Sunday, November 17, 2019

Sydney Suburbs continued: Cecil Hills, Cecil Park, Centennial Park

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Cecil Hills: 

Location: 

Cecil Hills is located 38 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool. 

Name origin: 

In 1817, John Wylde, the judge-advocate of New South Wales, was granted 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) in the Parish of Cabramatta. He named his property Cecil Hills after his British property in Chestnut, Hertfordshire. He lived on the property only briefly before leaving to become Chief Justice of the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. His wife Elizabeth remained, however, and managed the property until her death in 1864. It continued as a farm through until the 1980s when it was decided to redevelop it for housing. The suburb of Cecil Hills was named in 1992 and includes part of the old Cecil Hills property along with other neighbouring. 

About: 

According to the 2016 census, there were 7,018 residents in Cecil Hills. 53.5% of people were born in Australia. 

Cecil Park has a number of heritage-listed sites, including Cecil Hills Farm. 

Gallery: 

One of the lakes in Cecil Hills, NSW, taken from opposite the shopping centre 


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Cecil Park: 

Location: 

Cecil Park located 40 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. 

Name origin: 

When European exploration of the area began in the early 19th century, a nearby range was named Cecil Hills and this in turn inspired the name Cecil Park. 

About: 

The first white settler in Cecil Park was Simeon Lord, who at age 19 was sentenced to 7 years transportation to NSW for stealing cloth and who ended up becoming t he richest and one of the most powerful men in the colony. He was at various times a retailer, auctioneer, sealer, pastoralist, timber merchant and manufacturer and was appointed a magistrate by Governor Macquarie. 

Gallery:

Simeon Lord

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Centennial Park: 

Location: 

Centennial Park is a suburb split between the local government area of the City of Sydney and the City of Randwick, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Centennial Park is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. 

Name origin: 

The western fringe of the suburb is used for residential purposes and is within the City of Sydney. It features quality houses on large blocks as well as large multi-unit buildings. The bulk of the suburb consists of the Centennial Parklands (from which the suburb takes its name) and is within the City of Randwick. The parklands extend further partly into the suburb of Queens Park, adjacent to (but separate from) the park of the same name in that suburb. 

About: 

The Centennial Parklands started out as a reserve to protect the central ponds and swamps which formed early Sydney’s water supply. When it was superseded by the Nepean water supply system in the 1880s it was decided to create a large park, which opened as Centennial Park in 1888. It was described at the time as "the peoples' park".

Part of the funding was to come from selling off residential lots adjacent to the park, but this did not occur until 1904 when 101 acres (41 ha) of land along the western border was subdivided. 

To ensure high standards of residential development, strict requirements were imposed. No wooden buildings or terrace homes were allowed; brick or stone were mandated, with tile or slate roofs. Between 1905 and 1925, a wide range of substantial, quality homes were built, featuring a mixture of Federation, Arts and Crafts, Victorian and Old English styles. 

Gallery: 

Walshome, Lang Road 

Devoncliffe, Lang Road 

Murrulla, Martin Road 

Devon, Martin Road 




Centennial Park, 1895 



The inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia took place in Centennial Park. Held on 1 January 1901, it marked Australia’s progression to a unified Commonwealth when the six colonies of South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland were brought together as one. These actions marked the creation of a new democracy. From this moment, on 1 January 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia became a self-governing nation. 

More than 60,000 people poured into Centennial Park for the occasion, including 7,000 dignitaries and guests and 300 members of the press, watching the first Federal Government to be formed. Three choirs sang for the occasion, including a choir of 10,000 school children, a church choir of 400 people and another choir of a thousand. 

A pavilion had been built specifically for the occasion and was decorated with native flora and fauna and it was inside this pavilion that the swearing in of the first Federal Government occurred.

The pavilion was originally covered in ornate plasterwork, but the exterior was not preserved and soon fell into disrepair. In 1903, the wooden framework was purchased by the Municipality of Concord and moved to Cabarita Park in the suburb of the Cabarita

The pavilion during the swearing-in ceremony on 1 January 1901 

The remains of the pavilion in Cabarita Park

Because Centennial Park is of high significance to Australia’s nationhood history, it was granted heritatge status in 2018. Minister Fydenberg summed summed up why Centennial Park would be heritage listed: 
This is because this place was where Australia was born. It is here that our federation was inaugurated. Our Constitution was proclaimed. Our first Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun, was sworn in. Our first Prime Minister, Edward Barton, was sworn in, and the first cabinet of Australia was sworn in. 

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