Macquarie Place Park

Originally swampy mangrove land on the banks of the Tank Stream, the colony's first water supply, this site is very significant. In 1792 a path continuing Bridge Street and the carriageway to First Government House met in this approximate spot. This was then close to the foreshore. By then the alignment of lots forming its southern boundary was in existence.[2][6]^(p1)

Macquarie Place is shown from 1792 as a triangular area adjoining the garden of the First Government House, near the original foreshore of Circular Quay (then Sydney Cove) and on the eastern bank of the Tank Stream (when it was an open stream into Sydney Cove). The land of Macquarie Place is represented as such in the 1792 Governor Phillip's Survey of the settlement in New South Wales and the 1793 Sketch of Sydney by Ferdinand Brambila. The triangular shape responded to the natural topography of the original shoreline of Sydney Cove and the Tank Stream. The triangular area was formed by the intersection of three early Colonial roads running in direct lines between three important constructions of the colonial period, including the Guard House at the entrance to First Government House at the south-eastern tip of the triangle, the bridge over the Tank Stream at the south-western tip of the triangle, and the 1788 fortifications (replaced by the Dry Store in 1791) beside the Government Wharf at the northern tip of the triangle. Macquarie Place may have operated as a public place of gathering for the early settlement from as early as 1791 alongside the Dry Store, located in the approximate present-day location of Customs House. At least half of the population still depended upon this Dry Store for collecting their food rations by 1801. During this early period before the official gazettal of Macquarie Place, part of the land was leased to Shadrach Shaw. This early lease appears in plans of Sydney of 1800 and 1807 and in no other known plans before or following these years.[2][7]

By 1807 a triangular layout had been formalised (relating to the existing layout of plots) and a guard house had been built next to Government House's main entrance.[2][6]^(p1)

Macquarie Place is a triangular public open space surrounded on two sides (south, east) by a low sandstone wall.[2]

Its plantings are mostly mature and include three plane trees (Platanus x hybrida) facing Loftus Street to its east, two Moreton Bay figs (Ficus macrophylla) on the western side and an evegreen/holly/holm oak (Quercus ilex) flanked by two clumps of Lord Howe Island palms (Howea fosteriana) and one clump of soft tree ferns (Cyathea sp.) on the Bridge Street (southern) side. A young weeping lily pilly (Waterhousia floribunda) is also in the south-eastern corner.[13][2]

Originally the park was approximately double its current size but was reduced sometime between late 1836 and 1843 by the construction of Loftus Street.[14] Historically, the north west oblique boundary of Macquarie Place appears to be an important building alignment which, although buildings are different to those there in 1807, has remained relatively unchanged.[2]

The park includes numerous monuments and memorials including:[2]

The Obelisk

This is a sandstone obelisk designed by Francis Greenway and built by stonemason Edward Cureton between 1816-18 to furnish Sydney's first public square and to mark the place from which all public roads in the colony were to be measured. It is literally the "hub" of NSW, the datum point from which all distances in NSW were measured from Sydney. Its inscriptions record the extent of the road network in 1818.[2]

The obelisk is designed in the Georgian period and detailed in the Greek revival style. The obelisk's form seems to be directly influenced by Georgian examples rather than Egyptian: Greenway is reputed to have based his design on that of Nash in Bath. It is also possible the source of the Macquaries' fancy may have been the pair of obelisks in the Passeio Publico overlooking the harbour in Rio de Janeiro, which they visited in August 1809. It is an elongated pyramid on a narrow square pedestal decorated by projecting cornice and base. The pedestal contains the original inscription and is surrounded by a low stone wall with a later simple curved wrought iron balustrade. Building materials are sandstone and a wrought iron balustrade. The sandstone would have been quarried locally near Sydney Cove, however the exact location of the quarry is not known. There are no other structures in Sydney that are built from this particular fine grained white sandstone.[2]

The lettering on the Obelisk is incised blackened lettering of a Roman type face in a style that is recognisably Georgian in style, and is one of only four remaining examples of this style and period of lettering in the inner City. This records the distances to the major outer settlements at the time of 1818 - namely Bathurst, Windsor, Parramatta, Liverpool, South Head and the North Head of Botany Bay.[2]

