Hyde Park, Sydney
Encyclopedia
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Hyde Park is on the eastern side of the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
. It is the southernmost of a chain of parkland that extends north to the shore of Port Jackson
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
(Sydney Harbour). It is approximately rectangular in shape, being squared at the southern end and rounded at the northern end. It is bordered on the west by Elizabeth Street
Elizabeth Street, Sydney
Elizabeth Street is a street in Sydney, Australia.-Description and history:Elizabeth Street runs south from Hunter Street, past Hyde Park and David Jones, Central station and through the inner city suburbs of Surry Hills, Redfern, Waterloo and Zetland...
, on the east by College Street
College Street, Sydney
College Street in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia is a major street in the centre of the Central Business District. It runs from Queens Square near St James station to Whitlam Square at Liverpool St...
, on the north by St. James Road and Prince Albert Road and on the south by Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street, Sydney
Liverpool Street is an important east-west thoroughfare of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Liverpool Street is in the southern portion of the Sydney central business district and forms the southern boundary of Hyde Park...
. It is 16 hectares in area.
Around the park's boundaries lie the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
, St. James Church
St. James Church, Sydney
St James' Church is an Anglican church in King Street in Sydney, Australia. Consecrated on 11 February 1824, the church was designed by the transported convict architect Francis Greenway during the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie, and is part of the historical precinct of Macquarie Street...
, Hyde Park Barracks
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney
The Hyde Park Barracks is an internationally significant, impressive brick building and compound designed by convict architect Francis Greenway between 1818–19; originally built at the head of Macquarie Street to house convict men and boys....
and Sydney Hospital
Sydney Hospital
Sydney Hospital is a major hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first received the name Sydney Hospital in 1881.Currently...
to the north, St Mary's Cathedral
St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
The Metropolitan Cathedral of St Mary is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell. The cathedral is dedicated to "Mary, Help of Christians", Patron of Australia...
, the Australian Museum
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is the oldest museum in Australia, with an international reputation in the fields of natural history and anthropology. It features collections of vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, as well as mineralogy, palaeontology, and anthropology...
and Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
to the east, the Downing Centre
Downing Centre, Sydney
The Downing Centre is a major courthouse complex in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It features Local Courts, the District Court of New South Wales and a law library known as the Downing Centre Library....
to the south, the David Jones Limited
David Jones Limited
David Jones Limited , colloquially known as DJs, is a high-end Australian department store chain.David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh immigrant, and is claimed to be the oldest continuously operating department store in the world still trading under its original name. It...
flagship store and the CBD to the west. It is divided in two by the east-west running Park Street
Park Street, Sydney
Park Street in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia is a major cross street in the centre of the Central Business District. It runs from George Street in the west to College Street in the east, where it becomes William Street.-Description:...
.
Hyde Park contains well-kept gardens and approximately 580 trees; a mixture of Hills Figs
Ficus microcarpa
Ficus microcarpa, also known as Chinese Banyan, Malayan Banyan, Indian Laurel or Curtain fig, is a banyan native in the range from Sri Lanka to India, southern China, the Malay Archipelago, the Ryukyu Islands, Australia, and New Caledonia.-Taxonomy:Hill's Weeping Fig is a form of Ficus microcarpa...
, Palms and other varieties. It is famed for its magnificent fig tree lined avenues. Sandringham Gardens sit on the eastern side of the park, close to the intersection of Park Street and College Street.
History
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The park is pock marked with drain lids, many of which lead down to Busby's Bore
Busby's Bore
Busby's Bore was Sydney's second water supply. It was built by convict labour and completed in 1830.-History:By the 1820s, the Tank Stream, Sydney's original water supply, was in dire straits...
, the first large-scale attempt at a water source system after the backing up of Tank Stream
Tank Stream
The Tank Stream is a fresh water course which empties into Sydney Cove in New South Wales, Australia. Today it is little more than a storm water drain, but originally it was the fresh water supply for the fledgling colony of New South Wales in the late 18th century...
, the Sydney colony's primary water source. Busby's Bore was built between 1827 and 1837 using convict labour and fresh water from Lachlan Swamp (which later became known as Centennial Park
Centennial Park, New South Wales
Centennial Park is a large public, urban park that occupies 220 hectares in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Centennial Park is located 4 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Randwick...
) to the city.
