Hyde
Park is a large park in Sydney, New South
Wales, Australia, named after the original
Hyde Park in London, England. It is the
southernmost of a chain of parkland that
extends north to the shore. It takes the
form of an approximate rectangle bordered
on the west by Elizabeth Street, on the
east by College Street, on the north by
St James Rd / Prince Albert Rd and on
the south by Liverpool St. Around the
park's boundaries lie the Supreme Court
of New South Wales, Hyde Park Barracks
and Sydney Hospital to the north, St Mary's
Cathedral to the east and the central
business district to the west. It is bisected
through the middle by the east-west running
Park St. The centrepiece of Hyde Park
is the majestic Archibald Fountain, unveiled
in 1932 in honour of Australia's contribution
to the Great War in France.
At
the park's southern end is the Museum
railway station and the ANZAC War Memorial
and at the northern end is the St. James
railway station. A monument consisting
of a 104-millimetre gun from the German
light cruiser SMS Emden stands at the
Oxford Street entry at the south east
of the park. The Bathurst Street entrance
on the west of the park terminates at
a 125 foot obelisk decorated with Egyptianesque
features. Further south is another middle
eastern inspired monument by the Independent
Order of Oddfellows dedicated to the fallen
Sydneysiders of the Great War. The park
is pock marked with sewer lids, many of
which lead down to Busby's Bore, the first
large scale attempt at a water source
system after the backing up of Tank Stream,
the Sydney colony's primary water source.
The park is famed for its magnificent
fig tree lined avenues. In 2005 a controversial
plan was carried out to chop down a number
of disease-affected trees — a mixture
of Moreton Bay figs, palms and other varieties
— some of which line the avenues.
The soil-borne diseases discovered could
affect all the trees in the park unless
they are removed and the soil treated.
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