Just outside my hotel in Sydney is an open area called
Hyde Park. Apparently this acreage was reserved by
Gov Phillip in 1792 for the then town of Sydney and named after the
Hyde Park in London England.
I love learning the history of an area, no doubt in part to my education in
Urban & Regional Design oh so many years ago. In my brief research, I learned this park was originally used for public sport and remained without grass or trees until 1854 when the
Hyde Park Improvement Committee was established. The cricket ground was moved to another area of town and the park was formalized with paths and plants. Here's a picture taken of the park around the year 1900.
Hard to imagine this current groomed grassy and park-bench area was used once for gathering firewood and grazing animals. With the building of
Sydney College (1832), nearby
Lyons Terrace (1841) and the
Australian Museum (1849-51), the southern end of
Hyde Park attracted significant and imposing buildings which eventually increased its importance to become the planned open space it is today.
Civic monuments were also gradually added to the park which helped define its purpose. The first monument was the obelisk in 1857 facing
Bathurst Street which actually doubles as a vent for an underground sewer.
Another statue erected in 1879, celebrates
Captain James Cook who founded the east coast of Australia in 1770 and claimed it for Britain.
It was 1926 before reconstruction of the park formally began after the digging for subway lines -- specifically
Museum and
St James stops by my hotel. As the park began to take shape, another two major monuments were erected. At the northern end of the park, the
Archibald Fountain was completed in 1932 intended to commemorate the association between Australia and France in World War I with a bronze
Apollo surrounded by other mythical figures.
The
Anzac Memorial with reflecting pool was then added in 1934 commemorating Australian soldiers who fought in World War I. This memorial also helps Australians remember the landing at
Anzac Cover, or otherwise known as the landing at
Gallipoli in the early 1900s. The Turks, together with other Central forces, gained victory over the Australian and Allied forces but not after 8700 Australians died in the attempt. An incredibly sad reminder of the travesties of war however you look at the results of the conflict.
Today visitors enjoy the near 600 mature trees and lawn areas that spread across this 40 acre park; a wonderful place by my hotel to relax and enjoy an escape from the city streets.
