Macquarie Street is the easternmost street of
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
's
central business districtA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
. Macquarie Street extends from
Hyde ParkHyde Park is a large park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Hyde Park is on the eastern side of the Sydney central business district. It is the southernmost of a chain of parkland that extends north to the shore of Port Jackson . It is approximately rectangular in shape, being squared at the...
at its southern end to the
Sydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
at its north.
Description
Macquarie Street is named after
Lachlan MacquarieMajor-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
, an early
Governor of New South WalesThe Governor of New South Wales is the state viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who is equally shared with 15 other sovereign nations in a form of personal union, as well as with the eleven other jurisdictions of Australia, and resides predominantly in her...
(1810–1821), and was designed as a ceremonial thoroughfare. Macquarie initiated the construction of Sydney's first public buildings of any real permanence and set the boundaries of Sydney's grid of streets. It became the colony's preeminent residential address.
Macquarie Street is the location of
Sydney HospitalSydney Hospital is a major hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first received the name Sydney Hospital in 1881.Currently...
, the
Hyde Park BarracksThe Hyde Park Barracks is an internationally significant, impressive brick building and compound designed by convict architect Francis Greenway between 1818–19; originally built at the head of Macquarie Street to house convict men and boys....
and
St. James ChurchSt James' Church is an Anglican church in King Street in Sydney, Australia. Consecrated on 11 February 1824, the church was designed by the transported convict architect Francis Greenway during the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie, and is part of the historical precinct of Macquarie Street...
, which were all Macquarie projects.
Macquarie Street was widely known as the
Harley StreetHarley Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.- Overview :...
of Sydney from the late 19th century until recent decades. The Royal Australian College of Physicians Building at 145 Macquarie Street was the Georgian residence of
John FairfaxJohn Fairfax , English-born journalist, is notable for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern day Australia.-Early life:...
until 1848. The British Medical Association's 1920s BMA House at 135-137 Macquarie St still houses medical chambers and lecture hall.
Today, Macquarie Street is also the location of
Parliament HouseParliament House in Sydney is a complex of buildings housing the Parliament of New South Wales, a state of Australia. It is located on the east side of Macquarie Street in Sydney, the state capital. The facade consists of a two storey Georgian building, the oldest public building in the City of...
, the
State Library of New South WalesThe State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Macquarie Street, Sydney near Shakespeare Place...
,
Sydney MintThe Sydney Mint in Sydney, Australia, is the oldest 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 Hospital. In 1854 a mint was established on the site with the hospital building used...
and the
Reserve Bank of AustraliaThe Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority, when the Reserve Bank Act 1959 removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank to it....
. Part of the street is adjacent to the
Royal Botanic GardensThe Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia, are the most central of the three major botanical gardens open to the public in Sydney....
, which is the location of
Government HouseGovernment House is located in Sydney, Australia alongside the Royal Botanic Gardens, overlooking Sydney Harbour, just south of the Sydney Opera House...
and the
Sydney Conservatorium of MusicThe Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
.
At the northern end of Macquarie Street is a group of buildings including an apartment block known as "
The Toaster BuildingThe Bennelong Apartments, otherwise known colloquially as the "Toaster building", is a controversial residential apartment building in Sydney's Circular Quay. It was part of a development designed by Andrew Andersons and PTW Architects, known as Bennelong Apartments which was completed in 1998...
". "Arguably the most universally disliked development in decades", it also includes offices, restaurants, a hotel and cinema.
Between 61 Macquarie Street the heritage sandstone Moore Stairs (1868) lead down to East Circular Quay.
External links