Harmony Park Opening - Saturday 18 November 2006 (31 images)

The residents of Sydney’s inner city suburb of Surry Hills celebrated with their neighbours as Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP opened Harmony Park on Saturday 18 September 2006 – one of the first new parks in the inner city for decades.

The official opening was a celebration of the rich cultural history of the site and the diversity of the residents of Surry Hills.

FBi Radio DJs welcomed the crowds with a smooth blend of reggae and hip hop and the Lord Mayor officially opened the park by unveiling a commemorative plaque to rapturous applause.

Renowned drag queen Clair de Lune was the day’s MC and Oxford Street’s safety ambassador, Maxi Shield, was on hand with her handsome helpers to give people information on keeping the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender community safe. Other activities on the day included:

• live entertainment by Australian Chinese Community Association and the Estonian Society
• Indigenous welcome to country from Ray Davidson of the Gadigal people
• didgeridoo performance from Adam Hill
• an enthusiastic and entertaining Burmese Moon Dance
• children’s activities, snow cones, Salvation Army BBQ.

Harmony Park is 8,500 square metres, includes environmental initiatives and features a variety of trees including native, evergreen and deciduous. In-ground water storage tanks have been installed to capture, treat and store rain water from the roof of the adjacent Energy Australia building for sustainable irrigation.

The park is located at Goulburn, Brisbane and Hunt Streets in Surry Hills and provides much-needed green space in Sydney’s inner city.

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