The Sirius anchor and cannon

These are relics of the flagship of the First Fleet, of HMS "Sirius", that was wrecked two years later in 1790 on Norfolk Island. The bronze statue of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort, who died in 1878 is inscribed with the dedication on the plinth "A pioneer of Australian resources, a founder of Australian industries, one who established our wool market". A Mayor of Sydney left his memorial with the 1869 sandstone gate posts facing Bridge Street marked with the words "Walter Renny, Esq., Mayor 1869". Further 19th Century and early 20th Century public memorials relocated or erected in the park also include the 1908 domed lavatory (now partly an archaeological site) and an 1857 cast iron drinking fountain. A small bronze fountain designed by the renowned sculptor, Gerald Lewers, was installed in 1960. Two of the London Plane trees were planted in 1954 by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. These trees mark the beginning of the Remembrance Driveway to Canberra.[2]

Archaeological remains

Possible footings (archaeological remains) of a fountain designed by Francis Greenway and Mrs Macquarie, built by the same contractor Edward Cureton under Mrs Macquarie's direction: it was "still unroofed" in 1820. This was on the western side of Macquarie Place and supplied water to local residents. The fountain was demolished c. 1887 to make way for the statue of Thomas Mort.[2]

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort statue

This c. 1887 statue looking out over Bridge Street, Sydney's premier financial street, commemorates businessman and horticulturist, wool baron and frozen meat entrepreneur Thomas Sutcliffe Mort (1816–78), who emigrated to NSW in 1838 setting up as an auctioneer in 1843, becoming an innovator in wool sales. His wealth facilitated his considerable horticultural ambitions, realised at Sydney's then-finest garden, Greenoaks (now Bishopscourt), Darling Point, which set the tone for villas in this fashionable Sydney resort. Mort employed gardeners Michael Guilfoyle, Michael Bell and George Mortimore, creating a celebrated landscape garden. President of the NSW Horticultural Society in the 1860s he pursued hybridisation of cacti.[2]

Memorial gate pillars facing Bridge Street & Dept. of Lands Building

These sandstone gate pillars commemorate Walter Penny, Mayor of Sydney, in 1869.[2]

Fountain and pond by Gerald Lewers

This commemorates, an Australian sculptor, Lieutenant John Christie Wright, who was killed at age 28 during service in France in 1917.[2]

As at 8 December 2008, Macquarie Place represents one of the most historically significant urban spaces in Sydney and Australia, which was first established less than 25 years after the arrival of the First Fleet. The 1810 park and its later monuments outline the development of Sydney since its colonial foundation. Macquarie Place was the first and main town square of colonial Sydney and is a surviving remnant of the first town centre of Sydney beside First Government House (now demolished) and on the original foreshores of Sydney Cove before the shoreline was extended. The Obelisk, erected in Macquarie Place in 1818, is the geographic centre point of nineteenth century Sydney, the Colony, and the network of nineteenth century roads throughout NSW. It was erected in this location by Governor Macquarie to mark the place from where all public roads were to be measured and has continued to perform this function over most of the history of European settlement in Australia, for over 190 years. The park and monument were well recognised landmarks of colonial Sydney and appeared in many nineteenth century artist views, including paintings by Conrad Martens.[2]

Although the original importance of Macquarie Place as the main town square of Sydney, the geographic and symbolic centre of the Colony, the setting to First Government House and the landmark qualities of Obelisk are now less apparent than in Colonial times due to the level of surrounding changes, the park and its monuments remain one of the few tangible links to this first Colonial town centre and thereby part of the earliest history of European settlement in Australia. It is also possibly the only remnant of the natural landform of the original foreshores of Sydney Cove which has survived relatively unchanged over two centuries of European settlement, and can therefore symbolise the first place of meeting between Aboriginal people of the Eora Country and British settlers at Sydney Cove in 1788.[2]

Macquarie Place represents the oldest planned town square in Australia. Together with Hyde Park, it is also the oldest urban park in Australia, and has been in continuous use as a public space for at least 195 years, possibly operating as a public place of gathering from as early as 1791. The Obelisk is the oldest milestone for measuring of roads in Australia and the second oldest known European monument in Australia. The inscriptions on the Obelisk provide evidence of the extent of the small colony in 1818 when the colony was first expanding into the interior of New South Wales. The Obelisk was also the "symbolic peg" indicating the far extent of the British Empire in the early 1800s.[2]

