Green Park

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    suburb
    Darlinghurst (View suburb)
    ownership
    Park
    Historical, Visual,
    listing
    Local
    Year Planted
    c. 1880
    Owner
    City of Sydney

    Scheduled Significant Trees

    Qty Common Name Species Locations
    8 Moreton Bay Fig Ficus macrophylla Find more locations
    5 Washington Palm Washingtonia robusta Find more locations

    Description

    The Park is a rectangular-shaped parcel of public land in the centre of Darlinghurst, is bounded by Darlinghurst Road (west), Burton Street north), Victoria Street (east) and The Sacred Heart Palliative Care & Rehabilitation Centre (south).

    Green Park is defined by a typical structured treatment of informal row plantations to the boundaries with the City’s dominant native rainforest species, the Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla). The row planting along the street frontages of Burton Street (3 figs), Darlinghurst Road (2 figs) and south boundary (3 figs) form a particularly memorable stand of trees of massive scale and proportions. These specimens appear to pre-date an informal grove of five Washington Palms (Washingtonia robusta) and other mixed components which were possibly added during the latter parts of the Inter-War Period or early Post WWII period.The older group of Washington Palms are impressive specimens ranging up to 16-18 metres clear trunk height.

    Other components include Canary Island Date Palms (Phoenix canariensis), Cliff Date Palm (Phoenix rupicola), Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera), London Planes (Platanus x acerifolia), Hill’s Weeping Figs (Ficus microcarpa var. hillii), Brush Box (Lophostemon confertus). Cabbage Palms (Livistona australis) have also been added to the park in recent years.

    Significance

    Green Park contains a significant collection of late nineteenth and early twentieth century planting which further reinforces Darlinghurst’s historic character (refer to Darlinghurst Court House listing in this Register). This collection is likely to have important associations with Charles Moore and Joseph Maiden and is considered to have group significance at the City/ LGA level in terms of visual, and historic values.

    Historical notes

    Green Park has high local significance as a rare public open space in Darlinghurst which was dedicated in 1875. It is an important townscape feature. The octagonal bandstand (1925), and the two memorials, the Gay and Lesbian Holocaust Memorial (2001) which commemorates gay men and women who lost their lives during World War II, and the memorial to Victor Chang containing a canopied drinking fountain, are important elements within the park. The park was named after Alderman James Green who represented the district from 1869 to 1883.

    The Green Park Group (including the bandstand pavilion, perimeter fence and landscaping) is scheduled in the City of Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012, Sydney City Heritage Study and classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW). The park also adjoins the ‘Victoria Streetscape Area’, an area of high streetscape value scheduled in the LEP. The park is considered to be significant as an integral component of this historic precinct.

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    Last modified: 26 February, 2014