Centennial Park Revisited

Earlier this year I visited what is probably my favorite parkland - Centennial Park - to plan a group walk. 
It was after Sydney had received drought breaking rain, so it was good to see the ponds full again.

Life size statue of Charles Dickens (below)
Sir Henry Parks, 'father of federation,' was friends with Edward, a son of Dickens who had immigrated to NSW. The statue was removed in 1972 and only returned in 2011 after restoration.

The Federation Pavilion (1988)
was built on the site of the proclamation of the Commonwealth of Australia on New Years Day 1901. The ceremony took place on a raised platform of Monuya granite, which was latter embedded in the ground.

Centennial Park once displayed 31 terracotta statues, most of which were removed 50 years ago due to damage.

'Sunrise' (right) and 'Sunset' (below) survived on top of nine metre columns, which once flanked the William Street side of the Australian Museum.

You may like to look at my previous post of Centennial Park.

Centennial Park and Labyrinth

On this return visit to Sydney's beautiful Centennial Park, I was looking forward in seeing the 260m sandstone labyrinth. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has a single pathway leading to the centre. There are more than 1,700 stones of 80 different shapes and sizes in the pathway designed for quiet reflection and exploration.

The weather was cold and showers threatened, but I enjoyed my visit none the less.

The Labyrinth, which was opened in September 2014, was featured in an ABC 'Compass' program 'Walk The Talk'

 Centennial Park Labyrinth 
      Sydney Labyrinth                 park location map   

Link to my previous Centennial Park blog post

Centennial Park

Centennial Park, situated in Sydney's eastern suburbs, was dedicated as a public open space in 1888. The park's construction was implemented by Charles Moore, then Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, on what was then  "coastal shrub land and swamp." The land was "cleared and sculpted into an open, undulating expanse to provide recreation in an idealised setting,"

The Parklands now support a diverse range of activities including horse riding, bike riding, rollerblading, bird watching, and a range of sports.

The Federation Pavilion (above) is located within a huge 'dog off the leash' area (although the dogs are not permitted within 10 metres of the pavilion). Built in 1988, it was designed by Sydney architect Alexander Tzannes as a Bicentennial refurbishment, after he won a competition to design a permanent monument to commemorate the Federation of Australia.

If you plan to visit, it would be well worth reading 'About the Pavilion', which explains the dome's artwork and the inscription.







The woodland of paperbarks (below) is part of Lachlan Swamps, which became a source of fresh water for Sydney (from 1837 to 1859). This difficult task was a  achieved with the completion of Busby's bore; a tunnel running from the marsh to Hyde Park.

Busby's Pond, Centennial Park

Black Swans

Formal gardens, Centennial Park

I was surprised that it took us less than 15 minutes to walk to the parkland from Bondi Junction station, after a 10 minute train ride from the city.

               Location map                                     Transport                                   Parklands map