Macquarie Place and the Obelisk are rare surviving evidence of the transition of the Colony from a rough penal settlement to a planned town during the early 1800s under the direction of Governor Macquarie. This transition is demonstrated by the function of the Obelisk in the expansion of the Colony, by the establishment of a formal centre to the Colony, by the first formal layout of public space, and by the quality and design of the park and monument. The Obelisk and Macquarie Place are fine examples of the layout and ornamentation of Sydney town and its public spaces in the Georgian style, and rare surviving remnants of Macquarie's Georgian town plan for Sydney, together with the Hyde Park Barracks, St James Church, and First Government House Stables (now the Conservatorium). The Obelisk was designed by one of the most celebrated architects of the Colonial period, Francis Greenway, and was built by stonemason, Edward Cureton, with convict labour.[2]

These qualities of the Obelisk and Macquarie Place symbolise Macquarie's vision for a permanent planned settlement, which provided the genesis for the development of the nation, and which far exceeded the views of the British Government of the Colony as simply a penal settlement. When the Obelisk was first erected in Macquarie Place, Commissioner Bigge, representing the British Government, found even this simple monument too grand for a penal colony. Governor Macquarie defended the expense and design of the monument with indignation as a "little unadorned Obelisk...rendered at a trifling expense, somewhat ornamental to the Town" which in his view did not "merit any censure". It was this difference of opinion that contributed to the resignation of a disillusioned Governor Macquarie, and meant that many of his plans and Greenway's designs for an elegant Georgian township were not realised.[2]

The "Sirius" cannon and anchor mounted in Macquarie Place are rare relics of the first defences of the Colony by the man-of-war flagship of the First Fleet that arrived in Sydney Cove in 1788. Both the cannon and anchor have been mounted in Macquarie Place for over a century after the canon and anchor were salvaged from the wreck of the vessel in 1791 and 1905 respectively and mounted at Macquarie Place in the 1880s and 1907. Macquarie Place is also the site of the first constructed defences of Sydney Cove when the First Redoubt was built at its northern end as the first fortification of Sydney from 1788-1791.[2]

Later public monuments and structures constructed in Macquarie Place illustrate the continued civic importance of the park and demonstrate the continued evolution and achievements in the civic planning, services, design, construction, industry and growth of Sydney since Colonial times.[2]

Macquarie Place Precinct was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 5 March 2010 having satisfied the following criteria.[2]

The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.

Macquarie Place represents one of the most historically significant urban spaces in Sydney and Australia, complete with numerous public monuments which demonstrate the history of Australian settlement from its colonial foundation. Macquarie Place was the first and main town square of colonial Sydney, and is a surviving remnant of the first town centre of Sydney beside First Government House (now demolished) and on the original foreshores of Sydney Cove before the shoreline was extended. The park and Obelisk were well recognised landmarks of colonial Sydney and appeared in many nineteenth century artist views, including paintings by Conrad Martens. Macquarie Obelisk and Macquarie Place both mark the geographic centre of the Colony during the early 1800s, and provide a very rare remnant of the early days of the development of Sydney Town and the planning of the Colony by Governor Macquarie.[2]

Although the original importance of Macquarie Place as the main town square of Sydney, the geographic and symbolic centre of the Colony, the setting to First Government House and the landmark qualities of Obelisk are now less apparent than in Colonial times due to the level of surrounding changes, the park and its monuments remain one of the few tangible links to this first Colonial town centre and thereby part of the earliest history of European settlement in Australia. It is also possibly the only remnant of the natural landform of the original foreshores of Sydney Cove which has survived relatively unchanged over two centuries of European settlement, and can therefore symbolise the first place of meeting between Aboriginal people and British settlers at Sydney Cove in 1788.[2]

Macquarie Obelisk is the oldest surviving milestone built to mark the place from which all public roads in the Colony were to be measured, and is the second oldest known European monument in Australia. Macquarie Place is the oldest urban park in Australia, together with Hyde Park, and has been in continuous use as a public space for over 190 years. Both Macquarie Place and the Obelisk were constructed less than 30 years after the arrival of the First Fleet near the original shores of Sydney Cove and First Government House.[2]

