The Domain is a heritage-listed 34-hectare (84-acre) area of open space on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, Australia.

The Domain is used as a venue for outdoor concerts, open-air events, large political gatherings and rallies, as well as being used daily by the people of Sydney for exercise and relaxation.

By 1789 agricultural activity had been mainly relocated to Rose Hill (Parramatta) due to much greater crop success there, and poor soil/results at Farm Cove.

In the 1830s the Lower Garden area at the head of Farm cove was developed and the shoreline laid out in an ornamental fashion with serpentine paths.

Despite the fact that a game of cricket was a major occasion, often attended by the Governor, and the leading players promenaded with their ladies, the ground was not enclosed and spectators could not be charged an entrance fee.

Although it featured good facilities for players and crowd alike, the cost to the NSWCA of staging matches there was so high that it continued to use the Domain until the early 1870s.

The Domain was subsequently used for military and ceremonial events and evolved as a venue for soap box oratory and political meetings.

[citation needed] In 1883 2 hectares (5 acres) of Outer Domain was incorporated into the Lower Garden, completing the ring of waterfront along Farm Cove.

In the 1880s the Tarpeian Rock is a prominent, dramatic and significant sandstone cliff landscape feature on the north west boundary of The Domain facing Bennelong Point and the Sydney Opera House, cut for the extension of Macquarie Street.

On 17 February 1935, the Czech journalist Egon Kisch addressed a crowd of 18,000 in the Domain warning of the dangers of Hitler's Nazi regime.

As part of this project to build an eastern tributary to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the small roads to the north and east of the Domain were widened into expressways.

In 2002 the Andrew "Boy" Charlton Pool was redeveloped by the Sydney City Council in the outer Domain on Woolloomooloo Bay.

Also that year in that precinct of the Domain, the tree plantation in the Phillip Precinct of the Domain facing Hospital Road was replaced in some public controversy, removing ten previously existing trees and planting 30 replacements (hoop pines, white figs and Washingtonia robusta fan palms) in a triple avenue arrangement.

From the north-west corner of the south-west quadrant, a small band of parkland extends north along the western edge of the Royal Botanic Garden, leading to an elevated open area overlooking the Sydney Opera House, which is also part of The Domain.

The public institutions of Macquarie Street, such as Sydney Hospital, Parliament House and the State Library, back onto the park.

Being easily accessible from Sydney's financial district via walkways through these public buildings, this part of the park is a popular area for city workers to relax, exercise and play sports.

Officially established in 1878, this area was historically an important gathering place where any person may turn up unannounced and talk on any subject they wish, although they were likely to be heckled by people holding opposing views.

To the north, the Domain occupies the entirety of the peninsula of Mrs Macquarie's Point, with Farm Cove to the west and Woolloomooloo Bay to the east.

It is the point where Queen Elizabeth II first set foot on Australian soil, and a commemorative wall plaque marks the event.

Veil of Trees is a sculpture of glass panels installed between the pool and the "Lion Gate Lodge" of the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1999.

Cut off from the rest of the Domain by the Cahill Expressway, a narrow strip of open parkland runs alongside the eastern side of Macquarie Street and the western boundary of the Royal Botanic Gardens, rising towards the north to encompass the elevated area near Bennelong Point, which overlooks the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House via a rocky escarpment.

This relatively small elevated green space dotted with large trees has views from above to parts of Circular Quay, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

A number of major events are hosted every year in the Domain, mostly during the Summer holiday months of December and January and many as part of the Sydney Festival.

These large events occur in the Phillip precinct where a temporary covered stage is erected every November for the summer festival season.

The movie screen sits on pylons in the water at Farm Cove with the audience seated along the foreshore, facing directly towards the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Although not legally on the Sydney Opera House site, it immediately borders and defines its southern edge and the open space of the forecourt.

Because of its scale, location and configuration, it plays a crucial role in the approach and entry experience, setting, and definition, of the Sydney Opera House site.

'[20] Its traces of anti-Vietnam War graffiti dating from the 1970s are of State significance as a remnant of an important Australian social movement in a major public space.

The Tarpeian Way is of local significance for its associations with politicians and bureaucrats who authorised and undertook the cutting in 1880 including Sydney Alderman C. Moore, J. S. Farnell, then Minister for Lands, E. Bradridge, City Surveyor and Mr. Moriarty, the Engineer for Harbours and Rivers.

The Tarpeian Way has an unusually dramatic, classical association through its name with the famous rock in Rome from which prisoners were hurled to their deaths in ancient times.