Centenary Square, Parramatta

Centenary Square, formerly known as Bicentennial Square, is a civic square located in the heart of Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. It faces the 1883 Parramatta Town Hall and St John's Cathedral. The square was listed on the Parramatta City Council local government heritage list on 20 August 1999.[1]

Centenary Square
(1888–1988; 2014– )
Bicentennial Square
(1988–2014)
The 1888 Victorian Free Classically-styled clock, with the drinking fountain removed, pictured in 2016
TypeCivic square
LocationParramatta, Parramatta City Council, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates33°48′55″S 151°00′11″E
Etymology
Operated byParramatta City Council
Open24 hours
StatusOpen all year
New South Wales Heritage Database
(Local Government Register)
Official nameBicentennial Square and Adjoining Buildings
TypeLocal government heritage (complex / group)
Criteriaa., c., f.
Designated20 August 1999
Reference no.103
TypeRecreation and Entertainment
CategoryTourist Attractions

Features and history

To celebrate the colony's centenary, in 1888 the Parramatta Borough Council erected, at a cost of A£600, the Centennial Memorial, a Victorian Free Classically-styled elaborate clock and drinking fountain.[2]

To mark the opening of the Church Street Mall in 1986 and the closure of through traffic on Church Street, a time capsule was buried under one of the square's gardens by Janice Crosio MP, NSW Minister for Water Resources.[3] In order to mark the Australian Bicentenary in 1988, the Parramatta City Council commissioned the sculpture, Procession, by artist Richard Goodwin.[4]

The Parramatta City Council reverted the square's name to Centenary Square on 24 September 2014.[5]

The commercial buildings surrounding the square are mainly two-storeyed, with one of the Murray Buildings (alongside the Town Hall and farthest from St Johns) are three storeys.[1] Murray Brothers erected the town's first department store in 1926; and other major stores soon followed.[6] This was also the site where Rev. Samuel Marsden once lived. Outside St John's Cathedral stands a memorial to those who served in World War I. This takes the form of a stone arch and plaques; and was erected in 1917.[7]

The square serves as the eastern terminus of the proposed 65-kilometre (40 mi) Great West Walk connecting Parramatta and Penrith via the Western Sydney Parklands.[8][9]

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gollark: ```Bulbasnuff wants: Cb. Is it really that hard to find a 5 letter word code or cb all number code? Is it, my friends?```
gollark: Who knows, there could be others.
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gollark: So, you like all rare/exclusive things?

See also

References
  1. "Bicentennial Square and Adjoining Buildings". New South Wales Heritage Database. Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. "Parramatta Centennial Memorial Drinking Fountain". The Sydney Mail. 28 January 1888. p. 11. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  3. Plaque in main garden.
  4. Plaque on sculpture.
  5. Morris, Cathy (25 September 2014). "Parramatta's Church St Mall is now Centenary Square with a new state-of-the-art fountain as centrepiece". Parramatta Advertiser. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  6. Kass, Terry (2008). "Parramatta". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  7. Plaque on memorial.
  8. Gorrey, Megan (13 October 2019). "Sydney's new 65km walking track stretches from Parramatta to Penrith". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  9. "About". The Great West Walk. n.d. Retrieved 10 January 2020.


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