The Obelisk was erected by Macquarie in 1818 as the "zero point" milestone from which the expansion of the Colony was physically measured. The inscriptions on the Obelisk evidence the extent of the relatively small Colony at the time. The Obelisk was also the "symbolic peg" indicating the far extent of the British Empire during the early 1800s.[2]

The Obelisk and Macquarie Place provide rare evidence of the formative period of the colony, and its transition from a rough penal settlement to a planned town under the direction of Governor Macquarie. This was recognised shortly after the construction of the park and Obelisk by the ire of the British Government which objected to the elegance of public works by Governor Macquarie and specifically the Obelisk for being too grand for a penal settlement. The Obelisk and Macquarie Place symbolise Macquarie's vision for a permanent planned settlement, which provided the genesis for the development of the nation, and which far exceeded the views of the British Government at the time. Both demonstrate the transition of the Colony from a rough penal settlement to a planned town by the function of the Obelisk in the expansion of the Colony, by the establishment of a formal centre to the Colony, by the first formal layout of public space, and by the quality and design of the park and monument.[2]

Macquarie Place and its surrounding area is also the site of the first defences of the newly settled colony. It was the location of the First Redoubt which was the first attempt at fortifications at Sydney Cove (a plaque on the footpath marks the location of the First Redoubt). The "Sirius" cannon and anchor have been mounted at Macquarie Place since the 1880s and 1907 respectively, which are relics from the warship of the First Fleet and thus of the first settlement and defences by the British.[2]

The triangular shape of the park is a remnant of the early Colonial street layout that responded to the natural topography of the Tank Stream valley and which linked three major constructions of the Colonial period including First Government House, the bridge over the Tank Stream, and the First Redoubt (replaced by the Dry Store) located beside Government Wharf. The remaining Moreton Bay Fig trees are remnants of the 1860s street planting scheme.[2]

Later monuments in Macquarie Place demonstrate the evolution of Sydney from these earliest stages, its achievements, technological advancements and civic pride as a major City. The development of commerce and industry in Sydney, in particular the wool industry, is represented in Macquarie Place by a bronze statue of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort, who died in 1878. The statue of Thomas Mort represents the evolution of a new Sydney, a city conscious of its dignity as the nucleus of a self-supporting and expanding colony within the Empire. A Mayor of Sydney has also left his memorial with the 1869 stone gate posts facing Bridge Street marked with the words "Walter Renny, Esq., Mayor 1869". The 1908 domed lavatory (now partly an archaeological site) records the major reforms and achievements of the early 20th Century in sanitation, public health, technology and City design, which transformed Sydney and the other city centres of Australia into modern cities. Two of the London Plane trees in Macquarie Place planted in 1954 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh commemorate the first visit to Australia by a reigning monarch, mark the beginning of the Remembrance Driveway to Canberra, and recreate the site's original function of being the starting point for main roads from Sydney. A small bronze fountain designed by the renowned sculptor, Gerald Lewers, is a memorial to an Australian sculptor, Lieut. John Christie Wright, who was killed at age 28 during service in France in 1917.[2]

The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.

The Obelisk was designed by one of the most celebrated architects of the Colonial period (and former convict convicted for forgery) Francis Greenway, and was built by stonemason Edward Cureton with convict labour. The Obelisk was one of the first works of Greenway where he was given a free hand after he was appointed as the first Colonial Architect. It formed part of a group of civic adornments designed by Greenway but was the only one built due to the intervention of Commissioner Bigge for the British Government.[2]

Macquarie Pace and the Obelisk at its centre were built under the direction of Governor Macquarie and is strongly associated with Macquarie and his planning of the colony. The park and monument both symbolise the divide between Macquarie's vision for the permanent planned settlement and expansion of the Colony and the view of the British Government at the time of the Colony as simply a penal settlement. When the Obelisk was first erected, Commissioner Bigge, representing the British Government, found even this simple monument too grand for a penal colony. Governor Macquarie defended the expense and design of the monument with indignation as a "little unadorned Obelisk...rendered at a trifling expense, somewhat ornamental to the Town" which in his view did not "merit any censure". It was this difference of opinion, symbolised by the monument, on the expenditure for a penal colony that contributed to the resignation of a disillusioned Governor Macquarie, and meant that many of his plans and Greenway's designs for an elegant Georgian township were not realised.[2]

