7F and 7R History Excursion to Hyde Park and ‘The Big Dig’ on Wednesday 6 April

On Wednesday 6 April, on possibly the wettest Sydney day on record, 7F and 7R stoically accompanied Mr de Bres and Ms Wark on a site study of Hyde Park, a guided history walk along Macquarie Street and a visit to an archaeological site in The Rocks.

Here is Isobel Jefferson’s recount of the excursion:

Our history excursion taught me a lot about colonial Australia, such as the kinds of people who shaped the colony like Captain Cook, Governor Macquarie and Queen Victoria, and what the living conditions were like for people in Australia during this time.

Various historical figures were depicted in statues across the city and in Hyde Park. We learned about the history of these statues and what they mean for Australia on a tour led by Mr de Bres and Ms Wark. For example, we learned about the history and recent controversy surrounding Captain Cook’s statue in Hyde Park, as well as an explanation of Governor Macquarie’s statue, and the statues of Queen Victoria and her husband Albert which sit across the road from each other at the top of Macquarie Street. We then walked down Macquarie Street past Hyde Park Barracks, The Mint, NSW Parliament House, Sydney Hospital, the State Library and the Mitchell Library. The sculpture of a boar, which stands in front of the hospital was another noteworthy statue that we examined. It was donated by Marchesa Fiaschi Torrigiani in 1968 and given the name Il Porcellino, after a similar sculpture in Florence. It is said that rubbing it’s nose will bring you good luck, and it attracts a large number of tourists each year.

After lunch we walked to The Rocks for a workshop at ‘The Big Dig’ Archaeological Centre. We saw remnants of shops and houses here, one of which belonged to students from Observatory Hill’s former Fort Street Model School. We learned about the people who lived in these buildings as well as the history of how they were constructed. We also analysed objects which had been found at the site and categorised them into the following categories: medicine, landscape, technology, and sanitation.

Overall, the excursion was a fascinating experience and I gained a lot of knowledge from my time in the city.

Isobel Jefferson

7F