Hyde Park, Sydney

Hyde Park is a large park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Hyde Park is on the eastern side of the Sydney central business district. It is the southernmost of a chain of parkland that extends north to the shore of Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson). It takes the form of an approximate rectangle, being squared at the southern end and rounded at the northern end, bordered on the west by Elizabeth Street, on the east by College Street, on the north by St James Road and Prince Albert Road and on the south by Liverpool Street.

Around the park's boundaries lie the Supreme Court of New South Wales, St. James Church, Hyde Park Barracks and Sydney Hospital to the north, St Mary's Cathedral, the Australian Museum and Sydney Grammar School to the east, the Downing Centre to the south, the David Jones Limited flagship store and the Sydney central business district to the west. It is bisected through the middle by the east-west running Park Street.

History

Hyde Park was named after the original Hyde Park in London.

The park is pock marked with sewer lids, many of which lead down to Busby's Bore, the first large scale attempt at a water source system after the backing up of Tank Stream, the Sydney colony's primary water source. Busby's Bore was built between 1827 and 1837 using convict labour and supplied fresh water from Lachlan Swamps, (which later became known as Centennial Park) to the city.

As a sporting venue

From the very early days of the colony the open area to the south east of the settlement was a favourite place for sport and recreation. It was known variously as ‘The Common’, the ‘Exercising Ground’, the ‘Cricket Ground’ and the ‘Race Course’. On October 13 1810, Governor Macquarie separated the area from the Domain to the north, named it Hyde Park (after Hyde Park in London) 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, rugby, horse racing, quoits and hurling, however, sports people using Hyde Park had share it with both the military, 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 other sports people whose interests sometimes conflicted. The quoit players in particular, used an area close to the cricket pitch and often damaged it.

Horse racing

Seven Arab horses taken on board the First Fleet at the Cape Colony (now South Africa) were the first horses to be brought to Australia. The first thoroughbred 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 near Richmond was probably Australia’s first racecourse being used as early as 1806. Match races were run there as part of a holiday at 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 October 15, 17 and 19, 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.

The race meeting consisted of a series of heats with weights set depending on the sex and age of a horse. There were also a number of match races between two horses and sweepstake prizes offered. Governor Macquarie himself attended each day of the meeting.

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. The Australian Racing and Jockey Club was formed in 1828 with the encouragement of Governor Darling 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 Memorial 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 on May 7, 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 Corps 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. The fight lasted 56 rounds and was won by Berringer.

Rugby

On June 17 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 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).

Features

The centrepiece of Hyde Park is the majestic Archibald Fountain. The fountain was designed by François Sicard and donated by J.F. Archibald in 1932 in honour of Australia's contribution to the Great War in France. Also at the northern end are the Nagoya Gardens featuring a giant outdoor chess set and the entrance to the underground St. James railway station.

At the park's southern end is the ANZAC War Memorial 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 SMS|Emden|1906|6 stands at the south-eastern, Oxford Street entry of the park.The western, or Elizabeth Street side, at the Bathurst Street entrance of the park sits beside the 125 foot Obelisk decorated with Egyptian features. It was erected in 1857 and unveiled by the then Mayor, George Thornton. But the monument is actually a sewer vent, and soon the joke around town was to call it 'Thornton's Scent Bottle'.Cite web |url=http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/waterexhibition/WaterSupplySewerage/ThorntonScentBottle.html |title=Thornton's Scent Bottle |publisher=The City of Sydney |work=Water, Water Everywhere: a Virtual Historical Exhibition |accessdate=2007-02-14] Further south from here is another Middle Eastern inspired monument by the Independent Order of Oddfellows dedicated to the fallen Sydneysiders of the Great War.

The Sandringham Gardens sit on the eastern side, close to the intersection of Park Street and College Street. Hyde Park contains well-kept gardens and approximately 580 trees; a mixture of Moreton Bay Figs, Palms and other varieties. It is famed for its magnificent fig tree lined avenues, but in 2005 a number of disease-affected trees were discovered and felled.Cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/hyde-park-figs-trees-face-the-chop/2005/09/16/1126750106113.html |title=Hyde Park figs trees face the chop |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2005-09-16 |accessdate=2007-02-14] 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.Cite web |url=http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Development/CityImprovements/HydePark/Default.asp |title=2006 Draft Plan of Management and Masterplan |publisher=The City of Sydney |work=Development: City Improvements |accessdate=2007-02-14]

Images

References

*Pollard, Jack (1990) "Australia" Test Match Grounds London: Willow Books
*Vamplew, Wray; Moore, Katharine; O’Hara, John; Cashman, Richard; and Jobling, Ian [editors] (1997) "The Oxford Companion to Australian Sport" Second Edition Melbourne: Oxford University Press

External links

* http://www.rbgsyd.gov.au
* http://www-aus.cricket.org