LAYING OF PALMS

Located within Centennial Park is a sundial among the flower beds and green lawns. Many a local has walked past this small marker without knowing the touching story behind it. This story comes form the Centennial Park Blog.

The story behind the origins of the sundial was told to one of the park rangers by an elderly resident in the area. It starts with a sick young girl who was sadly diagnosed with a terminal illness and was spending her last days in her home on the south side of the park.

In those days, passing horses and carts with steel shoes and wheels would make a loud noise as they would grind their way down the street. So, the staff from the park kindly took palm tree branches from the park and laid them on the road to muffle the sound and make the girls last days just that little bit more comfortable.

In time the girl tragically passed away. Afterwards the girl’s family donated this sundial as a show of appreciation for the actions of the park’s staff.

Once again, a big thank you to the Centennial Parklands blog for this story.