovial atmosphere to state events by ringing cowbells to show their support of anyone wearing an Orange singlet. The club is gaining momentum across all age groups and in 2024 made the Treloar Shield Final for U12s, U15s, U18s and 35-49 age categories.
