Sydney's Chinese Garden of Friendship, the leafy oasis of calm in bustling Darling Harbour, will get state heritage listing just three decades after it opened.
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The garden near Chinatown was a gift from Sydney's sister city of Guangdong in southeast China to mark Australia's Bicentennial in 1988.
NSW Heritage Minister Gabrielle Upton said the garden was developed by Sydney's Chinese communities and experts in Guangdong.
It recognised its significance in relations between the two cities and as the first Cantonese-style garden in the state, she said.
“The Garden turns 30 this year, and what better way to mark this magnificent event than to recognise something that is both a symbol of international understanding and a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city,” Ms Upton said.
“It’s the blending of Southern or Cantonese design and elements from Guangdong with building and plant materials from Australia which produces a historically unique garden here in the heart of Sydney.”
The garden is considered an important cultural site for the Chinese community, which has been linked to the area since the 1870s.
The garden represents hundreds of years of Chinese formal garden design traditions and horticultural practices, incorporating Chinoiserie design features and Indigenous plants such as the Port Jackson fig.
NSW Property Minister Victor Dominello said the garden's enduring popularity was a source of great pride for the local Chinese community.
“Achieving State Heritage Register status is a major milestone which will help to ensure the garden can continue to be a place of quiet reflection and tranquillity as well as a cultural landmark for many years to come.”
Other Sydney sites to be recently added to the state heritage register include the Sydney University campus and Redfern Oval, the hallowed turf with historic links to the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
