In 1888, Sir Henry Parkes dedicated Centennial Park as a public open space for the enjoyment of the people of New South Wales. Hundreds of unemployed men were enlisted to turn swamps, scrub and rock into a grand park in the Victorian tradition with formal gardens, ponds, statues and wide avenues for Sydneysiders to drive their carriages around and ‘take in the air’.

On 1 January 1901, Centennial Park became the focus of the nation as the site of the inauguration of Australian Federation, this event is commemorated today by the Federation Pavilion.

In 1851 Colonel Henry Bloomfield, commander of the 11th North Devonshire regiment, stationed at the Victoria Barracks, applied to the Colonial Secretaries Office to use the sandy scrubby expanse of land south of the barracks for his soldiers. Granted permission, the soldiers cleared and cultivated 25 acres of the once sandy hills into a military garden and cricket ground.

The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is used for Test matches, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as Australian rules football, rugby league football, rugby union, and association football. It is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team, the Sydney Sixers of the Big Bash League and the Sydney Swans of the Australian Football League.

The Darlinghurst Gaol is a former Australian prison located in Darlinghurst, New South Wales. The site is bordered by Victoria, Burton and Forbes streets, with entrances on Forbes and Burton Streets. The heritage-listed building, predominately designed by New South Wales Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis, was closed in 1914 and has subsequently been repurposed to house the National Art School.

Australian poet Henry Lawson spent time incarcerated here during some of the turbulent years of his life and described the gaol as Starvinghurst Gaol due to meagre rations given to the inmates. The site is now open to the public as The National Art School. The last hanging at the gaol was in 1907.

The Victoria Barracks precinct is the finest complex of colonial barracks (pre 1850) in Australia and is still in military use.

The Regency style main barracks building was constructed of Hawkesbury sandstone by convicts between 1841 and 1846. The first building completed was the Officers’ Quarters which was completed in 1842.

The Main Barrack Block was completed in 1846 and was designed to accommodate 650 soldiers. The bell and clock were added to the building in 1856. The barracks were originally occupied by regiments of the British Army. The British troops vacated the barracks in 1870. The barracks was the premier military training site in Australia for many years, from its completion until after Federation in 1901.

The bungalow was built in 1847 as the Barrack Master’s Residence. The Garrison Hospital was built in 1845 to accommodate 36 patients. During the 1930s it was converted into an Officers’ Mess.

The Army Museum of NSW is housed in the original District Military Prison, constructed in 1847. It is open to visitors on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the first Sunday each month.

The Coca-Cola sign is located above the intersection of William Street and Darlinghurst Road and is attached to the Zenith Residences. The sign is often referred to as The Gateway to the Cross, because it is prominently visible from all of William Street, which is the principal road leading to Kings Cross from the Sydney CBD. One also must pass directly in front of the sign when entering Kings Cross from either William Street or Darlinghurst Road, the two main access roads. The billboard is made up of two parts: on the right, the famous red and white neon sign, and on the left the more modern, flex-faced sign. In total the sign is 41 metres in length and 13 metres in height, with the right sign being slightly larger at 21 metres in length.