The first Saturday in May every year is an obscure but significant celebration for many around the world – World Labyrinth Day! As recently announced, Centennial Park is set to be home to Sydney’s first public labyrinth. With funding now raised, construction will begin in 2013 on what will be a much anticipated and beautifully complementary addition to the Centennial Park landscape.

This is an artists impression of how it may look:

An artist’s impression of the Centennial Park Labyrinth

While you can find out more about the project on this previous blog post, below is a recent interview on ABC 702 with the project’s proponent and fundraiser, Ms Emily Simpson (please note, it starts with a song, but the interview begins at the 3’47″ mark if you’d prefer to scroll to it).

Audio: taken from ABC 702, Evenings with Dom Knight, 23 April 2013

We look forward to bringing you more about this project later in the year.

• Link to info on the Westmead Children’s Hospital labyrinth

Happy World Labyrinth Day for tomorrow!

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Like this news? Want to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and opportunities available across Centennial Parklands? Here’s a few ways to stay in touch:

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…or come and visit us! Drop into the Visitor Information Counter in Centennial Park for all the information you need.

Standing on Cannon Triangle in Centennial Park, overlooking Centennial Parklands Dining, are two Russian cannon. The guns flank the We Won Statue, and have been in the Park since 1920. How on earth did they come to be in Centennial Park?

In July 2011, Centennial Park’s good friend and renowned Australian journalist, the late Peter Harvey, was filming a news segment in the Park next to the cannon. He mused for a while about the Crimean War-origins of these weapons, and wondered aloud whether or not they could have actually been present at one of that war’s most well-known moments – the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade.

We were determined to find out what we could, and set to work putting together the history of the cannon. Unfortunately our friend Peter passed away before we could finish this work. Here is what we found.

One of the Russian Cannon in Centennial Park – they underwent an interesting journey to end up here!

First, a little bit of history for context…

The Crimean War (1853 – 1856) was a conflict between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean peninsula.

The war was not only considered one of the first examples of modern warfare in the world (where technological changes began to influence battlefield outcomes), but is equally well-known for being famous for the work of the pioneering Florence Nightingale, as well as the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade (immortalised in poetry by Lord Alfred Tennyson).

As a quirky historical side point, the Crimean War was also the inspiration for the completion of Fort Denison in Sydney Harbour! While work on the fort began in 1841 as a defence against foreign attack construction stalled for a time, however the Crimean War and fear of a Russian invasion as a result of this conflict spurred on the NSW Government to complete the fort’s construction!

The origin of the Centennial Park cannon…

They feature the Russian Tsar’s insignia

The cannon in Centennial Park are SBML 36 Pounders on Iron Garrison Carriage (reference). What this means is that the weight of projectiles (i.e. cannon balls) from this size cannon is 36 pounds, or 16.3 kg!

Both were cast under the direction of Butenev at the Alexandrovski foundry established in Petrozavodsk, Russia (this factory interestingly had a Scottish link – read about that here).

They carry the double eagle of the Russian Tsar and are stamped with the initials `M.A.’ – the translation of which is Morskaya Artilleria (meaning naval artillery). It is thus concluded that the cannon were originally made for the Russian Navy.

But how did the cannon get from a Russian conflict to an Australian park?

In the defence of Sevastopol in 1854 and 1855 the Russians scuttled eight major warships to protect the harbour. Nearly 700 ships cannon from these warships were removed and became additional artillery located in defensive redoubts around Sevastopol. In early 1855, after a protracted siege and series of battles, the British and French forces finally overcame the Russian defenders at Sevastopol. The outcome of this battle contributed substantially to the Russians ultimate defeat in the Crimean War.

Over 4,000 artillery pieces were captured in the fall of Sevastopol. In celebration of the victory it was decided to distribute a pair of cannons seized at Sevastopol to each of the most important cities in the British Empire (reference). In Australia, records show that such ‘trophies of war’ were sent to NSW, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania – each receiving two Russian guns in recognition of the funds donated to the Patriotic Fund designated to assist the war effort (reference).

The two cannon that now feature in Centennial Park were originally positioned flanking Governor Bourke’s statue in The Domain in Sydney (near the old Bent Street entrance). They were relocated in 1920 to Centennial Park and mounted on a rise, the trophies now flank the “We Won” statue.

However, all was not perfect at the time. It appears, from the below article from the Sydney Morning Herald of 21 June 1927, that the cannon were in disrepair and simply dumped in Centennial Park during a dispute between Government Departments about who would pay for the transport and restoration!

