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Centennial Park 125th Anniversary

Sydney's Centennial Park was the site of the inauguration of Australia's Federation in 1901. It is the birthplace of modern Australia and arguably the nation's most historically significant public park. 

When Centennial Park was opened in 1888, it was dubbed The People's Park. This was not just an aspiration of the Park's creators, but an ethos that has been passed down through the years.

Today, Centennial Park is the centrepiece of Sydney's urban green space, Centennial Parklands. The Parklands brings together Centennial Park, Moore Park and Queens Park. With 31 million visitors a year, the Parklands is a critical space for both locals and visitors to enjoy.

Centennial Park's 125th Anniversary 

In 2013 we celebrated Centennial Park's 125th Anniversary – a significant milestone for the whole community. Explore the highlights of our celebrations on the following pages:

Centennial Park history

Variously known as Sydney's 'Green Lungs' and The People's Park, Centennial Park was once Sydney's main water source and in 1901 was the location of the birth of the Federation of Australia.

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The Light Garden

Thanks for helping Centennial Park celebrate its 125th birthday in style! For ten spectacular nights in January 2013, visitors to the Park were dazzled by our free light festival The Light Garden.

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As Small Birds Play

One of Centennial Park’s talented neighbours, Corrina Bonshek, composed a piece of music inspired by the bird songs in the Park in 2012. We loved it so much that we made it our Anniversary Anthem!

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Why do you love Centennial Park?

We asked people from all walks of life what they love about Centennial Park when we celebrated our 125th birthday – check out our YouTube videos to see what some of them had to say.

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Keep up with all the fun!

Ensure you are up to date with all the news and information from Centennial Parklands by: