In the 1830s Governor Darling proposed to sell off the park for houses, but his successor Governor Bourke rebuffed the claims of those who desired the park for residential allotments and reaffirmed its status as a park.
In 1830 Park Street was extended through the park.

In 1832 William and Macquarie Street (southern extension) were constructed severing Hyde Park and establishing its central axis.
Also in 1832 College Street was built which divided off part of the park, in the area which became Cook and Phillip Parks.
Also in 1832 Sydney College was built (later Sydney Grammar School).
With the nearby Lyons Terrace (1851) and the Australian Museum (1849-51) the southern end of Hyde Park attracted significant and imposing buildings which increased its importance as a planned open space envisaged by Francis Greenway.

In 1837 the first major planting in the park was undertaken by Superintendent of the Sydney Botanic Gardens, Alan Cunningham.
Also in 1837 Sydney's second main water supply (after the first one - the Tank Stream - had become polluted) was Busby's Bore in Lachlan Swamps (later part of Centennial Park).
An outlet for water brought to the city from the bore through a tunnel was an elevated pipe in Hyde Park where water carts queued and filled their barrels to sell in the town at 3 pennies per bucket.

In 1846 work commenced on the Australian Museum on the south-east corner of William and Park Streets, probably to the design of architect Mortimer Lewis.
This was probably Australia's first prominent museum building, and faced the park.

In the 1850s Hyde Park was a barren expanse of grass criss-crossed with paths and dirt tracks around its perimeter.
This is clear in a c.1854 photograph taken from the Mint by mint-worker and amateur photographer William Stanley Jevons in the very early days of photography.

In 1854 the Public Parks Act was passed and a Hyde Park Improvement Committee was formed.
Trustees were appointed to determine policy and after 1854 the space gradually became tailored towards more bourgeois, middle-class ideal of a passive, decorative open space for strolling.
It attracted public speakers for a time, until they, like the cricketers, were banished to the Domain to the park's north.
 Gradually Hyde Park became more a place for passive recreation and more like an "English" garden.

There was increasing public pressure to "improve" the park and plant it.
By this time the influence of Scottish/English writer John Claudius Loudon and architect/gardener (later Sir) Joseph Paxton had reached the antipodes - the garden invaded the pleasure ground to form a "gardenesque" (Loudon's term) composition with each of Hyde Park's four quarters divided by a central walk and the whole park by Park Street.
Incidents or features such as statues, fountains, ponds and a bandstand were introduced.
This broadly reflected the rise of the Public Parks Movement in England, and elsewhere in Sydney - with Parramatta Park being declared a public park in the mid 1850s after much lobbying.

In the 1850s civic monuments began to be erected in the park.
The first in 1857 was the Thornton Obelisk.
It is also irreverently known as 'Thornton's Scent Bottle' constructed on the park's western side entrance facing Bathurst Street (intersection with Elizabeth St.).
This is actually a sewerage ventilator, made to appear like Cleopatra's Needle, an Egyptian Obelisk now displayed in London (ibid).

In the 1850s with the coming of responsible government, Hyde Park became a venue for Sunday oratory on political and civic topics, and later election meetings.
It was also used for processions and official gatherings such as the ball to welcome Queen Victoria's son Prince Alfred in 1868.
Its 19th century layout featured straight paths rather than curved ones, with the central avenue of Moreton Bay fig trees continuing the line of Macquarie Street southward.
Elsewhere lawns were interspersed with clumps of trees and shrubs, water features and a bandstand.

In 1861 planting was undertaken, predominantly along pathways.
Moreton Bay (Ficus macrophylla) and
In the 1830s Governor Darling proposed to sell off the park for houses, but his successor Governor Bourke rebuffed the claims of those who desired the park for residential allotments and reaffirmed its status as a park. In 1830 Park Street was extended through the park.
In 1832 William and Macquarie Street (southern extension) were constructed severing Hyde Park and establishing its central axis. Also in 1832 College Street was built which divided off part of the park, in the area which became Cook and Phillip Parks. Also in 1832 Sydney College was built (later Sydney Grammar School). With the nearby Lyons Terrace (1851) and the Australian Museum (1849-51) the southern end of Hyde Park attracted significant and imposing buildings which increased its importance as a planned open space envisaged by Francis Greenway.
In 1837 the first major planting in the park was undertaken by Superintendent of the Sydney Botanic Gardens, Alan Cunningham. Also in 1837 Sydney's second main water supply (after the first one - the Tank Stream - had become polluted) was Busby's Bore in Lachlan Swamps (later part of Centennial Park). An outlet for water brought to the city from the bore through a tunnel was an elevated pipe in Hyde Park where water carts queued and filled their barrels to sell in the town at 3 pennies per bucket.
In 1846 work commenced on the Australian Museum on the south-east corner of William and Park Streets, probably to the design of architect Mortimer Lewis. This was probably Australia's first prominent museum building, and faced the park.
In the 1850s Hyde Park was a barren expanse of grass criss-crossed with paths and dirt tracks around its perimeter. This is clear in a c.1854 photograph taken from the Mint by mint-worker and amateur photographer William Stanley Jevons in the very early days of photography.
In 1854 the Public Parks Act was passed and a Hyde Park Improvement Committee was formed. Trustees were appointed to determine policy and after 1854 the space gradually became tailored towards more bourgeois, middle-class ideal of a passive, decorative open space for strolling. It attracted public speakers for a time, until they, like the cricketers, were banished to the Domain to the park's north.  Gradually Hyde Park became more a place for passive recreation and more like an "English" garden.
There was increasing public pressure to "improve" the park and plant it. By this time the influence of Scottish/English writer John Claudius Loudon and architect/gardener (later Sir) Joseph Paxton had reached the antipodes - the garden invaded the pleasure ground to form a "gardenesque" (Loudon's term) composition with each of Hyde Park's four quarters divided by a central walk and the whole park by Park Street. Incidents or features such as statues, fountains, ponds and a bandstand were introduced. This broadly reflected the rise of the Public Parks Movement in England, and elsewhere in Sydney - with Parramatta Park being declared a public park in the mid 1850s after much lobbying.
In the 1850s civic monuments began to be erected in the park. The first in 1857 was the Thornton Obelisk. It is also irreverently known as 'Thornton's Scent Bottle' constructed on the park's western side entrance facing Bathurst Street (intersection with Elizabeth St.). This is actually a sewerage ventilator, made to appear like Cleopatra's Needle, an Egyptian Obelisk now displayed in London (ibid).
In the 1850s with the coming of responsible government, Hyde Park became a venue for Sunday oratory on political and civic topics, and later election meetings. It was also used for processions and official gatherings such as the ball to welcome Queen Victoria's son Prince Alfred in 1868. Its 19th century layout featured straight paths rather than curved ones, with the central avenue of Moreton Bay fig trees continuing the line of Macquarie Street southward. Elsewhere lawns were interspersed with clumps of trees and shrubs, water features and a bandstand.
In 1861 planting was undertaken, predominantly along pathways. Moreton Bay (Ficus macrophylla) and
Hyde Park, Sydney