Queens Square

Governor Lachlan Macquarie planned a public square on the location in the early nineteenth century. The square was originally named King's Square, but was renamed Queen's Square when Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837.

The statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled by Lady Carrington, the wife of the Governor of New South Wales in 1888, for Australia's centenary. It was in the middle of a circle of roads, which soon became a loop of tramways.

In the late 1970s when the Law Courts Building was constructed, King Street was terminated at its junction with Phillip Street, and the former thoroughfare between Phillip Street and Macquarie Street became part of the square.

Another memorial located on the square is that to Francis Greenway, NSW Colonial Architect responsible for some of the surrounding buildings, which is a mosaic and relief set into the ground in front of the Law Courts Building.