Centennial Parklands is a unique place of exceptional National, State and Local heritage significance. It is a grand, linked open space of largely nineteenth-century landscape design intended for social and physical activity.
The Parklands was developed at the head of the Botany Bay catchment in an area originally part of the territory of the Gadi people on lands designated in 1811 as the Sydney Common.
The Parklands retains evidence of the original landforms and plays a vital role in sustaining natural processes and biological diversity on a scale that is rare in the inner urban environment.
The Parklands has national significance as the place of the inauguration of the nation, the creation of a People’s Park, events, persons and monuments of national importance.
The place also has strong associations with convict heritage, pathways and transportation routes, water supply, horticultural and agricultural experimentation, nature conservation, military use, and a diversity of sport, recreation and cultures.
- from the Centennial Parklands Conservation Management Plan