Mrs Macquarie's Chair, Sandstone bench in The Domain, Sydney, Australia.
Mrs Macquarie's Chair is a bench carved from sandstone that sits at the edge of the Domain overlooking Sydney Harbour. The seat offers clear views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from its location.
Convicts carved this bench in 1810 following Governor Macquarie's orders to create a resting spot for his wife Elizabeth. The adjacent road was completed later and marked a new phase in developing the waterfront area.
The peninsula was originally called Yurong Point by the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. This name reflects how the site has long been part of the cultural landscape of First Nations peoples.
The spot is freely accessible throughout the year and connects directly to the Royal Botanic Gardens. The seating area sits on a walking path that is easy to reach on foot and has minimal slopes.
An inscription above the bench records the exact length of the connecting road as 3 miles and 377 yards, completed on 13 June 1816. This precise measurement reveals how important this link was to early city development.
Location: New South Wales
Elevation above the sea: 18 m
Made from material: sandstone
Part of: The Domain
GPS coordinates: -33.85947,151.22220
Latest update: December 6, 2025 16:01
Sydney offers many places to photograph beyond the usual tourist routes. The city spreads from the harbor to outer suburbs, combining coastal landscapes with historic neighborhoods and modern urban spaces. Those looking for less common subjects will find small waterside parks, old industrial sites, tidal pools, and viewpoints that show the city from different angles. Architecture ranges from colonial-era buildings to contemporary structures, and the coastline reveals coves and rock formations that differ from the well-known harbor scenes. In Lavender Bay, Wendy's Garden is a terraced garden with views of the harbor bridge. The Queen Victoria Building in the city center has a whispering gallery where sound travels in unusual ways across the space. Bare Island at La Perouse is a former military installation on a small island connected by a causeway. Cockatoo Island in the harbor once served as a shipyard and prison, and still shows the old machinery and warehouses. Hornby Lighthouse at Watsons Bay stands on a cliff above the ocean. Ballast Point Park in Balmain East has a narrow beach and remnants of old industrial buildings. Susannah Place Museum in The Rocks preserves four terrace houses from the 19th century. The Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour follows traditional design principles with pavilions, water, and constructed paths.
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