Centennial Park is a priceless haven in our city, a carefully tended patch of ‘wilderness’. As we enjoy its many pleasures, we should appreciated how hard-won they are. And we should never take them for granted.

—Susan Wyndham, Literary Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald.

Commemorating 125 years of the ‘People’s Park’

A beautifully illustrated collector’s item, this book was published to mark Centennial Park’s 125th anniversary. It is a revised and extended version of the original book published in 1988 to mark the Park’s centenary, Co-authored by Paul Ashton, professor of public history at the University of Technology, Sydney,  historian and author Kate Blackmore, and Armanda Scorrano, historian and teacher of communications at the University of Technology, Sydney, this book traces the history of this cherished piece of the national estate from the days of first settlement to more contemporary struggles for survival against developers and environmental concerns.

It contains a wealth of personalities, from the human personalities who helped shape it and decide its fate, to the incredible features of nature, such as the long-finned eel which starts its migration from Centennial Park, a prelude to a 2000km journey that ends in New Caledonia.

With many full colour photographs, this extensively researched collector’s item offers an insightful history into Sydney’s much-loved park, as much an historical artefact as it is a place of wonder and recreation.