The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The Obelisk and Macquarie Place are rare remnants of Governor Macquarie's Georgian town plan for Sydney based on a regular planned layout and elegant buildings, set within picturesque landscaped grounds. They are fine examples of the early planning, ornamentation and urban design of the Colony and its public spaces in the Georgian style, of which few designs were realised at the time and fewer still have survived to the present. Macquarie Place is joined by the Hyde Park Barracks, the former Government House stables (now the Conservatorium) and St James Church as some of the few surviving remnants of Macquarie's Georgian town plan for Sydney.[2]

The Place and the Obelisk was a well recognised landmark of the new colony and appeared in many nineteenth century artist views, including paintings for example by Conrad Martens.[2]

Macquarie Place is also a fine example of triangular parks and street patterns of the early Colonial period that responded to the natural topography of the original foreshore of Circular Quay and the Tank Stream valley.[2]

The design of the Obelisk and the park is an early example of the introduction of the Neo-Classical revival, imported from the Georgian city of Bath in England. Greenway is reputed to have based his design on the Georgian Obelisk erected by Beau Nash in Bath more so than the Egyptian prototypes. The design of Macquarie Place and the Obelisk are in contrast with earlier buildings in Australia which are considered to be vernacular, whereas the design of these features could be traced to the Georgian style. The proportions of the Obelisk are designed according to the Georgian rules of style and taste, which differ to later Victorian examples. The layout of the triangular park of Macquarie Place, centred on the Obelisk, incorporated many aspects of Georgian town planning, where Macquarie Place and the Obelisk were deliberately designed as part of the picturesque landscaped setting for the first Government House.[2]

The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

Macquarie Place is an important green space in the city's central business district, providing an attractive green space for city residents and workers. Historically it formed the main town square of Sydney which was a popular place for early citizens of the Colony to promenade. Its continued use as a public space for over 200 years has important social significance.[7][2]

The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The obelisk is symbolic of the expansion of the colony and as an outpost of the British Empire. The Obelisk is of research significance because it forms the central pivot of the system of highways constructed in New South Wales from the early years of the Colony in 1818. It is a well preserved example of a marker stone from which distances were measured, which continued to be used for this purpose for a lengthy period.[2]

The site is of scientific significance because it may contribute to our understanding of the settlement and occupation of early town leases in Sydney through its potential for archaeological remains from the pre-1814 development of the land as a town lease, which was levelled for the improvements by Governor Macquarie for the construction of the park. The site is extremely rare on two accounts, first because it remained largely undeveloped from 1814 onwards, except as part of a reserve. Secondly, most archaeological sites in Sydney which relate to the occupation of town allotments to c.1814 have been destroyed by subsequent development.[15][2]

There are no other structures in Sydney like the Obelisk that are built from its particular fine grained white sandstone. Unusually for Obelisks, this obelisk needle was constructed of ashlar blocks of sandstone because, despite the availability of a convict labour force, the technology for excavating a single block of sandstone was not available in Colonial Sydney at the time. It also provides evidence of one of the few surviving examples of wrought iron balustrading of its quality and period.[2]

Archaeological remains may also survive of the 1819-1820 Doric Fountain designed by Francis Greenway. These lie somewhere in the vicinity of the T.S. Mort statue, possibly further towards the corner of Bridge Street and Macquarie Place. The building alignment on the northwest oblique boundary and the southern boundary is essentially the same as that existing in 1807 as depicted in James Meehan's Plan of the Town of Sydney (see attached map). This remnant street alignment has the potential to provide and important insight into the layout and planning of Sydney in its very early days.[2]

The sandstone dwarf wall originally constructed around Macquarie Place in 1816 is of scientific significance because it preserves evidence of the former configuration and appearance of Macquarie Place and its formal improvements at this time.[2]

The bower anchor (the main anchors) and cannon from the "Sirius" demonstrates aspects of shipbuilding and iron technology of the late 18th century, and have historical associations with the first settlement of Australian in 1788 by belonging to the flagship of the First Fleet. The anchor demonstrates the Admiralty Old Pattern Long Shanked type of anchor that was in common use throughout the 18th century by most major Navies and merchant vessels.[2]

