Sydney Parks History
Sydney’s Parks M – R
The links below lead to more historical information. For current information about parks and their facilities click here.
Macleay Reserve
Macleay Reserve was originally the eastern ‘wood walk’ of Alexander Macleay’s “Elizabeth Bay House” and is now surrounded by iconic twentieth century apartment buildings.
Macquarie Place Park
Macquarie Place Park contains the obelisk erected by Governor Macquarie in 1818 to mark the place from which public roads in the colony were measured.
Marriott Street Reserve
Marriott Street Reserve in Redfern is part of the site of John Baptist’s nursery which operated from the 1830s to the 1900s
May Pitt Playground
May Pitt Playground in Forest Lodge was named after the second female mayor of Glebe.
Munn Street Reserve
Munn Street Reserve, between the Palisade Hotel and former Dalgety Bond Store in Millers Point, was created in 1981 as part of Sydney’s port redevelopment.
Observatory Park
Observatory Park offers one of the most spectacular vantage points in Sydney and is a popular spot for weddings.
Paddington Reservoir Gardens
Paddington Reservoir Gardens is the site of the heritage-listed reservoir which supplied Sydney’s water from 1878 to 1899.
Peace Park
Peace Park in Chippendale was originally the site of Shepherd’s Darling Nursery from 1827 to the 1860s, and was named in the 1980s in recognition of nuclear disarmament campaigns.
Pemulwuy Park
Pemulwuy Park on The Block at Redfern is named after the Aboriginal resistance leader killed in 1802..
Perry Park
Perry Park, home of the Alexandria Basketball Stadium, was formerly market gardens and later a council rubbish rip.
Prince Alfred Park
Prince Alfred Park next to Central Railway Station was the first park to be laid out in connection with a major Australian Exhibition.
Pyrmont Point Park
Pyrmont Point Park is a former industrial site recycled as a harbourside park featuring the sculpture ‘Tied to Tide’.
Reconciliation Park
Reconciliation Park in Redfern, named in the 1990s to acknowledge national concern for indigenous people, contains the 1985 Sulman Prize-winning mural ‘Think Globally Act Locally’.
Redfern Park
Redfern Park, the site of Paul Keating’s famous 1992 speech, is a typical Victorian pleasure garden and home to the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Rushcutters Bay Park
Rushcutters Bay Park, built on reclaimed land, provides a close-up view of yachts moored at the Cruising Yacht Club including entrants in the annual Sydney-Hobart race.
Browse other parks’ histories.