Article sourced from National Library of Australia – Trove (appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald – 21 June 1927)

Eventually the cannon were pieced together on display where they sat until the 1990s when further restoration work was undertaken on the cannon as part of the Centennial Parklands Stonework Maintenance Program.

What a small inter-connected world we live in!

The ‘We Won’ statue has a cannon on either side

- posted by Craig Easdown

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Can you help improve this article? Do you have any more information on these cannon? Do you have any more insights into the Crimean War and its links to Australia? Let us know!

Want to visit the cannon in Centennial Park? They are located on Cannon Triangle, adjacent Centennial Parklands Dining.

Need directions? Why not download our iPhone app!

Click image to download the Centennial Parklands iPhone app

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Did you like this post? Then please share it with others!

What would you say if we said our flowers could talk to you? That’s right, if you’re in Centennial Park between 14 April to 10 May 2013 drop by to see our Talking Flower Towers. 

As part of the Centennial Park 125th Anniversary Program, we have installed five pop-up gardens in Turpentine Grove, Centennial Park (opposite Centennial Park Cafe). By using your smartphone, you’ll be able to hear and see some great stories at each of the flower towers!

OK, how does it work exactly?

Use your smartphone to bring our flower towers to life!

Each flower tower has a sign with an in-built QR Code (what’s a QR Code?).  Using a smartphone, such as an iPhone, Android or Blackberry handset, you will be able to access our great video content at each tower by using a QR Code Reader.

Don’t have a QR Reader? No worries. Here’s a link to a free QR Reader from various app download stores:

• If you have an Apple iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/qr-reader-for-iphone/id368494609?mt=8
• If you have an Android phone: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.tapmedia.qrreader&hl=en
• If you have a Blackberry: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/13962/

Other QR Readers are available.

What will I see?

Each of our flower towers has a sign with a QR Code. Scan the QR code and up will pop a great video right before your eyes! The videos include:

• Some of our well-known park visitors telling stories and sharing their memories about Centennial Park
• Some regular everyday park visitors sharing why they come to Centennial Park
• Some behind-the-scenes staff of the Parklands sharing their favourite moments
• An announcement about a brand new event coming to Centennial Park in September 2013!

Great! Now to start you off, here is our CEO with a short introduction!

Can you give us some hints about who the famous people are?

• Which Australian of the Year and current Trustee used to bring her children and dog to the Park, and run around the reservoirs for fitness?
• Which TV weatherman and personality wrote and recited his very own poem of love for Centennial Park moments before going on air to do a live weather cross?
• Which Australian fashion designer has been close to Centennial Park her whole life and recently achieved a first for the Park, being the first fashion designer to hold a fashion show in the Park?
• Which former Australian of the Year has had a lifelong relationship with Centennial Park, as a youngster himself, a school student, athlete, parent and these days walks his dogs here daily?
• Which famous vocalist, TV personality and actress sees Centennial Park as her ‘great big backyard that she doesn’t have to mow’ (!) and believes it is the best park in the world?

Come along and find out!

What if I don’t have a smartphone?

Don’t worry, you certainly won’t miss out. We have an exhibition information sheet available for those without smartphones, available from our Visitor Information Counter or Parklands Office.

If you have access to the internet at home, you’ll then be able to watch the videos from your home computer.

OK, now it’s your turn to tell a story!

By attending our exhibition you’ll hear some great stories and memories from people from all walks of life. Now it’s your turn. Why not tell us your story about Centennial Park?

Do you have a favourite family moment? Did you score a spectacular goal in a football grand final here? Did you attend the Concert for Life in 1992 and see INXS play live? Or have you walked in the Park for 50 years and seen great changes and improvements that you’d like to share?

Go to www.cp125.com.au/stories to share your story now. You can also share photos and videos via our Facebook and Twitter channels.

If you have any old photos, film or other paraphernalia about Centennial Park from the past, we’d love to hear about it. Call the Parklands Office on (02) 9339 6699 or email us to discuss.

Come along and enjoy our great new outdoor interactive exhibition!

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If you’re enjoying our Talking Flower Towers on an iPhone, why not get the most out of Centennial Parklands by also downloading our iPhone app! Click here to download the app.

If you have been down to the Education Precinct in Centennial Park lately you’ve probably noticed a new addition to the scenery – Burra the Eel. No, not the aquatic variety, but our very first earth sculpture created in Centennial Parklands!

Where did Burra the Eel come from?

Burra’s eyes are made from recycled tiles and bowls!

