Centenary Square, formerly known as Bicentennial Square, is a civic square located in the heart of

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. It faces the 1883 Parramatta Town Hall and St John's Cathedral. The square was listed on the

Parramatta City Council The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a local government area located to the west and north-west of Sydney CBD in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between the City of Ryde and Cumberland, ...

local government heritage list on 20 August 1999.

Features and history

To celebrate the colony's centenary, in 1888 the Parramatta Borough Council erected, at a cost of

A£ The pound (Currency symbol, sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. Like other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 Shilling (Australian ...

600, the Centennial Memorial, a Victorian Free Classically-styled elaborate clock and

drinking fountain A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and s ...

. To mark the opening of the Church Street Mall in 1986 and the closure of through traffic on Church Street, a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...

was buried under one of the square's gardens by

Janice Crosio Janice Ann Crosio (; born 3 January 1939) is an Australian politician from the Labor Party. She was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, and became the first woman Cabinet minister in New South Wales. Later she was a member of ...

MP, NSW Minister for Water Resources. In order to mark the

Australian Bicentenary The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1988. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. History The bicentennial year marked Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the 11 ships ...

in 1988, the Parramatta City Council commissioned the sculpture, ''Procession'', by artist Richard Goodwin. The Parramatta City Council reverted the square's name to Centenary Square on 24 September 2014. 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. Murray Brothers erected the town's first

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

in 1926; and other major stores soon followed. 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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. This takes the form of a stone arch and plaques; and was erected in 1917. The square serves as the eastern terminus of the proposed Great West Walk connecting Parramatta and via the

Western Sydney Parklands The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildli ...

. In the early morning of the 1st of November 2014 the Square became a live site for fans of the

Western Sydney Wanderers FC Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football, association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South W ...

to watch the 2014 AFC Champions League final second leg. Thousands of fans showed up and packed the square to watch the Wanderers claim the title with a 0-0 draw for the match giving them the win on the away goals rule after the 1-0 win in Parramatta in the first leg.https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/parramatta/western-sydney-wanderers-thousands-of-red-and-black-fans-flock-to-parramatta-to-welcome-back-conquering-heroes/news-story/e0260515bb91bcd4f164d0e1ad427826

References

External links

* * Parks in Sydney Buildings and structures in Parramatta Australian bicentennial commemorations 1888 in Australia {{Sydney-geo-stub

Features and history

See also

References

External links