Wynyard Park Icluding Parkland, Mature Trees, Remnant Fences, Underground…

Item details


Name of item:	Wynyard Park Icluding Parkland, Mature Trees, Remnant Fences, Underground…
Other name/s:	Wynyard Square
Type of item:	Landscape
Group/Collection:	Parks, Gardens and Trees
Category:	Urban Park
Location:	Lat: -33.867640390881 Long: 151.204908437527
Primary address:	York Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Local govt. area:	Sydney

Boundary:

The heritage listing excludes the underground portion of the men's toilet at the south western corner of the park.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Type
York Street	Sydney	Sydney	Primary Address
Carrington Street	Sydney	Sydney	Alternate Address
Margaret Street	Sydney	Sydney	Alternate Address
Wynyard Street	Sydney	Sydney	Alternate Address

Statement of significance:


	Wynyard Park is of historic, cultural and aesthetic significance at a state level, and historically at a national level. Wynyard Park has a history of consistent use as open space from the first development as a military parade ground in 1792 to its present urban public recreation use. It is significant for its earlier dedication in 1887 as an open space square for public recreation, a role which it has maintained to the present day. This late Victorian period related to its peak period from 1880-1910. The park contains important planting's and monuments reflective of its periods of development. The area has become a major townscape element by virtue of the exceptional quality and the uniformity of the buildings that define the surrounding streets. The street edges facing the park are of aesthetic significance for their strong sense of urban enclosure created by the uniformity of buildings lining the streets, resulting in the effect of an ‘urban room’.The majority of these buildings are of a consistent height and street alignment and exhibit similar architectural themes. The surrounding predominant development is characterised by facades of strong visual depth, a high degree of architectural modelling and articulation, and changes in architectural treatment with height and level.
	Date significance updated: 09 Feb 11
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the OEH copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	Mortimer Lewis(1835-1849); Charles Moore(1848-1896)
Construction years:	1792-1792
Physical description:	Wynyard Park, Sydney is bounded on the north by Margaret Street, on the east by Carrington Street, in the south by Wynyard Street and on the west by York Street. It is an area of 0.7 hectares, and presently a small section of 11 square metres has been excised for use by the State Rail Authority. In addition, the State Transit Authority has erected numerous bus shelters on the York and Carrington Street footpaths. The park is surrounded by buildings on the other side of the bounding streets. The park has some restricted vistas along the bounding streets and along Erskine Street which terminates at York Street near the southern end of the park. Park includes mature border planting's of Moreton Bay Figs, Flindersia Australis and Plane trees, statue of Dunmore Lang by Giovanni Fontana (1890), Art Nouveau toilet block including fences, signs and lights, sandstone walls. Category:Urban Park. General Details:Refer to Archaeological Zoning Plan.
Modifications and dates:	1792, 1887
Further information:	The listing in the Sydney LEP 2005 excludes the underground portion of the men's toilet, south western corner of the park (demolished). Streetscape:The public realm of the Wynyard Park area of special significance is defined as Carrington Street and the portions of York, Wynyard and Margaret Streets that abut the park. The listing in Sydney LEP 2012 included underground conveniences and Lang Statue. Heritage Inventory sheets are often not comprehensive, and should be regarded as a general guide only. Inventory sheets are based on information available, and often do not include the social history of sites and buildings. Inventory sheets are constantly updated by the City as further information becomes available. An inventory sheet with little information may simply indicate that there has been no building work done to the item recently: it does not mean that items are not significant. Further research is always recommended as part of preparation of development proposals for heritage items, and is necessary in preparation of Heritage Impact Assessments and Conservation Management Plans, so that the significance of heritage items can be fully assessed prior to submitting development applications.


Current use:	Other
Former use:	Other

History

Historical notes:

The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. There is no written record of the name of the language spoken and currently there are debates as whether the coastal peoples spoke a separate language "Eora" or whether this was actually a dialect of the Dharug language. Remnant bushland in places like Blackwattle Bay retain elements of traditional plant, bird and animal life, including fish and rock oysters.

With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Cadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today. All cities include many immigrants in their population. Aboriginal people from across the state have been attracted to suburbs such as Pyrmont, Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe and Redfern since the 1930s. Changes in government legislation in the 1960s provided freedom of movement enabling more Aboriginal people to choose to live in Sydney.

(Information sourced from Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani )

The park was originally used as a military parade ground from the time the area along George Street was the military barracks from 1792-1848. Although no physical fabric of the military origin of the Park remains the location and expanse of the open space which relates to the early parade ground remains. From 1848 -1887 the area was known as Wynyard Square. In 1887 the area was dedicated as an open space square for public recreation, a role which it has maintained to present day. The parks most significant period was 1890 to 1910 when it was well planned and established. Its layout reflects this late Victorian Period in its landscape design. Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis(1835-1849) and the Director of the Sydney Botanic Gardens Charles Moore(1848-1896), influenced the design of the place. From 1887 it became known as Wynyard Park. In 1925 excavations for Wynyard Station began. Construction continued until 1933 which was highly disruptive to the park and removed most earlier fabric. The park was named after General Wynyard, Commander of British Forces in Australia 1848-1853. From 1933 onwards the park has been closely associated with public transport in the area. This includes the Station and Bus Terminus. Important historical elements in the park include: remnant original fabric of sandstone retaining walls; Rev. Dr. Lang Memorial statue; Men's underground convenience erected in c. 1910; Washington filifers palms; Magnolia grandiflora tree associated with nineteenth century planting; Port Jackson Fig Tree associated with nineteenth century planting; Hoop Pine tree.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The park was originally established as a military parade ground in 1792 and after the barracks were moved was designated as an open space square in 1887. Has historic significance locally.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The park contains important planting's and monuments reflective of its periods of development. Has aesthetic significance locally.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	Wynyard Park is significant as a public open space.It is significant for its earlier dedication in 1887 as an open space square for public recreation, a role which it has maintained to the present day.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

The protection of sunlight access to Wynyard Park is considered to be of such importance that overshadowing controls to achieve this are required. The objective should be addressed by streetwall / shadow plane controls, incorporating a streetwall height control for the western alignment of York Street of 45 meters, and of 31 meters for the northern alignment of Margaret Street. Landscape works, including street furniture should functionally and visually enhance the city. The Wynyard Park Plan of Management, prepared by Conybeare Morrision and Partners in 1993, provides the basis for complying with this principle. A Heritage Assessment and Heritage Impact Statement, or a Conservation Management Plan, should be prepared for the park prior to any major works being undertaken.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Sydney LEP 2005 Sch 8 Part 3	65	09 Dec 05	154	147
Heritage study

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written	Anita Heiss		Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City
Written	Conybeare Morrison & Partners.	1993	Wynyard Park : draft plan of management
Written	G & L Popian	1997	John Dunmore Lang Memorial, Wynyard Park, Sydney : conservation treatments, final report
Written	Jackson Teece Chesterman Willis Pty Ltd.	1999	Report on underground conveniences at Macquarie Place, Wynyard Park, Hyde Park North
Written	Sydney City Council	1992	Wynyard Park : draft plan of management
Written	Sydney City Council/Shirley Fitzgerald	1997	Wynyard Park : draft plan of management
Written	Tract Consultants	1997	Wynyard Park Edwardian lavatory : conservation plan of management for the Council of the City of Sydney
Written	Tropman & Tropman Architects.	1994	Statement of heritage impact : proposed new entry to Wynyard Station at Wynyard Park, Sydney

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2424651

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