Created October 1810 Status Open all year | Operated by Sydney City Council Phone +61 2 9265 9333 | |
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Location Central business district Nearest city Sydney, New South Wales Designation NSW State Heritage Register Address 50 Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia Hours Open today ยท Open 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hours Similar 1 Macquarie Place, Regimental Square, Cadmans Cottage, Government House - Sydney, General Post Office - Sydney | ||
The Macquarie Place Park is an heritage-listed small triangular urban park located in the central business district of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The park is situated on the corner of Bridge Street and Loftus Street, and is named in honour of Governor Lachlan Macquarie.
History
Macquarie Place was the first formally laid out public space in Sydney in 1810, functioning as the town square. Along with Hyde Park it is the oldest public park in Australia. Its size has been greatly reduced since colonial days.
An obelisk from 1818 and designed by the New South Wales Government Architect, Francis Greenway, is located in the park and records the distance to various locations in New South Wales along the earliest roads developed in the colony. Later an anchor from the Norfolk Island wreckage of the First Fleet flagship, HMS Sirius, together with a cannon from the ship, were placed in the park. The Great North Walk to Newcastle southern terminus is at the obelisk in Macquarie Place.
Many important institutions have had establishments at Macquarie Place. In 1817 Australia's first bank, the Bank of New South Wales (later to become Westpac in 1982) opened in Macquarie Place. The State Library of New South Wales briefly had premises in the place during the 1830s. Opposite the place in Bridge Street is the original Department of Lands building, which was the department responsible for surveying and mapping New South Wales.
In 1883 a statue of early Australian industrialist, Thomas Mort was unveiled in the park. In 1954 Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh marked the beginning of the Remembrance Driveway by planting two plane trees in Macquarie Place.