The first land grants in the area were made in 1835, with market gardening being the main land use. Subdivision followed the construction of Botany Road in 1875 and a municipality known as North Botany was formed in 1888. A racecourse operated in this area in 1904 on land that was formerly owned by the Australian Golf Club. The race course was known as Ascot, named after its famous counterpart in England. Residents wanted the area to have an individual identity and a referendum was held in 1911 to choose between Ascot, and Booralee. An objection from the postal authorities to the use of 'Ascot' led the council to alter the name to Mascot. In 1920, Mascot was chosen as the site of a public airfield. Nigel Love was leasing from the Kensington Race club and in 1921 the Commonwealth Government purchased for this purpose. The first regular flights began in 1924. The Cooks River was diverted away from the area in 1947-52 to provide more land for the airport.
Mascot has a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial areas. The main shopping centre is located on Botany Road. The area around Mascot railway station is being redeveloped to contain high-density commercial and residential developments. The Police Headquarters for the local Botany Bay Area Command is on Botany Road and Mascot Ambulance Station is situated directly opposite. Mascot Fire Station is located in Coward Street, beside the City of Botany Bay Council Chambers. Sydney Airport, Australia's principal airport, is an influential presence and key employer. The head office of Qantas is the Qantas Centre at 203 Coward Street in Mascot. There is also a number of airport hotels in the suburb.
Transport
Mascot is serviced by a number of bus routes, which are operated by State Transit. Routes, 301, 303, 307, 309, 400 and 420 routes travel down Botany Road. Routes 343, 357 and 418 services travel down Gardeners Road and route 305 departs from Qantas Centre. The suburb is served by three railway stations on the Airport & South Line. Mascot railway station is located in the residential and business area of the suburb. The International and Domestic railway stations are situated below the respective terminals of the airport. The Sydenham to Botany branch of the Metropolitan Goods railway line passes through the suburb and includes a yard in Mascot. Recent improvements to Kingsford-Smith Airport have resulted in the creation of a bicycle path between Mascot and the M5 East Freeway at Arncliffe. Other bike paths pass through Mascot to Botany Bay, the University of New South Wales and the Sydney CBD.
Population
At the, the population of Mascot was 14,772, of which 41.3% were born in Australia. The most common foreign countries of birth were China 10.6%, Indonesia 6.6%, Philippines 2.7%, India 2.2% and United Kingdom 2.0%. Some 42.9% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 10.7%, Indonesian 6.7%, Cantonese 3.9%, Greek 3.9% and Spanish 2.8%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 27.6% and Catholic 26.8%. Of occupied private dwellings in Mascot, 60.7% were flats or apartments; 31.9% were separate houses; and 6.4% were semi-detached, row- or terrace houses, townhouses etc. The Australian Test cricketer and rugby league player Ray Lindwall was born in Mascot.
L'Estrange Park is home to both the Mascot Kings and the rugby league teams. Mascot Oval is the venue for the Mascot Juniors' home games. The Lakes Golf Club has hosted many international golf tournaments.
