Maze Green
Old Darlington School, before and during renovation
Maze Green revisits the Golden Grove
The Maze Green redevelopment site has historical associations with the name Golden Grove.
Early in Sydney’s colonial history, farmer William Hutchinson decided to call this land the Golden Grove after a First Fleet supply ship. When the land was subdivided in the late 1800s, the housing development was called Golden Grove in honour of the farm, and parts of this estate survive today on the fringes of Darlington campus.
Planting a grove of lemon scented eucalypts on Maze Green provides tangible continuity between the history and the future of this site.
The works
Artist's impression of the completed Maze Green redevelopment
Start date: September 2007
Completion date: May 2008
Maze Green, at the heart of the Darlington campus is being completely re-landscaped. It is being transformed into a new natural amphitheatre, focused on the Old Darlington School, surrounded by a grove of lemon-scented eucalypts.
Once complete, Maze Green will provide a shady area for staff, students and visitors to enjoy. The area will provide improved access and visual sight lines between the two campuses while reflecting the historic nature of the local suburb.
The Old Darlington School will continue as a venue for events, concerts and exhibitions.
The amphitheatre
Curving across the front of Old Darlington School will be a new amphitheatre. With casual seating around the rim, the amphitheatre will provide space for relaxation and impromptu gatherings. A small bridge will traverse the wetland linking the green and the school and echo the structure of the Shepherd Street Boardwalk.
A lemon-scented grove
Pedestrians crossing campus will pass through a grove of 120 lemon-scented gums planted around the edges of the amphitheatre. Seating will be dotted beneath the trees providing a shady spot to read, relax or meet friends. The row of existing poplar trees on the western edge of the green will be removed to make way for the new grove.
A new wetland and bio-retention filter
The Maze Green project also incorporates a major new wetland and bio-retention filter as part of the University's sustainability program. The wetland will collect rainwater directing it through the bio-retention filter to remove grit and other solids and into a 100,000 litre water storage tank. The cleaned water will irrigate Maze Green’s trees and grass, significantly reducing the amount of water the University takes from Warragamba dam.
Lighting
The redevelopment of Maze Green will deliver substantial improvement in the area’s lighting. The amphitheatre will be lit, as will the path through the grove. More lighting will be installed around the entrances to Wentworth and Sydney Central providing a well-illuminated route across the Darlington campus.
Paths
There will be changes to pedestrian routes around Maze Green during construction.
You will not be able to cross Maze Green directly from the Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering or Peter Nichol Russell buildings. Staff and students in these buildings who want to get to the Biochemistry or Wentworth buildings will need to walk along Maze Crescent then turn onto the Shepherd St boardwalk and follow the path towards City Road.
