Macquarie Street, Vivid Sydney

These blue lighthouses were installed throughout the city as part of the Macquarie Visions displays during the Vivid Sydney festival. Governor Lachlan Macquarie commissioned Australia’s first lighthouse in 1816 at South Head to guide ships to the new colony and emerging trading town of Sydney. He was so impressed with the design of what is now known as the Macquarie Lighthouse that he granted convict architect Francis Greenway his freedom. He went on to build many impressive Sydney buildings as Government Architect. This replica lighthouse (left) was located in Macquarie Street, close to the Hyde Park Barracks museum. The red illuminated traffic cones (right) provided a balance further down Macquarie Street, outside Parliament House.