The covered cast iron drinking fountain dating from c.1857 demonstrates an example of one of a group of such fountains manufactured in Britain for Sydney town and installed in prominent positions around the city, associated with the early provision of water by piped water mains for public use. It was relocated to Macquarie Place in the 1970s. It demonstrates a fine example of ornamental cast ironwork.[2]

The 1907 domed Underground Public Conveniences (now partly an archaeological site) is a fine example of an Edwardian public convenience and its associated building and sanitation technology, demonstrating the high quality provision of public health and sanitation measures in Sydney following the outbreak of the Bubonic plague.[2]

The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

Macquarie Place and the Macquarie Obelisk provide very rare remnants of the early development of Sydney township and the earliest planning of the Colony. They provide rare surviving evidence of Governor Macquarie's vision for Sydney as a permanent planned settlement, which began the transition of the Colony from a rough penal settlement to a planned town during the early 1800s.[2]

Macquarie Place and the Obelisk are rare evidence of the early Colonial town centre from where all public roads were measured, where the Colony was first governed, near where the First Fleet landed, where the first defences were built, where the early elite of Sydney lived, and where the first town square was laid out. Since this time, the foreshore of Sydney Cove (now Circular Quay) has been extended, first Government House has been demolished, the adjoining part of the Domain was redeveloped as part of the main town, the Tank Stream has been covered, and the centre of the town moved to the South. Although the original importance of Macquarie Place as the symbolic and geographic centre of the early Colony, the main town square of Sydney, the setting to first Government House, and the landmark qualities of the Obelisk are now less apparent than in Colonial times due to the level of surrounding changes, the park and its early monuments remain one of the few tangible links to this first Colonial town centre and thereby part of the earliest history of Australia.[2]

Macquarie Place and the Macquarie Obelisk are rare as surviving evidence of the attempts by Governor Macquarie and his wife to construct Sydney as a Georgian town with a regular planned layout and elegant buildings, set within picturesque landscaped grounds. The Hyde Park Barracks and St James Church are other rare surviving remnants of Macquarie's Georgian town plan for Sydney (also designed by Greenway).[2]

Macquarie Place is the first planned town square in Australia, gazetted in 1810 and which possibly operated as a gathering place from as early as 1791. Macquarie Place is now the oldest formally laid out town square in Australia. It is also the oldest urban park in Australia, together with Hyde Park, and has been in continuous use as a public space for at least 195 years.[2]

The Macquarie Place Obelisk is rare as the second oldest surviving European monument in Australia, dating from 1818.[2]

The Macquarie Place Obelisk is very rare as the first and oldest "zero point" milestone from which public roads were measured. The other known standing milestone of this kind and of a later date is in Kiama, although in a deteriorated condition, which provided the zero point for all roads into the town.[2]

The only known older obelisk and European monument in Australia is the 1811 obelisk at Watson's Bay which was erected by Macquarie's regiment to commemorate their achievement in constructing a road to South Head. There are no known examples of obelisks or other European monuments built before the Watson's Bay and Macquarie Place obelisks. Other obelisks from later in the nineteenth century were erected as memorials of significant events, as ornamental picturesque objects in the landscape, or to disguise functional elements like the obelisk of the Hyde Park sewer vent at the eastern end of Bathurst Street.[2]

The inscriptions in the Obelisk are also rare as a tangible record of the extent of the Colony at a fixed time during the early Colonial period, providing evidence of the expansion of the Colony into the interiors of NSW during this period of transition from a penal settlement to a permanent planned town. It provides an official record that shows the actual extent of colonial settlement at that time, as distinguished from some maps from this period which indicate the colony extended over most of the continent.[2]

The Obelisk is a rare example of the work of the first Colonial Architect, Francis Greenway. It is the only Obelisk designed by Greenway that was constructed, and one of few of his constructed works to have survived. Only the Government House Stables (now converted and altered for the Conservatorium of Music), St James Church, Hyde Park Barracks and the Obelisk remain of Greenway's vision for Sydney Cove of the early 1800s.[2]