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
separated the area from the Domain
The Domain, Sydney
The Domain is 34 hectares of open space in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the eastern edge of the Sydney central business district, near Woolloomooloo. The Domain adjoins the Royal Botanic Gardens and is managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Trust, a division of the New South...
to the north, named it Hyde Park and dedicated it for the "recreation and amusement of the inhabitants of the town and a field of exercises for the troops". He kept the Domain for his own exclusive use.
Many sports were played at Hyde Park, including cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, quoits
Quoits
Quoits is a traditional game which involves the throwing of metal, rope or rubber rings over a set distance, usually to land over or near a spike . The sport of quoits encompasses several distinct variations.-The history of quoits:The history of quoits is disputed...
and hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
; however, sports people using Hyde Park had to share it with both the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
, who trained on it and practised drill work, the public, who cut paths across the playing fields, stray dogs, cattle, goats, sheep and other animals, as well as sports people, whose activities sometimes clashed. The quoit players, in particular, used an area close to the cricket pitch and often damaged it.
In 2005 a number of disease-affected trees were discovered and felled. Following investigations a significant proportion of the trees were found to be infected with three different fungi. Currently a Draft Tree Management Plan is being considered under which about 230 diseased trees will be removed and replaced.
Horse racing
Seven Arab horsesArabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
taken on board the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
at the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
(now South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) were the first horses to be brought to Australia. The first thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
to be brought to Australia was Rockingham in 1799. By 1800 there were 200 horses in the colony which grew to 1100 by 1810. A race ground on the Hawkesbury River
Hawkesbury River
The Hawkesbury River, also known as Deerubbun, is one of the major rivers of the coastal region of New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its tributaries virtually encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney.-Geography:-Course:...
near Richmond
Richmond, New South Wales
Richmond is a town in New South Wales, north-west of Sydney, in the Local Government Area of the City of Hawkesbury. It is located at a latitude of 33° 35' 54" South and a longitude of 150°45' 04" east, 19 metres above sea level on the alluvial Hawkesbury River flats, at the foot of the Blue...
was probably Australia's first racecourse being used as early as 1806. Match race
Match race
A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.The term may be best known as a race between two sailing boats racing around a course...
s were run there as part of a holiday at Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
in April 1810.
Only two days after Governor Macquarie dedicated Hyde Park for 'recreation and amusement' it became the site of Australia's first official horse race meeting organised on 15, 17 and 19 October 1810 by the officers of the 73rd Regiment (Macquarie's regiment). The meetings to devise the rules and organise the event were held in the officers' mess and many of the horses were owned by the officers.
This format for race meetings was followed in the colony for the next 50 years. Owners mostly rode their own horses and the courses were marked by flags and posts. Novelty events were often included.
Meetings continued to be held at Hyde Park up until the formation of the Sydney Turf Club in 1825 when they were moved to the 'Bellevue' course. Meetings were also run at Parramatta and Camperdown
Camperdown, New South Wales
Camperdown is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Camperdown is located 4 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Inner West region...
. The Australian Racing and Jockey Club was formed in 1828 with the encouragement of Governor Darling
Ralph Darling
General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH was a British colonial Governor and Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831.-Early career:...
but the colony could not support two race clubs and both folded in 1831.
Cricket
Although some research indicates that cricket was played before 1803 at the southern end of the Common near where the War MemorialANZAC War Memorial
The ANZAC War Memorial, completed in 1934, is the main commemorative military monument of Sydney, Australia. It was designed by C. Bruce Dellit, with the exterior adorned with monumental figural reliefs and sculptures by Rayner Hoff....
is today, the first confirmed match took place on the Common in 1803. The players were the civilians and officers from the supply ship Calcutta. The cricket ground was laid out in the north-western section of the park (just behind the current entrance to St James railway station) and all major games were played there until 1856.
The first fully recorded match took place in Hyde Park between the 17th and 39th Regiments
39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot
The 39th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1719 and amalgamated into The Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881.The regiment was raised by Colonel Richard Coote in Ireland in August 1702...
on 7 May 1832. However, by the 1850s running problems with other users of the Park, the public, the military and players of other sports, ultimately caused cricket matches to be moved to the Domain where unfortunately, similar problems were also encountered.
