Discovering The Domain talk
Join Paul Nicholson, Manager of Volunteer Programs, for this 1.5 hour talk through the layered and living history of the Domain.
The Maiden Theatre, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
9 October 2025
10am – 12pm
$50 per person
$40 Foundation & Friends members
2 hours
The Domain has long been a place of history and mystery, celebration and conflict.
Colloquially known as the “people’s park” or the park where the gates never close, The Domain has long been a place of history and mystery, celebration and conflict.
Set aside as public land by Governor Phillip in 1792, it remains a dynamic place of change. Home to significant Gadigal cultural sites and the memories of events as diverse as balloon flights, cricket matches, political activism, soldiers farewells and the unbridled joy of parties and concerts. Like the neighbouring Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, The Domain is also a place for plants, boasting a remarkable living collection including remnant Eucalypts, iconic figs, and endangered Araucarias from New Caledonia.
Paul Nicholson, Manager of Volunteer Programs, will share stories of the layered and living history of The Domain.
Opera in the Park c.1980s 
Socialist Labor Party speaker surrounded by listeners at the Domain 1973 ![Domain Entrance from Macquarie Street, c. 1890. Domain Gates in Macquarie Street showing view of Harbour, fountain, statue [Bourke]. Photo by Charles Kerry](/sites/default/files/styles/rbg_carousel_image/public/2025-08/Discovering-the-Domain-walk-F%26F-Event-Thumbnail-626x496_0.png?itok=7VSN4mCE)
Domain Entrance from Macquarie Street, c. 1890. Photo by Charles Kerry. 
1984 Footballers in the Domain
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