The Macquarie Obelisk is one of few remaining convict built structures in the inner city. It is also rare for its construction of ashlar blocks for the needle rather than a single piece of sandstone, and for its materials as there are no other structures in Sydney that are built from its particular fine grained white sandstone. The Obelisk is rare for its carved detailing, as the carved fan motifs (the Acroteria) at the base of the shaft are one of the earliest examples of decorative carving in the Colony for a civic purpose, and the use of the Acroteria detail is rare generally for obelisks. The Macquarie Obelisk also provides evidence of one of the few surviving examples of wrought iron balustrading of its quality and period. It is one of only four examples of the style of incised lettering which now remain in inner Sydney, all of which date from the Macquarie era.[2]

The anchor and cannon from the "Sirius" are rare relics of the flagship man-of-war from the First Fleet, and thus the earliest European settlement and defence of Australia. Of the 22 six-pounder canons offloaded or salvaged from the vessel in 1788 and 1791-1796, there is only one other known surviving six-pounder cannon from the "Sirius" where its provenance has been established within reasonable doubt, which is now held by the National Maritime Museum. The anchor is one of only three known surviving bower anchors (the main anchors) from the "Sirius". The other two are located at the National Maritime Museum and Norfolk Island. The anchor is rare in New South Wales as a surviving example of the Admiralty Old Pattern Long Shanked type of anchor. Only five other examples of this type of anchor have been identified in New South Wales as underwater archaeological relics or are on public display.[2]

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.

The Obelisk and Macquarie Place represents the geographic and symbolic centre of Sydney during the early Colonial period, from which all public roads were measured and as the main town square separating the town lots of the elite of Sydney from the grounds of first Government House.[2]

The triangular shape of Macquarie Place represents the early town planning in Sydney when street planning responded to the natural topography of the original foreshore of Circular Quay and the Tank Stream, instead of a formal grid pattern. The remaining fig trees also represent the street planting of the time, influenced by Charles Moore, the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, 1848-1896.[7][2]

The Obelisk is an example of the markers used as the point from which distances are measured found in major city centres. It operated as the "zero point" for measuring the distance of roads from Sydney from 1818 until this function was replaced by the General Post Office.[2]

Macquarie Place and the Obelisk are fine examples of the early planning, ornamentation and urban design of the Colony and its public spaces during the early 1800s based on Governor Macquarie's plan and Francis Greenway's designs for an elegant Georgian township, of which few designs were realised at the time and fewer still have survived to the present. They form part of a group of the few surviving remnants of Macquarie's Georgian town plan for Sydney also including the Hyde Park Barracks, the former Government House stables (now the Conservatorium) and St James Church.[2]

The design of the Obelisk and the park are a fine example of the introduction of the Neo-Classical revival, imported from the Georgian city of Bath in England. Greenway is reputed to have based his design on the Georgian Obelisk erected by Beau Nash in Bath more so than the Egyptian prototypes. The design of Macquarie Place and the Obelisk are in contrast with earlier buildings in Australia which are considered to be vernacular, whereas the design of these features could be traced to the Georgian style. The proportions of the Obelisk are designed according to the Georgian rules of style and taste, which differ to later Victorian examples. The layout of the triangular park of Macquarie Place, centred on the Obelisk, incorporated many aspects of Georgian town planning, where Macquarie Place and the Obelisk were deliberately designed as part of the picturesque landscaped setting for the first Government House.[2]

The Macquarie Obelisk is a fine example of a monument constructed in the form of an Obelisk. While characteristic for obelisks in many of its features, there are significant design variations. It is a fine example of the unusual use of the Acroteria motif detail in the carving and the construction of the needle from ashlar blocks of sandstone rather than a single piece of sandstone.[2]

• 
  Gateway Plaza building at 1 Macquarie Place.
• 
  The Macquarie Obelisk.
• 
  The anchor from HMS Sirius as it stands today.
• 
  Cannon from HMS Sirius.
• 
  The statue of Thomas Mort that was unveiled in 1883
• 
  Unveiling of HMS Sirius' anchor at Macquarie Place in 1907
• 
  Unveiling of the Thomas Mort statue in Macquarie Place, 1883
• 
  Macquarie Place in 2019

• History of Sydney

Media related to Macquarie Place at Wikimedia Commons