Part of the common land reserved by Governor Phillip for the town's use in 1792, Hyde Park was proclaimed by Macquarie in 1810, and became a racecourse, cricket ground and open space. Without trees until 1854, in later years plantings, civic monuments, paths and buildings were all placed in the park. When the City Circle railway loop was built in the 1920s the whole park was dug up and reconstruction work included planting many of the trees that are still there.
