A convict garden. Can you imagine that? Right here in Cooke Park.
Cooke Park wasn’t always a park. In 1819 it was a convict garden. After the Hyde Park Barracks were finished the land was cleared. A gardener’s lodge was even built. The soil proved poor though. The garden was abandoned by 1831.
College Street was built in 1832. It separated this area from Hyde Park. Sydney’s first Catholic chapel was built on the north side of the former convict garden. It was completed in 1837 but sadly burnt down in 1864. The current St Mary’s Cathedral was built afterward.
The area became Cooke Park in 1878. Boomerang Street then divided it from Phillip Park. Both were named after famous British figures. Captain James Cook the navigator and Captain Arthur Phillip the colony’s first governor.
Boomerang Street was a major transport route. Trams and buses went to the eastern suburbs. In 1912 Haig Avenue was built. It helped workers get to Woolloomooloo and Garden Island.
One of Sydney’s first bowling clubs was in Cooke Park. It was built in 1880. A police station was in Phillip Park. It was there from 1880 until 1960. A Police Boys Club was built in its place.
Cooke Park underwent major changes in 1997. Boomerang Street and Haig Avenue were removed. A modern swimming pool and paved area were created.
A sadder story is the McQueen Memorial. It remembers Police Constable Allan McQueen. He was shot near here on April 24 1989. He died days later. The search for his attacker led to another tragedy.
Today Cooke Park is a vibrant green space. It offers a peaceful contrast to the city’s busy streets. It’s a reminder of Sydney’s rich and sometimes tragic past. It’s a place where history and nature meet.