Queen's Square is a
public square
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
in central Sydney, Australia. The square is located at the junction of
King Street with
Phillip Street
Phillip Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. While the street runs from King Street in the south to Circular Quay in the north, the present street is effectively in two sections, separa ...
and
Macquarie Street. It is bounded on the south by St James Road and Prince Albert Road.
Description
Arranged around Queen's Square, clockwise from the north, are the Law Courts Building, the
Sydney Mint
The Sydney Mint in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is the oldest surviving public building in the Sydney central business district. Built between 1811 and 1816 as the southern wing of the Sydney Hospital, it was then known as the ''Rum H ...
, the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
ed
Hyde Park Barracks, the
Land Titles Office,
Hyde Park,
St James' Church,
and
Sydney Law School
Sydney Law School (informally Sydney Law or SLS) is the law school at the University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university. Sydney Law School began a full program of legal instruction in 1890 following the appointment of its first dean, havin ...
. These buildings, other than the Law Courts Building and Sydney Law School, are all
heritage-listed
This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...
constructions, mostly dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Named in honour of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
, a statue erected in her honour stands on the south-western corner of the square, and faces northward towards the Law Courts building. Another statue, of
Prince Albert, stands on the south-eastern corner, and faces across Macquarie Street towards the statue of the Queen. Another memorial located on the square is that to
Francis Greenway
Francis Howard Greenway (20 November 1777 – September 1837) was an English-born architect who was transported to Australia as a convict for the crime of forgery. In New South Wales he worked for the Governor, Lachlan Macquarie, as Australia' ...
,
NSW Colonial Architect responsible for some of the surrounding buildings, which is a mosaic and relief set into the ground in front of the Law Courts Building.
Being a public square adjacent to the
state's Supreme Court, and also close to
Parliament House, the square is often the scene of political and individual protests.
St James station is located underground to the south of the square, accessible by a pedestrian underpass below St James Road.
[
]
History
Governor Lachlan Macquarie
Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, an ...
planned a public square on the location in the early nineteenth century. The square was originally named King's Square, but was renamed Queen's Square when Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837.Governor of New South Wales
The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...
in 1888, for Australia's centenary. It was in the middle of a circle of roads, which soon became a loop of tramways.[ In the late 1970s when the Law Courts Building was constructed, King Street was terminated at its junction with Phillip Street, and the former thoroughfare between Phillip Street and Macquarie Street became part of the square.]
See also
* List of places named after Queen Victoria in Australia
* Architecture of Sydney
The architecture of Sydney, Australia’s oldest city, is not characterised by any one architectural style, but by an extensive juxtaposition of old and new architecture over the city's 200-year history, from its modest beginnings with local m ...
References
External links
Sydney localities
Monuments and memorials to Queen Victoria
1977 establishments in Australia
King Street, Sydney
Squares in Sydney
{{Sydney-geo-stub