Taylor Square

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Taylor Square is a public square in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Taylor Square is located beside a major road junction, at the intersection of Bourke, Forbes, Oxford and Flinders Streets. Taylor Square is also on the border of the suburbs of Darlinghurst and Surry Hills.

Contents

Description

Taylor Square, Darlinghurst Taylor Square, Sydney.jpg
Taylor Square, Darlinghurst

Taylor Square sits at the intersection of Bourke, Forbes, Oxford and Flinders streets above the tunnel section of the Eastern Distributor. The square is named after Sir Allen Taylor (1864–1940), a timber merchant, ship builder and Lord Mayor of Sydney who was responsible for the widening of Oxford Street during his tenure. [1]

The area formerly bound by the traffic of the three streets is popularly known as "Gilligan's Island" because of three large palm trees that once occupied the strip, but have since been subsequently removed. [2] The opening of the Eastern Distributor in December 1999 also entailed the realignment of traffic flow in the area. Direct vehicle access across Oxford Street via Bourke Street is no longer possible.

The locality is a centre of the city's nightlife, especially for its LGBT community. Two permanent tributes are the large rainbow flag and rainbow crossing, built in 2014 and 2019 respectively. [3]

The original temporary rainbow crossing on Oxford Street (April 2013) Rainbow Crossing.jpg
The original temporary rainbow crossing on Oxford Street (April 2013)

Darlinghurst Courthouse is an imposing sandstone building on Taylor Square. It was designed by architect Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879) in 1844 and has a Greek Revival style façade. The central block is adapted from an 1823 design in Peter Nicholson's The New Practical Builder. [4]

The square also features a large water fountain built into the pavement. This was part of a $5.25 million upgrade, in 2003, including lighting and a grass terrace. The fountain is currently being reviewed for upgrade and repair by the City of Sydney Council. [5]

History

Taylor Square was the site of the public execution of John Knatchbull for murder in 1844, with a crowd of 10,000 people reportedly in attendance. [6] [7]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen Taylor</span> Australian politician

Sir Allen Arthur Taylor was an Australian businessman and New South Wales state politician who was Lord Mayor of Sydney, Mayor of Annandale and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darlinghurst Courthouse</span> Courthouse in New South Wales, Australia

The Darlinghurst Courthouse is a heritage-listed courthouse building located adjacent to Taylor Square on Oxford Street in the inner city Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Constructed in the Old Colonial Grecian style based on original designs by Colonial Architect, Mortimer Lewis, the building structure was completed in 1880 under the supervision of Lewis's successor, James Barnet. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Square Substation No. 6 and Underground Conveniences</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

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Alexander Green was an Australian executioner. He arrived in the colony of New South Wales in 1824 as a convict and was granted a Certificate of Freedom in 1831. During the period 1826 to late 1833 Green was employed as a flagellator, or scourger, at Sydney, Port Stephens and the Hunter Valley, inflicting floggings on those who had received a sentence of corporal punishment. In February 1834 he was appointed as the colony's public executioner, beginning a career of twenty-one years during which Green carried out about 250 hangings. During most of his employment as the New South Wales hangman, judicial executions were able to be viewed by the public. His last execution in February 1855 was the first private hanging after the enactment of legislation to abolish public executions in New South Wales. Towards the end of his career Green's behaviour became increasingly erratic due to drunkenness and mental instability. He was declared to be insane in April 1855 and committed to a lunatic asylum. Alexander Green died at the Parramatta Asylum on 31 August 1879.

References

  1. "Allen Taylor". Sydney's Aldermen. City of Sydney. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  2. "Gilligan's Island". City Hub Sydney | Your Local Independent News. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  3. "Crossing the rainbow on Taylor Square | City of Sydney - News". news.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  4. Apperly, Irving & Reynolds, 1989.
  5. "Decision - Taylor Square Water Feature Maintenance and Upgrade". meetings.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. Norrie, Philip Anthony (2007). "An Analysis of the Causes of Death in Darlinghurst Gaol 1867-1914 and the Fate of the Homeless in Nineteenth Century Sydney" (pdf of 187 pages). Thesis for Master of Arts (Research). University of Sydney. Retrieved 14 March 2008. page 103: The most famous public hanging at the goal was that of aristocrat John Knatchbull at 7 a.m. on Tuesday 13 February 1844. He was executed for murdering Ellen Jamieson and a crowd of over 10,000 witnessed his death. The last public hanging occurred on 21 September 1852, when murderer, Thomas Green, was dispatched.
  7. Pelly, John (31 January 2005). "History in the dock". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 7 March 2008. These public events continued until John Knatchbull - found guilty of murder after the court rejected the colony's first recorded insanity plea - met his fate in Taylor Square in February 1844. The newspapers offered disapproving words about the number of women and children in the crowd of 10,000.

33°52′51″S151°13′01″E / 33.8808°S 151.2169°E / -33.8808; 151.2169