Franklin Square sits between Hobart’s central business district and Sullivans Cove, beside major government buildings. It is a daily route, lunch space and event site as well as a historic civic park.
A planned civic centre
The square developed within Hobart’s nineteenth-century administrative core and was named for Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Franklin. Paths, trees and surrounding buildings changed as government and city life expanded.
Monuments are subject to history too
The former statue of William Crowther became the focus of Aboriginal-led critique concerning the mutilation of William Lanne’s body. City projects now reinterpret those contested histories. Public monuments should be read as political choices, not neutral facts.
Using the square
City of Hobart lists seating, toilets, drinking water, shade and dogs on lead. Giant chess operates during listed daytime hours. Events or maintenance can change access.
Continue to the Hobart architectural walk or St David’s Park.