Australian History A park for the People (Centennial Park)

Centennial Park, Sydney, is 220 hectares of rolling grasslands, paperbark forests and of course the Grand Drive, which encircles the park. But how many know that Grand Drive was intended to showcase the virtues of the rich for the lower classes to observe and emulate? This history of one of Sydney's most significant recreation areas explores the moral and physical drivers for its development. Built to memorialise the centenary of colonisation, it was intended to uplift the common man with its sweeping vistas and educative plantings. But aside from its ideological purpose, in its 120 years of existence it has also seen its fair share of community battles, plans for Olympics sites, and downright filching – of land, and flora. Guests: Dr Catherine Evans, senior lecturer in Landscape Architecture, Faculty of the Build Environment at UNSW, Dr Paul Ashton Associate professor of Public History at the University of Technology, Sydney, Dr Neil Runcie, Former Professor of Economics at UNSW, Keith Jordan, Former local and secretary of the Save the Parks Campaign,Jean Jordan, Former local resident whose family association with Centennial Park dates back to Federation in 1901, Dr Ian HoskinsNorth Sydney Council Historian.