The beauty of Centennial Park in winter. Sometimes in the afternoon, my friend and I were jogging around this park. It's not too far from my apartment in Kingsford. Centennial Park is a large public, urban park that occupies 220 hectares in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Centennial Park is located 4 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Randwick.
Centennial Park is also a small residential suburb, on the western fringe of the parkland, which is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. The government began plans for a celebratory park in 1886 and passed an Act of Parliament in the following year. Some of the grandiose plans for the area, such as a museum and a national convention building, never eventuated.
Centennial Park was dedicated by Sir Henry Parkes in January 1888 to celebrate the first 100 years of European settlement in Australia and described by him as 'emphatically the people's park'. The Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun dedicated the park 'to the people of New South Wales forever'.
Centennial Park is the largest of the three parks that make up Centennial Parklands. It is 2.20 square kilometres in area, originally swampland, known as Lachlan Swamps and is located adjacent to another large public space, Moore Park. It is administered by the Centennial Park & Moore Park Trust, a NSW Government agency whose responsibilities cover low-lying wetlands, ornamental lakes, pine and native forests, expanses of grass, to playing fields, a golf course, tennis and netball courts and the Entertainment Quarter at nearby Moore Park. It is one of Australia's most famous parks and is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
The Federation Monument, which consists of the Commonwealth Stone (1901) and the Federation Pavilion (1988), is significant as the site of the official ceremony to mark the Federation of Australia and the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901.
Grand Drive is the circular main road through the park. It runs for 3.8km and is part of the Sydney Marathon course, which was used in the 2000 Summer Olympics. The drive is separated into five concentric circles, with the outer track used for cycling or rollerblading, fourth largest for car driving, third for car parking and many trees, the second is a paved pathway for walking, also used for running, the smallest being a dirt track for horseriding. Ranger's cottage, designed by Walter Liberty Vernon, an example of the Federation Bungalow style
Source: wikipedia
Picture: personal collection
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