Burra is the brainchild of our multi-talented Education Coordinator, Sam Crosby. Sam built the sculpture for the launch of our 2013 Education Outdoor Learning Program and to become a focal point when interpreting the fascinating life story of the Parklands’ long-finned eels.

The name Burra was chosen as it is the local Aboriginal word for eel, and it reflects the living history of the Cadigal people of the Dharug nation (read more of the Park’s Indigenous history here).

What is Burra made of?

Burra is a 4.5 metre (15 ft) long earth sculpture constructed in the shape of an eel, over two raised garden beds (the head in one and the tail in the other) at front of the Centennial Parklands Learning Centre.

To create Burra, Sam filled 120 sandbags with soil and staked them into place with willow stakes, then compacting the soil to ensure it all stays in place.

The shape of the sculpture was rendered with what is known as ‘cob’ – a traditional building mix made from clay and hay from the Centennial Parklands Equestrian Centre. This combination helps to hold it all together and smooth the shape. The turf was then cut and shaped to fit the body.

To give Burra a friendly face (and so that people recognise her!), Sam made her lips out of two old socks filled with soil, and her mosaic eyes out of two plastic bowls and recycled tiles.

All materials used to create Burra (except for the sandbags) have come from materials, horticultural waste or equine materials recycled from the Parklands – so, she definitely is a sustainable eco-friendly addition to our landscape!

If we look after her, Burra could last up to three years! All she requires is a water and a ‘haircut’ (mow?) from time to time, which we are sure the kids who participate in our holiday programs are really going to enjoy!

Burra guards the gates at the Education Precinct in Centennial Park!

OK, so earth sculptures…are these common?

Earth sculptures made of grass and mud are not common in Australia but are quite popular in the United Kingdom and in some parts of Europe. Here are some amazing living earth sculptures from over the world.

So, how exactly do you get into ‘earth sculpture’?

Burra is in fact Sam’s third living sculpture that she has created around the world! In 2006, Sam completed a course in Land Art at Bishops Wood Environment Centre in Worcester, UK, to combine her passion of art and sculpture with nature education. At that point in her life, Sam was influenced by the great tradition of land and earth artists coming out of the UK such as Richard Long, Chris Drury and Andy Goldstein.

Held in the middle of winter, the Land Art course was led by Mick Petts, who had just completed a very large land art piece of a horse spanning an entire valley in South Wales (make sure you look at the images in the link – his work is remarkable!).

Over the two day course, Sam and the group learnt the process of making ’rammed earth’ sculpture (compacting soil into sandbags or brick formers) to create a shape which would then be turfed and become a living thing – which in their case was a giant earthworm, as part of the centre’s geology trail. As you could imagine it being the middle of winter in the UK, by the time the group finished the course they were as muddy and wet as the worm itself!

In 2007, Sam was commissioned to build her first earth sculpture in The Regent’s Park in London. The piece was to be a part of their new wildlife garden project and her small team of volunteers worked over a two week period to make ‘Isaac’ – a five metre long newt. Isaac’s sculpture was created by filling over 300 sand bags and using over a thousand willow stakes to carve his shape.

Six years later Isaac is still there, but admittedly slowly returning to the earth. He is currently looked after by volunteers and Regent Park staff.

• Here are some links to blog posts on Isaac: here, here, here, here and here.

So to finish off Burra’s tale we have a couple of words from the Sam herself:

“Burra is the first sculpture I have made in Australia. It is great to be able to make one in Centennial Parklands as I believe art is a great way to interpret the natural history of the Park while adding to the visual landscape. Burra is still a work in progress – I will be adding some willow to create some willow fins which will bring the sculpture together and make it look more eel like.”

Pop down and visit Burra the Eel next time you are in Centennial Park!

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Want to find Burra? Do you know where the Centennial Parklands Education Precinct is? If not, don’t worry. Download our iPhone app and use our custom-made Parklands Map to locate the Education Precinct in seconds.

Park visitor, and Twitter follower, Anne Brophy sent us this extremely curious photo she took in Pine Grove, Centennial Park a little while ago.

We were highly amused / bemused. Anyone out there have any idea about the story behind this little scene?

Yet another ‘record-breaking’ effort in Centennial Park!

We’d love to know what was going on here!

We’ll update you if we find out…

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Have you seen something weird, wonderful, unexplained or inexplicable in Centennial Park? Just ask us and we’ll see if we can come up with an answer! Although, as with the photo above, we may not have ALL the answers!