Boxing
Organised bareknuckle fights were probably common in the early colony and officers of the NSW CorpsNew South Wales Corps
The New South Wales Corps was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment to relieve the marines who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. The regiment, led by Major Francis Grose, consisted of three companies...
were known to have arranged fights between convicts. The first recorded fight took place on the road to Botany about half a mile from the Racecourse in 1814. This would put it near the current location of the War Memorial. As if the boxing bout was not enough, the combatants, John Berringer (also known as John Parton) and Charles Sefton, were first required to run a mile. Both Berrenger and Sefton has been sentenced to death in Britain but had their sentences commuted to transportation to NSW
Convicts in Australia
During the late 18th and 19th centuries, large numbers of convicts were transported to the various Australian penal colonies by the British government. One of the primary reasons for the British settlement of Australia was the establishment of a penal colony to alleviate pressure on their...
. The fight lasted 56 rounds and was won by Berringer.
Rugby
On 17 June 1865 the first known rugby match to be played in Australia took place in Hyde Park between members of Australia's first rugby club, the Sydney Football ClubSydney Football Club
Sydney Football Club may refer to the following clubs based in Sydney, Australia. These clubs which bear the city's name participate in distinct football codes of football.*Sydney FC, a football club...
, which had been established that month. In the July that year, the Sydney Club played the Australian Club in Hyde Park, in the first inter-club game.
In 1856, Hyde Park was turned into public gardens and sporting activity all but ceased. Cricket and football clubs had to find other places to play. Cricket was played at the Domain and both sports were also played at Moore Park and the Garrison Ground (now the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
).
Monuments
The centrepiece of Hyde Park is the Archibald FountainArchibald Fountain
The Archibald Fountain, properly called the J.F. Archibald Memorial Fountain, widely regarded as the finest public fountain in Australia, is located in Hyde Park, in central Sydney, New South Wales. It is named after J.F. Archibald, owner and editor of The Bulletin magazine, who bequeathed funds to...
. The fountain was designed by François-Léon Sicard
François-Léon Sicard
François-Léon Sicard is considered one of the more talented yet most elusive sculptors of the late 19th and early 20th century...
and donated by J.F. Archibald in 1932 in honour of Australia's contribution to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Also at the northern end are the Nagoya Gardens featuring a giant outdoor chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
set and the entrance to the underground St James railway station.
The fountain features in the notable Australian B-grade horror film Howling III: The Marsupials.
At the park's southern end is the ANZAC War Memorial
ANZAC War Memorial
The ANZAC War Memorial, completed in 1934, is the main commemorative military monument of Sydney, Australia. It was designed by C. Bruce Dellit, with the exterior adorned with monumental figural reliefs and sculptures by Rayner Hoff....
behind the 'Lake of Reflections' or 'Pool of Remembrance' and the entrances to the Museum railway station. A monument consisting of a 104-millimetre gun from the German light cruiser stands at the south-eastern, Oxford Street
Oxford Street, Sydney
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in Sydney, Australia running from Whitlam Square on the south-east corner of Hyde Park in the central business district of Sydney to Bondi Junction in the Eastern Suburbs. Close to the CBD in particular, the street is lined with numerous shops, bars and...
entry of the park.
The western, or Elizabeth Street side, at the Bathurst Street
Bathurst Street, Sydney
Bathurst Street is a cross street in the Central Business District of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated in the southern portion of the Sydney central business district and runs from Darling Harbour in the west, across the ridge where it crosses George Street, and...
entrance of the park sits beside the 125 foot Obelisk
Hyde Park Obelisk
Hyde Park Obelisk is an obelisk located in Hyde Park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It sits at the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Bathurst Street. Unveiled in 1857 by the then Lord Mayor, George Thornton, it serves as a sewerage vent designed to eliminate noxious gases from the sewer...
decorated with Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian features. It was erected in 1857 and unveiled by the then Mayor, George Thornton
George Thornton (Australian)
George Thornton was an Australian merchant and politician, serving as a Sydney Municipal Council Alderman, Mayor of Sydney and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council....
. But the monument is actually a sewer vent, and soon the joke around town was to call it 'Thornton's Scent Bottle'. Further south from here is another Middle Eastern inspired monument by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows , also known as the Three Link Fraternity, is an altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization derived from the similar British Oddfellows service organizations which came into being during the 18th century, at a time when altruistic and charitable acts were...
dedicated to the fallen Sydneysiders of the Great War.