In 1812 Hugh Lyle Carmichael, the Lieutenant Governor of Demerara and Essequibo, was concerned that the troops and militia of the colony had no place to parade.

In October 1812, Carmichael accepted a grant of 16 lots of land from Thomas Mewburn in the Cumingsburg area of Georgetown in which to set up a parade ground.

[1] In 1843, representations were made by a Mr. Hackett to transform the parade grounds into an ornamental public gardens and build two temples named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, but this was not well supported.

In 1851 the Town Council agreed to transform the parade grounds into a public garden, with a price of $1,000 being earmarked for the project, with the governor donating a further $500.

[3] The 1882 fixture against Trinidad was notable for Edward Fortescue Wright scoring the first century in West Indian domestic first-class cricket.